So...this is a blog draft that I found from 2014 that was never published. Am I four years too late? Nah. I like to think of it as aging like fine wine. I don't know what four year old wine tastes like to be honest, but I'd like to imagine it's better than one hour wine, so here you go...
"Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men."
Sure, you may recognize these lyrics from the popular Les Miserables musical, but here in Bangkok it has a whole new meaning. In the throes of the Bangkok Shutdown, protesters have taken up these lines as their mantra; relating their struggles with the corrupt Thai government to the French Revolution. Does it work? Meh. Is it a cool song to sing? Definitely.
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| Banner near the Asok intersection |
I won't even attempt to make sense of Thai politics or the Bangkok Shutdown, but the gist of what I've gathered is this: PM Yingluck tried to pass an amnesty bill that would allow her exiled brother Thaksin (former PM and responsible for embezzling the equivalent to millions of dollars from the government), to return to Thailand fully pardoned. This, of course, sparked cries of outrage from anti-government supporters who have merely tolerated Yingluck's office, believing that she has been controlled by her brother this whole time.
Before continuing, it's important to know the color-coded protesters. The red-shirts are considered the pro-government supporters and are comprised mainly of the poor to middle working class and rural inhabitants. The yellow-shirts are supposedly anti-government protesters. "Anti-government" doesn't mean they are anarchists who don't want to be ruled by a government; they are simply tired of the current government and want to elect new officials. Coincidentally, yellow is the king's color and so the yellow-shirts are seen to rally behind him; however, the king has chosen to remain neutral. So has the military.
Except when a military coup enforced a curfew. The curfew came at the end of May (the above picture was taken in February I believe), and caused city-wide panic. Since the curfew was announced in the afternoon instructing all people in the Bangkok metro area to be indoors by 9pm, businesses, restaurants, grocery stores, and entertainment venues rushed to shut down in order to allow their employees enough time to get home. Even then, traffic was gridlocked, and the skytrain was jam-packed with Thais fearful that they couldn't make it home in time. What made it worse was that even taxis refused to take customers since they also had to be home by 9pm.
The curfew was then lifted to 11pm a week later. I was still quite anxious, however, because I had booked my flight to the States well before the curfew was enacted, and it was a 6am flight. With taxis unable to drive at 3am, I would have to get a taxi ridiculously early, and spend the night in the airport. Thankfully another week later, it was lifted to 1am; still too early for my flight, but much more manageable.
The purpose of the curfew was to put an end to the protesters out in the streets at all hours of the night. As you can see from the photos above, they literally blocked entire major intersections and camped out in the middle of the road on mats and in tents. Most protesting was actually a joyous occasion for the Thais - other than blocking intersections, they were fairly orderly. They set up a huge stage at the Asok intersection, and in between speakers, they used the stage to host concerts to keep people's spirits high in the midst of the tension and heat. In fact, most of the clashes didn't erupt between the red and yellow shirts, but between the police and protestors. Tear gas was sprayed into the midst of rallies in order to force them to dissipate. Protesters retaliated with rocks and bottles. But overall, the protests remained relatively peaceful.
The media, on the other hand, made it seem as though Bangkok was in complete anarchy. Over 45 countries posted advisories on their embassy's website, warning citizens of the dangers of visiting Thailand. As a Bangkok resident, I can heartily say, I have never felt unsafe in this city. While foreigners have been warned to stay away from the protesting sites, which is easy to do, my life remains vastly unchanged through this "Bangkok Shutdown". All this to say definitively that I am extremely safe in the midst of this nation's upheaval.
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| Standing in honor of the Thai national anthem at Asok intersection |
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| Protesters at Asok intersection |
Except when a military coup enforced a curfew. The curfew came at the end of May (the above picture was taken in February I believe), and caused city-wide panic. Since the curfew was announced in the afternoon instructing all people in the Bangkok metro area to be indoors by 9pm, businesses, restaurants, grocery stores, and entertainment venues rushed to shut down in order to allow their employees enough time to get home. Even then, traffic was gridlocked, and the skytrain was jam-packed with Thais fearful that they couldn't make it home in time. What made it worse was that even taxis refused to take customers since they also had to be home by 9pm.
The curfew was then lifted to 11pm a week later. I was still quite anxious, however, because I had booked my flight to the States well before the curfew was enacted, and it was a 6am flight. With taxis unable to drive at 3am, I would have to get a taxi ridiculously early, and spend the night in the airport. Thankfully another week later, it was lifted to 1am; still too early for my flight, but much more manageable.
The purpose of the curfew was to put an end to the protesters out in the streets at all hours of the night. As you can see from the photos above, they literally blocked entire major intersections and camped out in the middle of the road on mats and in tents. Most protesting was actually a joyous occasion for the Thais - other than blocking intersections, they were fairly orderly. They set up a huge stage at the Asok intersection, and in between speakers, they used the stage to host concerts to keep people's spirits high in the midst of the tension and heat. In fact, most of the clashes didn't erupt between the red and yellow shirts, but between the police and protestors. Tear gas was sprayed into the midst of rallies in order to force them to dissipate. Protesters retaliated with rocks and bottles. But overall, the protests remained relatively peaceful.
The media, on the other hand, made it seem as though Bangkok was in complete anarchy. Over 45 countries posted advisories on their embassy's website, warning citizens of the dangers of visiting Thailand. As a Bangkok resident, I can heartily say, I have never felt unsafe in this city. While foreigners have been warned to stay away from the protesting sites, which is easy to do, my life remains vastly unchanged through this "Bangkok Shutdown". All this to say definitively that I am extremely safe in the midst of this nation's upheaval.
