Foreign sons-in-law now well received in rural Thailand

Aug 27, 2006, 2:41 GMT

Bangkok - Foreigners who marry Thai women and move to the countryside have been generally well-received by their in-laws and rural neighbours, a recent study disclosed on Sunday.

According to the study conducted by Khon Kaen University on the impact of mixed marriages in four rural communities in north-eastern Thailand, foreign sons-in-law received good marks as providers and good husbands, said The Nation newspaper.

Assistant professor Buaphan Promphakping, who conducted the study, said that foreign husbands have become socially accepted and even deemed a blessing in north-eastern Thailand, the country's poorest region.

According to the study, Thai women who had married foreigners tended to be better off financially, earning them respect and acceptance in rural communities.

The social acceptance is something new. Three decades ago mixed marriages were still frowned upon in North-East Thailand, as a result of the massive US military presence in the region during the Vietnam War when many American soldiers hired 'rented wives' to keep them company.

Thailand was a major military base and rest and recreation hub for the US military during its war in Vietnam. A huge US military airbase was built in Nakorn Ratchasima province to conduct bombing runs on neighbouring Laos and North Vietnam.

Thailand's U-Tapao naval base, in Sattahip, was also built by the US military, whose troops then put the neighbouring Pattaya beach on the map as a major rest and recreation spot.