Pray for Rain

On Wednesday a potentially deadly confrontation flared up in the middle of a blocked highway near the old airport. Tensions were so high that some bystanders began calling loved ones to say goodbye, fearing that they would be caught in crossfire.

Thai soldiers stopped a large procession of red-shirt protesters from driving north out of town. The army leadership said later that they thought the convoy of red-shirt vehicles was likely planning to prevent groups of soldiers from upcountry from reaching Bangkok. Earlier in the week, troop trains had been temporarily been halted in the provinces by people sympathetic to the anti-government point of view.

So now here was another altercation, less than a week after rockets had been fired from who-knows-where, landing at a downtown sky train station and injuring several people. Everyone knew that the bullets on both sides of the highway standoff weren’t likely to be made of just rubber.

Our office was holding a meeting several hours south of Bangkok. A woman from my group, whose father had been sent to the highway scene for reasons connected to his civilian job, only learned how scared he had been when she saw several missed calls on her cell phone.

In the end, one soldier died, reportedly from friendly fire. The situation was only defused by a sudden heavy rainfall.

New Violence

Nobody died of protest-related violence for several days following the night of April 10, when twenty-plus (the original estimates were 8-18) protesters and soldiers were shot dead near Democracy Monument. The tension hasn’t lessened, but people’s nervousness has unfortunately started to seem normal. Nobody I know has been hurt, but nearly everyone I know expresses a mixture of discouragement and fright.

The number of protesters and soldiers standing off against each other have risen and fallen daily, but by and large they’re now concentrating in a known part of Bangkok. For most people who prefer not to be involved, that consolidation means clashes are easy to avoid. This part of town is several miles from where we live, and it’s not on the way to where I work.

Then last night explosions hurt several people, and killed one. I happened to be at a book club gathering. The host’s apartment was walking distance from the place where the person died. We didn’t hear any loud sounds, but in the middle of our meeting, suddenly everyone began to get text messages at the same time. We stopped talking and turned on the TV.

It emerged that the trouble was also quite close to the apartment of one of our members. She had left the meeting early because she wasn’t feeling well. A quick call reassured us that she had reached home safely, but there was definitely no going back to discussing the book we had all read.

Not since September 11th do I recall a topic being so close to the surface. The red-yellow-multicolor conflict is the kind of all-encompassing, unavoidable subject that you wake up to and fall asleep to. With a mixture of fascination and dread, you are lured to check the news often. Nearly all conversations here now eventually find their way to the question, “How will this all end?”

Improvement at Home

Jip’s low sodium episode ten days ago was unfortunately the worst one she has ever had, so she has taken longer than usual a while to bounce back. Luckily, it looks as if she will be as good as new, perhaps even better. The caregivers all report that she seems happier than before, and less married to her routines. Clearly the rough episode caused changes to Jip’s brain. The next few weeks will tell if they’re permanent changes, and if they’re as positive as they now appear.

Water Cooler

First day back at the office today after a trip to the U.S. and a long series of days off connected to Thai New Year. Politics of course dominated the water cooler conversations. Everyone I spoke to wishes that things would just return to normal, even though they know that there’s no longer such a thing. The balance of power has probably changed forever in Thailand.

Everyone is affected this time, unlike the other tumultuous episodes over the past couple years. There’s a heightened jumpiness, and more black humor than usual. Nobody wants a crackdown, but we all expect it. People’s feelings yo-yo between hope and dread.

Here’s another discouraging side to the standoff: lots of families are split over which side is right. I’ve heard several stories of adult children who can’t stand to talk politics with their parents ever since the protests began in earnest last month. One woman I know decided to go on a week-long meditation retreat rather than face her dad’s rants.

It’s another measure of how passionate people have become about the seismic societal shifts taking place. Everybody in this country is taught to respect mom and dad. Arguments, when they happened at all, used to be caused by money or love or alcohol—not by political affairs.

Recon

The sky train was up and running again today, allowing me the chance to get a bird’s-eye view of the site that for several days has been the center of red shirt activity. Very weird to ride past the big malls and see them shuttered. Normally the plazas outside these commercial centers are bustling with teenagers and tourists. Now they are packed with swaying protesters listening to round-the-clock speeches. Camped in the shady doorways of the malls are people resting on mats, taking a break from the sun.

Strange Times, Part Three

Bangkok streets were pretty quiet here today and yesterday. On buses and on foot in many parts of the city, I never saw a red shirt. The only demonstration I came across was a counter-protest in the center of Victory Monument. About 400 people waved Thai flags and held signs that said in Thai "Don't dissolve parliament" and in English "Stop red shirt violence" and "Stop hurting Thailand." I went past the street that leads to the major malls where the red shirts have now consolidated, saw traffic moving in every direction, but didn't walk down toward the epicenter for a closer look. For a couple of days the sky train has been running only through the stations at the far ends of each line. If you want to go to the center of town you have to find another way to go.

What comes next? The papers suggest that the courts may dissolve the Democrat Party. Officially, that move would be explained as punishment for some long-ago electoral infraction. Practically, it would be payback for a similar decision handed down against the parties that used to be in power before the current government was installed by the courts about eighteen months ago. Dissolving the Democrats would also offer Abhisit a face-saving exit: he wouldn’t be directly blamed for what has increasingly been described as a fiasco last Saturday night, when the army’s attempt to clear the streets of red shirts ended in bloodshed.

Strange Times, Part Two

As if times here weren't already weird enough, Jip had a setback last week that landed her in the hospital for four days and has taken some of her feistiness away. On learning the news, I flew back from the States a day ahead of schedule. Jip was lying in a special ward with a feeding tube up her nose. The caregivers were shaking their heads, wondering what happened to the Jip they knew. We're all missing the banter. Hope it returns quickly.

Strange Times

Headlines in this morning’s Bangkok newspapers are the most discouraging in a long time: “Thais Kill Thais.” Depending on whose reports you believe, the number of dead following a clash last night near Democracy Monument is either 8 or 18. Both the army and the red shirts lost people, hundreds more were hurt.

Thailand, nonconfrontational by nature, doesn’t do conflict very well. Historically, however, it has been quite good at compromise. Let’s hope there’s still time for that.

Midwest at its Prime

In the center of the U.S., it’s the best time of year to be outdoors. Atlanta was gorgeous last week when I was there for a work conference. Over Easter weekend at my parents’ house, I went for a couple of great runs, the kind where the weather is crisp enough that you feel you could go forever. Today, Michigan is in fine form. I’d forgotten many of the flowering plants I grew up with.

As pleasant as it is to live in Thailand, the April heat is no picnic. This dose of real spring definitely floats my root beer.