As we see more youth activity and youth leadership in the protests in the past couple of weeks, many people, especially government officials and older authority figures, are accusing the youths of being controlled by a third hand.
They are partially right. While the youth have tirelessly stood at the forefront of this movement, we all stand in solidarity, not control, behind them. We, members of this diverse, multi-lingual, and multi-ethnic nation, make up this movement.
We are Bangkok, the city that boasts the starkest income inequality in our country. Over the past six years, we have seen the most obvious examples of collusion between those richest in our society and the complicit government. While the richest have amassed wealth throughout the political turmoil caused by the military junta, the working class suffered under its oppression. We have witnessed a revolving door of coups d’état and military juntas. With each, we have seen the suppression of our rights and civil liberties. We are constantly reminded of the recurring massacres of those who have come out to fight for their rights. We are tired.
We are Isan, the largest region of this country yet constantly neglected. While the Isan community supplies most of the labor, agricultural products, and resources to the rest of the country, they are mocked, ridiculed, and ignored. The Isan people are laughed at for being working class, for speaking their language, and for practicing their culture. The rest of the country calls them uneducated and questions the officials they vote into office. Meanwhile, the issues that Isan face from natural disasters, lack of public resources, and lack of infrastructure are conveniently ignored as long as the region continues to supply its resources to the capital.
We are Patani, a region still struggling with the effects of Thai colonialism. The Anglo-Siamese treaty of 1909 stripped the Patani region of their self-determination. The subsequent campaigns of Thaification sought to wipe out the Patani culture and the Malay language. Even today, the use of Patani Malay (Jawi), is discouraged in favor of Thai, despite Patani Malay being the language indigenous to this area. Being Buddhist and ethnically Thai is seen as superior to being Muslim and ethnically Malay. The state has branded Thai-Malays as terrorists and has heavily militarized the area, curtailing multiple rights and civil liberties and leaving generations of children to grow up in a constant state of emergency.
We are Lanna, a kingdom pushed to the sidelines. The fate of the Lanna Kingdom is similar to that of Patani. After the annexation into Thailand, the Thaification programs enacted by the Thai state resulted in the suppression the local Lanna culture and Kam Mueang language. The use of the local language and alphabet is discouraged, and instead, the standard Thai language is forced upon the local people, erasing their unique identity. The education system tried to erase Lanna, pushing it to a minor character in Thailand’s narrative.
We are the indigenous peoples to this land, those who you mock as the “hilltribes,” fighting for our right over our land and way of life. The indigenous peoples of Thailand have been constantly denied citizenship. Over the years, the state has turned the land of the Indigenous people into natural reserves and used this excuse to remove these Indigenous groups from their land, without recognizing the role that Indigenous people play in protecting that land. When these people demand to return to their homeland, the state has created red tape and lengthy legal proceedings to prevent this from happening. All the while, the government has illegally allowed the rich and powerful take over that land to build their vacation homes and hunt for game, destroying local fauna and flora.
We are the Thai LGBT community, whose culture this government has commodified to attract foreign LGBT travelers, while our existence has been constantly denied by the same government. The LGBT community still does not have equal rights under the law. The civil union bill is separate and unequal, without conferring full rights for same sex couples. It is a distraction from full marriage equality. The trans community is still ostracized and faces violence almost daily. They are still denied the very basic rights of being able to legally change their gender and live their most authentic selves.
We are Thai women, tired of living in this patriarchal society. For too long, the men in Thai society have sexualized the bodies and existence of Thai women. In Thailand, rape culture is prevalent. Women are taught from a young age to protect themselves, yet men are almost never taught not to mistreat, harass, or rape women. Menstruation is seen as a sign of “dirtiness” instead of a natural bodily process. The state has also enforced legislation to prevent women from having full autonomy of their bodies by criminalizing abortion. What it does not recognize is that by doing so, it is further forcing women to risk their lives getting unsafe abortions.
We are the diverse people who make up the Kingdom of Thailand and we stand with the students because they are are best and brightest hope at creating a future different from the shadow of the past envisaged by the dinosaurs in parliament.