Local
& Politics
VILLAGES
ASK URBAN MIDDLE CLASS TO SUPPORT STRUGGLE
BY PENNAPA HONGTHONG
The Nation
STAGING
a rally in Bangkok to voice his problems to the government is nothing new for San Mabkhuntod, one of the many villagers to be
adversely affected by the Pak Mool Dam in Ubon
Rachathani.
What makes this one a different occasion for San and the rest of his group
is a change of strategy.
Instead
of heading straight for Government House and demanding to meet the Prime Minister, San and his fellow villagers, who have named their protest group The Assembly of the Poor, are on a public-relations tour.
The
villagers are protesting against the dam built by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat), which they say has cut off the waters of the Mool, where they live, from those of the Mekong downstream. This has caused a severe depletion in the number of migratory fish to the villagers' area, resulting in a loss of livelihood.
Every
day the group of villagers, roughly 1,000
in number, set off for various destinations from their chosen stronghold in Saranrom Park. These range from department stores in central Bangkok through Skytrain stations on Silom
and Sukhumvit to communities in suburban areas.
''We
want to simply ignore the government for the time being, because they have never been interested in solving our problems,'' San said. ''Instead
we are working to create an alliance with the middle classes in Bangkok. All we need is their understanding and sympathy, which could be indirect pressure on the government.''
The
villagers and their advisors have chosen
to target the urban middle class for support because they believe that they have a great deal of influence on the government. They are convinced that such support will be crucial in helping to attract government attention to their problems the next time they return to Bangkok.
Thus
there has been no stage set up to attack the government, no makeshift shelters for the protesters to gather under and no mass street rallies exacerbating traffic congestion. Villagers only carry small banners in their hands to protest against their troubles to Bangkokians.
Understanding
and sympathy may not be too far-fetched a dream, but it is still difficult to achieve. For example the State Railways of Thailand (SRT) as well as some members of the public questioned
the villagers' ''free ride'' on the train from Ubon Rachathani to Bangkok.
Sarawuth
Thammasiri, SRT's governor, threatened
that he would not allow the train to leave Hua Lamphong station if the villagers once again did not buy tickets when they boarded to go back home next week.
Sompong
Viengchan, another villager from the Pak Mool Dam region, said she and her group did not pay for the train from Ubon to Bangkok simply because they did not have enough money. A one-way ticket normally costs Bt155.
Sompong
said her income from fishing, which had fed her family for decades, had vanished since the presence of migratory fish dramatically declined following the building of the Pak Mool Dam by the electricity authority.
''This
is why we have to come to Bangkok time and again to demand that promises of compensation be met,'' she explained. ''Egat failed to meet its promise to give us land or cash compensation to buy land so that we could turn to farming.''
Sompong
said the villagers had decided to campaign more passively in Bangkok after their marathon 10-month rally at the dam site failed to attract government attention.
Regular
visitors to Saranrom Park have expressed discontent at having the villagers in their midst. Some adopted discriminatory attitudes and language. For instance, one woman interviewed by a radio reporter described the rural villagers as ''smelly'' whereas another said she did not feel safe when they were in the park.
Today
is the villagers' fifth day in Bangkok, and they have decided to move out of Saranrom Park following the media reports of park visitors being upset by their presence. Instead they have camped out under bushes by a footpath nearby.
''We
don't want to disturb people whom we expect to be our allies. We will do our best to avoid doing anything they don't like,'' Sompong said.
After
their three-day public-relations tour, Sompong and San seemed to be satisfied with the feedback they had received from people they met. She said that many sympathetic city residents Had criticised the government for doing nothing to solve their problems.
''At
least some of them opened their minds to listen us. This is good enough for the first step of the campaign,'' she said.
The
villagers plan to return to their home town tomorrow. They hope that SRT will allow them to catch the train free of charge.
''People
here understand our problems. We hope SRT will also be sympathetic. If we
have money or any way of making a life we will not come here again,'' San said.
A
statement by the Assembly released to the press stated that the villagers would pay what they owed to the SRT once they received total compensation from the government.
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