Court Proceedings Today

Last night I managed to fall asleep by midnight and woke up promptly at 2:00 AM in a cold sweat. That was the extent of my night´s sleep as usual these days. This morning just before 9:00 AM, I made the dreaded walk up the Chaing Mai police station steps again. (photo left) My future, as always of late, was uncertain. I was unsure if this was going to be an official court appearance, just another procedural formality, or a trip to the “monkey house”.

Turns out it was a procedural visit. My case has officially been handed over to the court system, and the police needed to release my bail so that I can be bailed out again under the court system and not the police. A rather ridiculous procedure, but it took most of the day.

First, it was the paperwork shuffle at the police station. A meeting with the “good lieutenant” was my first stop. Then it was to the bail office to authorize the release of my bail. Next it was upstairs and the accountant to get the actual bail check. This process went around in a circle for the next hour or so. Back and forth, up and down the stairs until everybody had all the forms filled, stamped, signed, and what not.

The next part was going to be a little more tricky. Everything (including myself) was to be transferred to the courthouse near the town of Mae Rim. I was ushered out the side door and shown to my ride. A beat up diesel pick up truck with a steel cage on the back. It was already crammed pretty full with Burmese refugees. Thankfully, the court officer (aka “guy in white T-shirt”) was easily convinced to allow me to follow the truck on motorcycle with a friend. Once he saw that I had already been out on bail for 2 months, he allowed it. However, he did carry the bail check with him as assurance.

After arriving at the Mae Rim courthouse, the paper shuffle started again. This time it went much quicker. The courts accepted the paperwork, and issued me a little blue card with my next date of appearance. I was all the way back out into the parking lot when “white T-shirt guy” came running after me. I thought to myself “UH-OH, that was just too easy.” Seems that the police station didn´t address the check properly, and it needed to be changed. Surprisingly enough, he handed me the check and asked me to take it back to Chiang Mai and get it fixed. Oh, believe me, my imagination ran wild but I did the right thing and made the trip to the city and back with the check.

By the end of the day, the court “officially” accepted the bail money, and I was on my way back to Chiang Mai. Today was certainly a struggle with procedural and language issues. I made it through, but this is still only the tip of the iceberg. I have come to realize that I am horribly inadequate and ill prepared. People keep asking me who my attorney is. When I tell them I don´t have one, the response is always the same. “Are you crazy???!!!”. No, not crazy, just out of options. I can either pay an attorney now or pay my fines later. Neither of which I have enough savings for yet and I will still be looking at considerable prison time either way.

I have a much better idea now of how this will play out. Most of this is however very sensitive information regarding myself and those around me. I will be releasing it in several password encrypted posts over the next few days. Many things have come to light today, and I´m feeling pretty down at the moment. Maybe an hour or two of sleep tonight will do me some good.

Deadlines Looming

This weekend I had the chance to get out of the city and into the mountains again for a day. It was a great day out with some dear friends. Details of the excursion and the reason for going can be found in the encrypted passkey portion below. The photo on the left was the sight as we left the city and headed into the mountains. Yup, that´s water (rain) in the air and lots of it. Keep in mind we are all traveling by motorcycle on a mountain road with some pretty serious twists and turns. Bottom line is that we got wet on the way, but it was well worth it. I should have some more pics up on facebook in the next day or so.

Now, on to the deadlines. The courts have finally started issuing new appearance dates for the musicians involved in the arrests of over two months ago here in Chiang Mai, Thailand. All of us are concerned and unsure of what our futures hold. Myself included. Some here have more to lose than others in the way of family, businesses and investments. I really feel for these guys, and we are all hoping for the best.

The rest of this post will be encrypted for safety reasons.

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Just Checking in

It´s been a few days since I posted anything here, so I thought it was about time to check in and let people know what´s going on. Just a few new details on the legal front. I´ve been trying to stay busy and continue to get my affairs in order as best I can. Further details can be found by using the passkey at the link below.

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One Month Later

Well, here I am. April is coming to a close. It´s been a little over a month now since this whole ordeal with my arrest and legal battle in Thailand began. To be perfectly honest, I am amazed that I am still walking the street through the process. I shouldn´t be too surprised though, because a little over a year ago I never even expected to live from one day to the next. By all rights, I should have been dead years ago, but I just keep hanging on. There are a few Thai friends of mine that get a big smile whenever they see me. One in particular speaks pretty good English. He always gives me a big hug and says ¨Yeah!!! You still alive!!!¨. In a future post, I´ll try to compile a list of all the situations that he´s seen me survive to give you some perspective.

Today is Saturday here, and no calls from the ¨boys in brown¨ this week. I´ve spoken to the others who were arrested with me, and to some of the guys who got arrested on the second immigration raid after us. All of us are just ¨twisting in the wind¨ so to speak. The waiting is the hardest part. The ¨old me¨ would have completely lost his mind by this point, that´s not to say that I don´t feel close sometimes. Sure, there are things that I would like to have, in order to make this whole thing easier, but I just make due with what I have.

I got a great quote sent to me by an old Aussie buddy of mine a couple weeks ago. The quote goes as follows.

"If ever there is tomorrow when we're not together... there is something you must always remember. you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you." - A.A. Milne

Just in case you´re not familiar with Mr. Milne, I´ll give you a hint. The line above was spoken in one of his books.....by Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh. Funny where things come from sometimes to give you a little boost. That´s all for me at the moment. I should be able to post some case details in the next day or two now that the new passkey system is up and running. It will allow me to speak a little more freely about the specifics without reprisals from the authorities.

Take care everyone,
Matt

Blog is back Online!!!

After a long few days, I have opened up public access to my blog again. I have been trying to secure my site here and also do some damage control regarding some statements that were taken totally and completely out of context and might be used against me here in the local courts. I want the blog to stay open to the public in order to keep the facts straight about the ongoing case, but I don’t want to be handing the prosecution any evidence or information that might be used against me. As a precaution, I have implemented the following measure to ensure that my family and friends can access sensitive information that I need to get out.

All family and close friends wll be issued a passkey that will allow you to access sensitive information within the blog. Entire posts or even just portions of posts will be encrypted and not available to the general public. Wherever you see the padlock logo and disclaimer shown below, you will be able to click, enter the key, and read the encrypted information.

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Passkeys will be sent via email or private facebook message in the next 24 hours. I don´t mind if you share the key, but all I ask is that you use your best judgement in sharing it with only people you trust. I don´t have the time or resources to issue individual keys to everyone who wants one, so please be responsible with whom you share the information with. My future and safety could very well depend on it. Sorry to have to get all ¨James Bond¨ on you with this, but I had no choice and this seemed like the best solution. If I have forgotten anyone, please don't hesitate to email me and I will send you a key right away provided I know who you are.

Take care everyone

Seems I´m not Alone

My phone and email have been going nuts here, but not for the reasons I expected. No calls from the local authorities, but it seems they have been busy. Last night, officers from the local immigration office raided a popular Jazz music club and hauled away 4 foreigners and one Thai national on supposed work permit violations. This brings the city wide total to 9 people who have been arrested, jailed and charged for playing musical instruments in public. The fellow foreigners arrested last night have played just for fun in the same venue for years, and we were all shocked, but not entirely surprised to hear the news. The venue raided is one of the most popular places in town and specializes in Jazz music of all types. Musicians from around the world come to play there and ¨jam¨ with other musicians. I personally know two of the musicians who were arrested last night. One is a 60 year old American retiree, a very talented saxophonist, and all around great guy. The other is a highly skilled drummer from Germany who came here to live with his family some years ago. I hear rumor that one of those arrested in the raid was just a mere tourist who got up to do one song with the band. In my case, the same thing happened with the 19 y.o. British kid who got up to play drums for a few songs and ended up in a Thai jail. Talk about a ruined vacation.

A small loophole in Thai law has allowed (or at least overlooked) foreign musicians performing openly here for many years, but evidently the loophole has been closed. Chiang Mai has always been known as a place to see, hear and experience many diverse cultural art forms, and the collaboration with artists and musicians from western countries has been a profound experience for all those involved. We all learn something from each other through art and music even when language and cultural barriers stand between us.

I think back to late 2009 when I was performing regularly with a multinational group here in Thailand. We were just a batch of guys who met on stages in jam sessions and formed a band that I will never forget. There were six of us, and we were from America, England, Japan, Germany, and Thailand. We used to joke around after shows that 50 years ago, our grandfathers were all trying to kill each other, and now here we are making music together and entertaining people of all races, creeds, and colors. I attached a couple pics below, and one of these guys actually came all the way up from Lampuhn to visit me today. Not an easy task on the bus. Takes 3 hours, runs you all over the province, but only costs about 90 cents American (30 BHT Thai).

Thinking back on it, I´ve been able to experience some pretty amazing things here. I just find it funny that 6 months ago I was performing for the US Embassy and the governor of Chiang Mai, and now I´m just viewed as common criminal. That will be the topic of another post this week. At the moment I am trying to put together a package to send back to the US before things get bad again. Contents will include all my security badges, ticket stubs, backstage passes, posters and flyers from shows that I have done here. My personal favorite is my U.S. Consulate security badge from last year. Only show I have ever had to go through a metal detector and bomb sniffing dogs just to play some music.

Take care, and until next time......

Matt

Monday Monday

Not much time for a post this evening, but I´m doing OK. I´ve been all over today doing what I have to in order to get by to make a living, and gain what information I can along the way. I´ve picked up a few tidbits today, and I´ll do my best to share them in the next day or so if I can. I´m still waiting on the call from the good folks at the local courts, so it´s still a waiting game at this point. When it hits, it will hit like a freight train at 120 KPH sending me to who knows where, so I might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

Today, I had two challenges. The first was the current netbook I am working with. It´s very small with a small keyboard which happens to be Spanish, and on a Spanish Linux OS. The shift, alt, and ctrl keys all give me wierd stuff with all the funny spanish accents above letters and such. To make matters worse, the ¨I¨ and ¨R¨ keys only work with EXTREME pressure applied. Adding injury to insult is the complete absense of a working ¨number seven¨ key. Please note that I had to spell that instead of simply hitting the number seven. Geez... My second challenge was finding a printer today. Internet cafes are a dime a dozen here, but finding one with a printer that is not A: out of ink, B: out of paper, or C: just plain broken within a 5 KM radius proved to be quite difficult and I´m pretty sure I put on at least 10 KM in walking alone today. In the end, I walked 20 or more kilos to spend 3 cents to have one page printed. Thankfully, the weather was beautifull, so I didn´t mind all that much.

OK, enough complaining for the day. Time get some sleep and do it all over again.

Take care everyone.

Waiting for the Call

I´m getting alot of people asking what my status is right now. To be perfectly honest, I really don´t know. I´m still waiting on the call for my next court appearance. I´m kind of dangling by a thread knowing that at any time they give me a one way ticket to immigration detention to start what will most likely be the longest and most difficult part of my journey so far. It´s almost like standing in front of a firing squad only they can´t quite seem to decide on what bullets to use, and then they all go on vacation leaving you tied to the post.

The other question I get alot is ¨aren´t you scared???¨. Well, I stopped panicking about life over a year ago when I was living here on the streets. If I didn´t make any money during the day, I had to wander the streets all night arguing with street dogs and prostitutes over half eaten plates of food in garbage cans. After that I´d sleep on a concrete bench in the relative safety of the morning sun for a few hours before going back out to look for work. It may sound extreme to some, but that was only the ¨tip of the iceberg¨ when it comes to what I´ve been through and endured here. Someday it will make a great book, but I have to live through it first.

I´ve been doing some math here again lately trying to figure out what I´m looking at. So far through savings, hard work, and a few generous gifts (thank you all) I have managed to put together about 20% of what It will take to keep me from starving in a third world prison and get me back to legal working status. Ironically enough, I have to keep working illegally while out on bail in order to make money for my penalty for working illegally. Everyday is a gamble. Going out to work gets me about $10 a day, but I risk breaking my bail agreement and receiving additional charges and fines that are thousands of times greater than my wage for the day. I just get up every morning, hope for the best and then do my best (albeit very quietly).

The Songkran (New Year) festival is getting into full swing. I made my way on foot to the market and do the daily drinking water run today, and only got assaulted twice with squirt guns. Tomorrow will be a different story as the whole thing officially starts. That´s all for now, I´m going to do my best to stay dry and out from behind bars during the festivities here. Hey, at least if I were in jail, I could avoid the water war going on outside. Joking of course, but I found it to be a funny thought.

Take care everyone.

Another day of Freedom

I am completely exuasted and my nerves are fried, but at the end of the day, I am still a free man for the time being. Through what I have learned in the past week, I managed (with the help of some friends) to stay out on my own recognizance even though it is only temporary. Upon arrival this morning was immediately ushered to the rear of the police station, and back through the steel cage into the cess pool they call a holding cell. I feared the worst, but after asking some questions I was told that it was just stardard procedure for ¨checking in¨ at the station before a hearing. I was photographed and fingerprinted (again) to verify that I was still the same guy I was last week, and then met briefly with the chief investigator on my case. He told me that they were still waiting on paperwork, took my phone number and told me he would call me with a time and date for the next hearing.

This is something completely unheard of for a person in my rather awkward and difficult position. Everyone I know from locals to foreigners are stunned that they allowed me bail in the first place, much less allow me to walk the streets (as an illegal immigrant) on the promise of a phone call to return for the next date. It could be tomorrow, and it could be next week. Somehow, by the grace of God, blessing of Buddha, or just blind luck I am able to enjoy at least another 24 hours in the open air and sunshine.

More tomorrow. I´m going to try and catch up on all the sleep I missed last night.

Down to the Wire

Not much to report today. It´s down to the final countdown when I walk up the steps to the courthouse. I´ll try to get some sleep tonight, but I´m not really hopefull. All things considered, I´m actually pretty calm under the circumstances. I´ve seen some pretty rough stuff here in the last year or so. I´ve been through some of the worst times already, and this is just another hurdle.

If I am able, I will post some kind of update tomorrow. If I am unable to post anything, then you know what´s happened. I do have contacts that can help me relay messages if the worst happens, but it´s a slow process. Around here we call it the ¨bamboo telegraph¨.

I wish everyone the best, and thank you all for your support and prayers through this difficult time.

Matt

Updates and Random Thoughts April 2, 2011

It´s been a busy, but less than productive day as I made my way around, but things continue to come together. As far as court goes, I have found a funny little loophole that I might be able to use. The Thai police are holding my passport at the moment, but it was the only way I could get out on bail. The charges of overstaying my Visa are pretty cut and dried. Normal procedure for this crime is immediate detention and deportation. Please keep in mind that foreigners are required to pay for their own deportation or serve jail time until they can afford to pay. Not a pretty picture for me. However, Thai law says that a person cannot be deported or jailed for deportation as long as another case is still pending in the court. This is where my charge of working without a permit comes in. As long as the prosecution proceeds with the working violation case, then I can stay out on bond and continue to work on my case. If they drop the work permit violation, then they will send me out of the courtroom in shackles to start serving a very long sentence. My plan is to protest that they proceed with the charges on the work permit so I can see justice. My only other option is to commit another crime of some sort and then post bail again, but I really don´t like that idea.

Time to answer the ¨hot topic¨ question of the day. Many people have asked me this, and I thought it was time to address it.

Question: Why don´t you just come home to the U.S.???

Answer: Many reasons, but I will try my best to explain them. First of all, as I stated many times before, this country (Thailand) doesn´t just put you on a plane and send you back home if things go wrong. You go to jail for a long time and then pay a huge fine, and the pay your own way back to whatever country you came from. Secondly and more importantly, I have a deep appreciation for the people and culture of this country. When I came here nearly two years ago, I was on death´s door. My health was failing, my mind and spirit was a mess, and I was moments away from putting a gun to my head and pulling the trigger. It has been a long battle pulling myself back up from that place in my life, but I have done it thanks to the many friends I have made here. They have showed me a new way of life and thinking that has been so good for me. Even at 37 years old, I am now in the best physical condition of my entire life. I can do and have done things that I would not have even imagined doing when I was in my 20´s. More importantly, my mind is finaly getting clear of all the things that have been holding me back for so long. These are the reasons why I fight to stay here and continue to rebuild my life. I realize that many people back home may not understand, but I can accept that. I just hope to express my thoughts on the issue, take it or leave it.

All the best from the Kingdom of Thailand,
Matt
Take care everyone. 24 hours to go, and I am at peace with whatever happens.

Dinner with Friends

Once again, alot of running around and reading up on various aspects of the local law. Last night was an absolute treat as I had a somewhat quiet dinner with some close friends. I was joined by Nid, Goong, Dik, Tik, Om, and O. I was a nice but brief break from all the stress and chaos that has been going on here. They did their best to cheer me up and I even found myself smiling and laughing once or twice.

Tomorrow will be a very busy day as I make my way from here in Chang Puak district across the old city, over the Mae Ping river and then on to Nong Hoi where I have a meeting with ¨big boss Pang¨. He still owes me some money from a job last month, but I just haven´t had the time to get over there. He may also be able to give me some advice on my current situation. Later in the afternoon, I´ll be back in the city and hopefully get in touch with a dutch friend of mine who is just back from Switzerland. He´s always been one with a lot of local influence and might be able to help me out as well.

That´s all for now. I´m going to try and catch up on some emails, get some sleep, and get on the road. If anybody is able or wants to call me from the states, you can get my mobile number here in Thailand by calling 011-66-085-714-2702. Just please remember the 14 hour time dfference if you do.

Hurry up and wait

Nothing new on the information front today, so I have had alot of time to think about recent events. It´s hard to believe that a little over a week ago, my life seemed to be getting back on track. I was making a little bit of money, staying out of trouble, and overall just trying to live a very simple life. I had even started to make plans for the future. Making attempts at mending fences and rebuilding burned bridges.

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Tonight will be a quiet evening with Thai friends for some food and conversation. We don´t know when we´ll all see each other again, so we´ll try to make the best of it.

More has been revealed

Today has been a mixed bag of new information and old. I was feeling very depressed and down this morning after another sleepless night. I did my best to review my notes so far and try to stay positive. At 2:00 pm I got a phone call regarding a particular attorney that I had been trying to reach. He is a very prominent and respected professional here in the city and agreed to meet with me. I met with him and his partner today and they were very helpful in answering procedural and legal questions I had as well as giving me some inside information on what´s happening behind the scenes.

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It´s about 11:00 pm here local time, and I´m hoping to actually get some sleep tonight. We´ll see how that goes. Wish me luck!

Some details at last!!!

It´s been a roller coaster of a day here as there are only five days left before my fate will be decided in the courts here in Thailand. I did manage to meet with a Thai attorney who agreed to see me at no charge as a favor to a friend of mine, so I did get some more details today.

The charges of working (playing a guitar and singing) without a permit are still up in the air. I may still be charged, but there is talk of dropping that part of the case due to a lack of evidence. The usual punishment for this is deportation, but you are required to pay your own plane ticket out of the country. That´s not really an option for me because I can´t even afford a bus ticket to Burma. Without having a plane ticket, I will be sent to the provincial prison here in Chiang Mai or possibly the immigration detention center down in Bangkok. There I will earn $2 a day until I can afford a ticket out. Mind you that the $2 a day is for food because in prison here you have to buy your own. I´ve done the math, and it´s not a pretty timeline.

The second and more serious charge is that of my expired visa. For those that don´t know what a visa is, it´s the piece of paper that gives you permission to stay in what ever country you are in and they are issued by the country´s government. I´ve had alot of people ask about this, and for my American friends I will try to make this easy. When a Mexican citizen comes to America legally, they apply for a visa from the US Government. When that visa expires they must leave the country or get a new one. The same applies here in Thailand, and my permit ran out a long time ago when I was living on the streets with nothing more than the clothes on my back last year. Basically I´ve been living the life of a ¨wetback¨ for the last year. The maximum penalty for this offence here in Thailand is 2 years in prison, a fine of 20,000 THB (about $700 in US dollars), and you must pay your way out of the country as with the penalty explained in the last paragraph. Back to the $2 a day in prison trying to earn a cheap plane ticket to Vietman, Burma or Laos just to get out from behind bars.

It´s still not pretty, but at least I´ve got a better picture of what I´m up against. I´ve managed to put some money together (about $300 USD or 9,000 THB local money) by calling in some overdue favors and what little savings I had, but I´m still a ways away from what it´s going to take to get me back to legal status. It still looks like a certain amount of prison time is unavoidable, and I have come to accept that. My main concern at the moment is trying to make sure that I don´t end up in there for the next decade or so.

I´ve always been one to do everything I can to avoid asking for help from others, but as the days tick by here I feel more and more desperate. Last year when I was nearly starving to death on the streets I put a ¨lunch money¨ link here on my blog and a few people chipped in and got me enough to eat for a little while till I got back on my feet. I had forgotten about it till an old friend asked me if it still worked the other day. I checked it, and it does so I changed the name to the Legal defense fund. It´s on the left side of the page here. If you can help, that´s great. If not, then I completely understand and would never ask anyone to go without on account of my own difficulties. I just wanted to put it out there just in case.

The emails and comments I have continued to receive have really been a big help already. I´m exhausted stressed and severely lacking in sleep, so it´s a real blessing to see an encouraging word in my inbox when I do finally get some time in front of a computer. All the best and thanks again for all the support so far.

Hanging in there.......
Matt

Thailand Update March 28, 2011

Getting details can be difficult here in this country, but with some persistence and determination it can be done. Knowing a fair amount of the language helps, but the most important thing has been my local Thai friends who have gone out of their way to help me out. One such friend is ¨Goong¨. I barely know her as merely an aquanitance through another friend. Her husband was locked up in that same jail for over a year when they lost his aquittal and release papers. He literally sat in there day in and day out for a year because some clerk mis placed his file. She was there everyday for a year, so needless to say, she knows that place inside and out and knew who to talk to when it came to getting my temporary bail arranged. Without that I would not be out and able to work on my case before it goes to court. For that I am incredibly thankfull and I definitely owe her and her husband a dinner or three!!

I´m starting to get an idea of what it´s going to take in order to get my situation straightened out. It´s still a rather monumental task, but I have no choice but to face it and dig in. As you may remember from my original article (LINK HERE), the immigration officers wanted to cut a ¨deal¨ with me on the night of the arrest. This was the usual ¨bribe offer¨ to make everything go away without any paperwork or charges. This is always money that goes directly into the officers pockets and does not go to the government. The grand total they wanted at the moment was a ridiculous 120,000 THB. That´s double what I make in a year here, and in all actuality it wouldn´t have fixed anything. In hindsight, I´m actually glad I didn´t have that kind of money because I can now take my case to the courts where the level of corruption is considerably less and any fines that I have to pay will go to the appropriate government offices and not some corrupt cop´s pocket. Also, in the end I may be able to resolve my immigration problem once and for all and return to being a productive member of this society. At first I was very angry because with the new job, I was very close to resolving my immigration issues on my own when all this happened. Now I am trying to look at this challenge as a blessing and a chance to continue getting my life on the right track even though it is under rather extreme conditions.

Again I thank everyone for all the kinds words, helpfull advice, and words of wisdom. There is still a treacherous road ahead, but I´m looking at it in a different light. Yes, it´s still a dangerous and potentially deadly situation to be in, but Iḿ trying to look at the bright side and see this as an opportunity for progress despite the dangers involved.

As for recent news, there´s not much to report today. The aftershocks have pretty much quit and we haven´t had a power outage for at least a day now. The internet is still pretty hit or miss during the day, but that´s bearable. Hopefully more news tomorrow.

Updates March 27, 2011

I´ve been working night and day here trying to make the best of a bad situation, and have made a little progress. The lack of sleep is getting to me a bit, but I am getting by alright. I want to thank all of you who have offered me so much support in this very difficult time. Please keep passing on the message. Your messages and kindness keep me going through all this. Here are the updates for the day. I still don have much of any specifics on how this may play out, but I´m making a little progress.

CLICK HERE to read the original article if you haven already.

It looks like I may have found a local attorney who can possibly represent me on my case. A little digging and research found a similar case about 3 years ago with a somewhat positive outcome. That same attorney is still here in Chiang Mai and has contacted a friend of mine asking if he could help when he heard about the case. I may get a chance to meet wth him on Monday.I´ve still been unable to get in touch with the US Consulate here in Chiang Mai. They do have an emergency contact phone number, but it´s ¨no longer in service¨. Why am I not suprised? Interestingly enough, I had a meeting today with the Australian Consulate General who offered me some good advice and a little inside information that he found from his contacts in the immigration and police departments. It´s been my experience around the world that if you want red tape and alot of hassles, you visit a US government office. If you want to get something done, you go to an Australian. Today´s events just reinforced that notion. I have alot of respect for Ozzies in all my dealings with them.

That´s all for now, I´ve still got a ton of emails and phone calls to take care of. I hope you are all doing well, and thank you all for your support so far.

An urgent message from Thailand

I never thought I would go back to writing on this blog, but this week´s events gave me no choice. Facebook has strict limits on posting lengths and this story cannot be told in 420 characters or less. I only ask that you read this post in it´s entirety, and I apologize in advance for taking up so much of your time. This is a very urgent and important matter with a limited time frame to act.

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Wednesday night was supposed to be my evening off, but I got a call to go across town and do a show with a band I had performed with many times before. I accepted reluctantly, and made my way across town. I was greeted by the usual crowd and settled in for an hour of the ¨same old same old¨. About three songs into the set, I noticed two Thai guys with cameras taking pictures of the band. I got nervous and alerted the guitar player. We decided to take a break and see what was up. The two Thai guys flashed badges and identified themselves as ¨immigration officers¨. Whithin moments, the venue filled up with uniformed officers and we were all asked to sit down for questioning.

They began asking for visas, passports and work permits, and I knew immediately that there was going to be trouble. After some on site questioning and interrogation of the band and restaurant staff, we were all arrested and hauled to the local immigration office. The officers were drinking heavily and obviously quite proud of their catch. They began very intensive interrogation and started the ¨good cop bad cop¨ routine. There were about 10 of them sharing a bottle of whiskey and taking turns at us. My heart was beating out of my chest, but I did my best to stay cool.

After doing their best to scare the living daylights out of us, the mention of a payoff or bribe was made. This wasn´t surprising, and is pretty much standard practice. The grand total that they asked for was 120,000 Thai Baht (about $4,000 US dollars). Now, keep in mind that I earn about 6,000 Thai Baht a month (about $200 US dollars). This of course was an astronomical amount for any of us, and even calling in a few favors would not even get me close to that amount. I knew that the next stop might just be my last for a very long time.

Once again, the immigration officers (probably bordering on too drunk to drive) loaded us up in the backs of trucks and delivered us to the big police station in the old city. I was booked in, fingerprinted, and shown my new living quarters. The first thing to hit me when entering the actual jail was the overpowering stench of feces, urine, and who knows what else. The jail itself consists of four cells approximately 20 feet by 15 feet each. In these four cells they house somewhere near 200 inmates, and I am now one of them. Each cell is nothing but an empty barred room with one hole in the corner for use as a toilet. No windows, no fans, no beds, no shower, just a concrete floor surrounded by steel bars.

The second thing to shock me was that my cellmates ranged in age from one year olds to 70 year olds. Entire families were being held there from many different countries. Mothers, fathers, children and even infants. There I was lying on my back in this hellhole looking up at 5 and 6 year old kids playing and climbing around on the bars like it was just another day. I remember looking through the bars of my cell at a toddler wearing nothing more than a tshirt crying and reaching out for his father in the next cell. One of the families I got to know a little bit was North Korean. They escaped North Korea and traveled all the way through communist China and Laos in the hopes of making it to Thailand because once arrested in Thailand they can choose to defect to South Korea and reunite with loved ones there on the friendly side of the DMZ. An incredible journey in itself.

It was on day two that the 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit just north of here in Burma and sent the whole country shaking all the way as far as Bangkok. There I was, the whole jail was moving and shaking, lights flickering, babies crying, dust and concrete flying through the air and the guards had pretty much abandoned the place in fear that it might collapse. A truly terrifying experience, but we all survived and stuck together till it was over.

By the third day of my incarceration, I had pretty much come to grips with the fact that this was going to be my life for the next few years. It wasn´t pretty, but I was going to have to accept it. I had been watching the guards round up prisoners all day and ship them out shackled together about six at a time. I wasn´t sure where they were going, but I assumed it was the big prison outside of town near the mountain. Soon enough, it was my turn and I submitted my wrists and ankles once again to the chain gang style march. As we passed the lobby of the police station I saw several friends of mine waiting there. I tried to pause and say hello, but the guard kept yelling ¨Bah bah bah¨ (go go go). Myself and the six burmese guys I was chained to were loaded into the back of a truck and I saw one of the sargeants come running out front yelling ¨My My Dio Dio Falang!!¨ (no no wait wait foreigner). The guard looked at me with a grin and said ¨Falang Chok dee mak!¨ which basically means ¨Foreigner very lucky¨. It seems my local Thai friends had been there at the police station night and day trying to negotiate a bail agreement for me and were close to working something out. I was unshackled from the truck and marched back inside to the overcrowded cell. Suddenly it wasn so bad considering where I had been headed a few moments before.

A few hours later I was released under the supervision of my Thai friends. I went home, took a very long shower, ate some rice and veggies, and slept for about three hours. This is where my story comes current. At the moment I am a free man and can walk the streets, but I must present myself and my case in front of a judge in Thai court on April 4th. That gives me less than one week to prepare, find my options, make decisons and hopefully keep myself alive.

My official charges are as follows:

1. Entering the country illegally. (charges already dropped once my passport was located)
2. Overstaying my visa. (guilty as charged, and I have already entered a guilty plea)
3. Working (playing a guitar) without a permit. (I have entered a not guilty plea. The evidence is very poor against me as I was not even being paid. Just helping out a friend who was short a bass player) I hear now that this charge may already have been dropped, but I´m not sure.

What I need from you my freinds and family is first and foremost your support in the coming days. If nothing else, pass this article along to as many other people as you can. The more people I can get behind me the better off I will be. I´m not sure what other help I will need, but the next day or so should reveal more as I get more information and advice. I thank you for taking the time to read this all the way through, and I will be posting more updates soon. The more people that are aware of my situation will ensure that I receive fair and just treatment here in this far away plae that has become my home, so please please please pass it on!! The worst that can happen is that this blog and my facebook page goes silent. If it does, then expect the worse. I will do my best to answer all emails and keep people in the loop.

All the best and thank you so much for everything.
Matt