Ringing in the changes

The Thai arm of social activism website change.org has marked its first anniversary. A platform where citizens can set up petitions and rally for the public good, the website has seen civic campaigners bring attention to a myriad of issues. While some of

The Thai arm of change.org marks its first year as a platform for citizens to petition and rally for the public good.

Campaign: Standing to the side while using an escalator

Chatcharapon Penchom, 37, is frustrated every time he uses escalators at BTS stations. ‘‘The BTS escalator can be unsafe because commuters stand on both the left and right sides. Sometimes people at the back push forward and almost trip over those who stand in front of them. It is possible to cause a huge accident,’’ said Chatcharapon, who used to lodge complaints to BTS without getting any response.

Last year, he set up a petition on www.change.org.th to pressure BTS to provide signs and announcements for commuters to use the escalators in a regulated and safe manner.

This seemingly trivial complaint is in fact a good example of civic responsibility. Escalator traffic is a form of public traffic, and its safety affects a large number of people. Chatcharapon’s petition became the talk of the town. Some people even debated and conducted polls on social media to find out which side commuters should stand on. Within months, 6,032 people signed the petition. Chatcharapon submitted all signatures to BTS in April, but he did not get a response.

‘‘At least we have over 6,000 signatures to give to BTS to back up the cause,’’ he said.

Chatcharapon looks at online petition campaigns as productive outlets for whiners.

‘‘There are a lot of people who love to find faults and complain. Sometimes their complaints are useful. The online petition platform provides a way for those whiners to transform their worries into action that might really create change in society,’’ said Chatcharapon.

Though the voices of petitioners are still not being heard, he still hopes the impact will inspire BTS to provide facilities to regulate escalator riding.

‘‘The BTS has the power to make change. It initiated graphic signs for commuters to wait at the left and right sides of the door of the train, and that has created a new culture for people to stand in line and respect those who’re getting off. It can do the same with escalators,’’ he said.

— Anchalee Kongrut

Campaign: Stop showing violent films on buses

Sajin Prachason is a regular passenger on Transport Co Ltd buses. During her trip from the Northeast to Bangkok on an air-conditioned coach, passengers were shown a film that contains violence as onboard entertainment. Showing films on buses is standard practice here, but brutal explosions, a gory scene in which a character gets his throat slashed and chokes on his own blood, and a girl being raped, sickened her. A sleep mask didn’t help — the coaches are equipped with surround-sound systems making the films impossible to escape.

Sajin thought it was lucky she hadn’t brought her little child along with her, but she spotted young passengers watching the film attentively. A female passenger next to her who often travels the route told Sajin that she had watched the movie several times on the coach.

During a rest break, Sajin asked the driver to change the film for the sake of the younger passengers, but the driver said he didn’t have any other films.

Upon her return, Sajin requested the cessation of showing violent movies on inter-provincial buses, with no response, so she made an online petition at www.change.org.th. It worked.

Within a week, the petition attracted more than 300 signatures that put pressure on the executive of the bus operator who then replied to Sajin’s email. The executive explained that it’s not the company’s policy to show films that contain violent content, but it’s the driver who chooses a film to show on the coach. The bus operator has sent the driver a written notice to stop violent movies on the trip.

Sajin told Life that it would be even better if the bus operator had a policy to ban violent films as onboard entertainment.

‘‘It’s better than doing nothing,’’ Sajin said. ‘‘Exposure to violent media can make kids act aggressively, and frequent exposure to aggression and conflict can be a risk factor for violent behaviour.

‘‘When I have our kid with me on a coach, I never forget to bring child-friendly or family films with me in case the driver doesn’t have anything else,’’ the mother of two said.

— Sukhumaporn Laiyok

Campaign:

Asking before bagging

‘Do you want some more Chinese buns? A stick of gum is 10 baht — do you want some?’’ A 7-Eleven convenient store’s customer is familiar with these questions asked by store cashiers. But customer Warankana Rattanarat’s expectations go beyond that. She would like the store’s employees to ask customers whether they need a plastic bag or not — a small gesture that would help reduce waste.

She noticed that the store’s employees eagerly bag items for every purchase, even if it’s just a stick of gum or a bottle of water. In her opinion, tiny plastic bags are not practical for reuse, and they increase waste as they usually end up in a bin.

After she learned the company that operates the store has been working on environmentally friendly project ‘‘Seven Go Green’’, she started an online petition at www.change.org.th urging the store’s operator to train their employees to ask customers before bagging. This, she said, allows customers to think about whether they really need a plastic bag, particularly when a purchase of just one or two items is made. After about a year, more than 3,000 signatures were collected, but no progress was made. Some people who signed the petition said the noplastic-bag campaign should not be restricted to convenience stores, but also extended to include department stores.

A few months ago, Warankana attempted to use a new channel for the petition. This time, she passed a written request to the 7-Eleven’s customer service department, with no response.

‘‘The company said it’s going green, so I don’t think training their staff to ask before bagging would be a big deal if they want to become a truly green company,’’ she said.

Warankana, who works for a non-governmental organisation, said she is going to make another attempt to approach the company’s staff who work on the green project. That would give her a hope for change.

‘‘Reducing plastic bags will make a difference to the environment. More work needs to be done,’’ she said.

— Sukhumaporn Laiyok