During the march against Russian invasion of Ukraine in Bangkok last week on Feb. 24, around six Thais joined 50 other Ukrainians and Europeans in a peace march from Lumpini Park to Benjakitti Park.
Along the way I managed to talk to a young twenty-something Thai man who proudly joined the protest marking two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said we cannot just think and be concerned about what is happening in Thailand but must be caring about the conflicts and sufferings abroad as well.
Asked why only a handful Thais joined and whether it means most Thais are essentially parochial, the man said he excitedly told his friend about joining the protest today and explained the importance, but his friend was simply indifferent.
The conversation then turned to the topic of Palestine, Hamas, and the continued military invasion of Gaza Strip by Israel and the fact that in three hours, there will be another protest, this time against Israel and its chief supporter, the United States, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. He paused for a while before saying that the conflict there is “grey,” so he would not be joining the protest.
I asked whether how many more Palestinians, particularly civilians will have to be killed before the conflict is no longer grey. There was no answer.
More than 30,000 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have been killed – a retribution to the inhumane attacks by Hamas which killed over 1,200 people, mostly Israelis on Oct. 7 last year. Mathematically speaking, it is not an eye for an eye, but an eye for 25 eyes now with no end in sight.
It got to the point where most are just numbers, statistics. Yesterday, AP cited the European Union Diplomatic Service’s latest report sayings: “Many of the Palestinians [in Gaza Strip] killed or wounded in the chaos as they tried to get bags of flour from an aid convoy were hit by Israeli army fire” and cited international aid officials saying that “they have encountered catastrophic hunger” in Gaza.
(By comparison, the BBC on Feb. 25 cited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying “31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during Russia’s full-scale invasion” two years ago.)
Back in Bangkok last week in front of the U.S. Embassy at 3pm, some 30 protesters, mostly Thai Muslims and socialists, vent their anger against Israel and the United States.
What I found disturbing was there was no mention of the 1,200 killed by Hamas, the thirty or so Thai workers killed by Hamas, and the eight Thais still held hostage. Those gathered there see it in black and white – not grey.
It is unclear what is the mood of the majority of the Thai public, but it will be a challenge for the Israeli Embassy to try to keep the opinion of the Thai public on their side as more Palestinian civilians, particularly women and children became casualties of war and more will likely be killed if Israel launch an assault on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza in the days ahead.
Sadly, if most Thais could not care less about the butchering of over six thousand civilians in neighboring Myanmar since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, then it is hard to expect them to care about Ukraine, Gaza or Israel.
