Unintended foreign husbands

Udon. Thailand. Women married foreign husbands, as trophies.

She wants economic security and status, he wants “wives like in the 50’s”.

“When you married a woman, you are married into the village”, commented a ex-US serviceman.

They discovered Thailand during R&R back during the Vietnam war. With money to splurge, little time to spend and the urge to “live for today, for you die tomorrow”

these once-young men returned for a slower pace of life, to climb back in time (to the 50’s) and to seek peace with South East Asia where they happened to stumble upon, just like their 50’s counter parts who discovered Paris.

One person’s Maslow tier 3 (love) is another’s tier 2 (security). So the match makers actually serve as mismatch arbitrage, and not actually “matching”  as in harmony.com.

These marriages came about due to a confluence of circumstances, much of which has to do with geopolitical reasons, than due to personality, cultural and generational compatibility.  I cannot find a better case for the phrase “unintended consequences”.

We normally study the aftermath of Vietnam, and issues which have been on the table e.g.  MIA, Agent Orange, unexploded ordinances etc….

Rarely do we notice towns like Udon, Thailand, where young women growing up, wishing to be married to ex-Vietnam service men.

The domino theory spared Thailand, but not aftermath of war.

Last year, tourists diverted to Vietnam due to instability in Bangkok.

So the two neighboring countries after all mutually affect each other.

Besides exporting rice, both nations have a large share of foreign son-in-law. Trophy husbands.

Let’s roll out the red carpet. Men have to fight their battle. Have them fight it out on foreign shores, and for their post-war adjustment, let’s offshore that as well (permanent R&R).

Udon, the best place for PTSD. Somehow, we have managed to come up with headache cure (fight hang-over with more booze) but not post-war cure.

Until stories like this comes along. Now we know: what Canada is to the “hell no we won’t go” crowd, Udon their counterparts. Only that they have to go half way around the world, as always, to lose then find themselves over again. I hear “Reflections of my life” by the Marmalades fading in. “oh I don’t want to die…”.