Ex-pat concerned over Thai unrest

THE idyllic image of Thailand was recently scarred after anti-government protests by the Red Shirt opposition movement ended in violence.

For Prasert Sihabong, the bloody scenes were heartbreaking. Prasert left Thailand more than eight years ago and has lived in Ennis for the past year and a half, running restaurants, the Thai Palace and Alamo with partner, John. The Thai national visits home about once a year and keeps in regular contact with family there.
Prasert hails from the Isan region of the Khon Kaen Province in North-East Thailand. While most of the violence took place in Bangkok, the Clare resident is concerned with developments across the country.
“Right now in the Khon Kaen Province, there are protests. I phoned my family and they tell me that the protests are happening in the government buildings there now. Some of the buildings there are being burned but my family are from a village so there is no problem for them,” said Prasert.
The Thai chef is heavily involved with the local ex-pat community.
“It is hard to watch it on the news. It is upsetting. I find it very worrying because we have quite a good reputation but now I see my country like Burma or Cambodia or other countries that have problems. The Thai community here talk about it every day. If anything happens, we talk about it and ring each other and look up the internet to find out news. Then we phone home to make sure everything is ok,” Prasert outlined.
The recent protests stem from what the Red Shirts see as a deterioration of conditions across the country but particularly in rural areas since the 2006 coup, which saw prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra deposed.
“People need to protest but there is no need to burn anything or have violence or steal. The Red Shirts protest against the government but there are people taking advantage and stealing and robbing and burning. The protests have given a big power to the people for negotiating for things but when people take to the streets, agitators come and put the two sides against each other,” Prasert said.
While rural poverty is a huge problem in Thailand, the country relies on tourism as a source of income. This, Prasert thinks, could be in jeopardy if issues aren’t resolved quickly.
“What you see in the news, maybe you would think that Thai people are very violent but that is not the nature of the Thai people. They are calm. They are friendly. They are nice but what you see on the news is because they have an organisation at the back of them pushing them, agitating them, making them more angry.
“The Thai people now, particularly people in rural villages, they compare the current prime minister to the previous one. The Thai people can see the difference. When Thaksin Shinawatra was there, the village people had a better life. They had more jobs. There was no violence, no mafia and no drugs. That has all increased with the new prime minister.
“There was corruption under Thaksin Shinawatra but while things were taken, he gave a lot back too. This new prime minister is not better. Some things are worse than before. The mafia has come back, drugs have come back, there are lots of violence but Thailand must unite under one leader, whoever that may be,” the Clare resident concludes.
Prasert’s words earlier this week proved prophetic as on Wednesday thousands of Thai people took to the streets of Bangkok praying for unity to overcome the country’s unrest.