Mekong

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. November 27, 2012. The Mekong River is one of the world's great waterways and by far the most important river in Asia. It begins in Tibet, and flows through China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. More than 60 million people depend on the Mekong for food and income. The Lower Mekong Basin provides more fish to more people than any other river in the world. But, alas, the Mekong and its people are under threat from the more than 140 dams that are planned along the Mekong and its tributaries. The purpose of these dams is to generate electric power that will be sold to hungry Bangkok and other large cities.

The new film "Mekong" is neither pro- or anti-dam. What it does is to realistically picture the lives of the people living along the river and how the hydroelectric power projects will impact them. It seems quite clear to me that the thirst for power and for the money it will generate will go far to destroy the Mekong, if for no other reason than the fact that no one knows what will happen to the fish after their natural habitat is altered. None of this can be any good, but it appears that development will have its way, while the people whose lives will be destroyed will be moved from their homes and may or may receive some monetary compensation.