Gor in the Christian Science Monitor

[Richard Barrow]

The following comments have been posted on the newspaper website.

1.John | 10.07.08

The link you give in your article…. prisonlife.com ….does not seem to exist. Has the site been taken down? Or was there an error in the story?

2.Vern | 10.07.08

This is a very well-done article. I live in Thailand and have been following Gor’s drama through Richard Barrow’s websites. The name of the website is “ThaiPrisonLife.com”, it was listed as “PrisonLife.com” in the article. I also just wanted to let people know they can write to Gor - a postcard or letter to:

Panrit Daoruang, GOR (Dan 2, 2/2)
Samut Prakan Central Prison
333 Sukhumwit Road
Tambon Klong Dan
Amphoe Bang Bo
Samut Prakan Province
10550 Thailand

3.Chris Muth | 10.07.08

The story of Gor’s World and the way the simple telling of ones truth can transform the world and the lives of unseen otheres brought tears to my eyes. Words on a blog make real what is hiden to a global willage that does not know ,respect. or care enough for the lives of its children and adults. The words in your article and on Gor’s blog change that reality profoundly and inspire others to care. That is why I love to read your paper. You remind me of what is worth fighting for, our collective future. Bravo to a job well done.
Best Wishes from NY city Chris Muth

4.Not So Few Monstrosities » Blog Archive » Bloggers of Gor | 10.07.08

[…] Colorful account of a jailed Thai blogger. […]

5.John D. Ritter | 10.08.08

I enjoy articles by this reporter. They are insightful and well written. Backstory is a section full of fascinating articles that few mainstream newspapers find space for any longer. Keep them coming! Drug abuse is a scourge in our age and we shouldn’t avoid the issue. This young man’s resilience and willingness to use his example to warn others of the dangers is truly inspiring.

You can leave comments here.

[guava]

Thanks Richard, I had already posted a comment on the newspaper website but it must have been after you posted this thread.

I would love to obtain hard copies of the paper and the Hong Kong one if anyone has any luck finding them.
.
.
.

[Richard Barrow]

Here is some more feedback from one of the Bangkok Post's website for Thai people who want help in reading the English news:

http://www.readbangkokpost.com/terry...sonlifecom.php

Where is Gor?

If you ever read the learning post when I was the editor, you might remember our young student columnist Gor. He wrote a weekly commentary on his life as a Thai teenager and it developed a huge following, perhaps because his life ended up resembling a TV soap opera. Today I got on update on what has happened to this remarkable young man and I have shared it with you in my blog.

Posted by Terry Fredrickson at 06:58 AM

Terry is the guy that "discovered" Gor and gave him a job as a columnist at the Bangkok Post. Gor was 16 at the time and recovering from drug addicition. Terry had told me at the time that he was impressed with Gor's "Secret Diary" at www.ThailandLife.com which has since been widely recognized as Thailand's first blog.

Here is some more from Terry's blog:

This morning I got an email from Richard Barrow, probably Thailand's most prolific and successful blogger and independent website manager. I first met Richard in 2002 when I visited his school in Paknam for the very first feature I did as editor of the Bangkok Post's brand-new learning post section.

The reason I went there was that Richard had set up what was, and still is, Thailand's best school website. As the learning post editor, I wanted to showcase some of the best the Thai educational system had to offer and this was the perfect place to start.

While I was there, I met one of his star students, Panrit “Gor" Daoruang (photo below). At 16, Gor was already "veteran" webmaster drawing in thousands of visitors a day from all over the world. In looking at his work I was very impressed with his creativity and his interest in introducing all things Thai to the rest of the world. I felt he would be an excellent columnist for the learning post.

I was right. He quickly became our most popular columnist, but not exactly for the reasons I had anticipated. At first, he wrote about his life as a typical Thai teenager which was interesting enough, but it soon became apparent he was a teenager living on the edge. Drugs and girls came into his life and with them came run-ins with parents and police. His columns began to come in sporadically despites Richard's best efforts to keep him disciplined. Finally, he had to give up his column as his problems become more and more serious.

For the past two years Gor has been in prison serving a three-year sentence for a drugs offence. With Richard's help, however, he has maintained his huge international following. The reason for Richard's email was to alert me that Gor had been featured in the world famous Christian Science Monitor newspaper.

You can catch Terry's personal blog here. I also strong suggest you check out his www.ReadBangkokPost.com

On Terry's blog there are links to that major article that was in the Bangkok Post about us.

[Richard Barrow]

Apparently the story was repeated in the South China Morning Post on 17th October 2008. I have attached a PDF file of the page in question.

A Japanese magazine has just sent us a request for use of these photos.

[Pailin]

Wow...what great coverage...he got a bigger story than Madonna divorcing!

What did Gor think of the article?

[guava]

Wow...what great coverage...he got a bigger story than Madonna divorcing!

Who's Maddona

[Pailin]

I think she's defected to your side of the pond...you would know better!

[guava]

I think she's defected to your side of the pond...you would know better!

Ohhhhhhhhhhh its a she???? I thought it may have been that Argentinian footballer

[Pailin]

Mother of Jesus?

[guava]

Mother of Jesus?

She was a footballer?