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Protesters' children air views

Napanisa Kaewmorakot, THE NATION, Dec 25, 2002

Why are Pak Mool Dam protesters mostly elderly, and what do their children say? Not all approve of their parents' protest.

"I want my parents to compromise. We have to listen to other people too," said Payungsak Ponpai, a 42-year-old school headmaster.

His father, Khamta, has been an enduring opponent of the Pak Mool Dam in Ubon Ratchathani.

Payungsak disagreed with his parents' decision to camp in front of Government House in protest against the dam, which has long been completed.

Besides, he said, his family has already received Bt90,000 compensation.

"I hope that protesting villagers will learn how to negotiate and compromise," he said.

The opponents of Pak Mool Dam are now demanding that the government open the sluices all year round while the incumbent administration has offered to open the sluices only four months a year.

The demonstrators said the abundance of fish in the Mool River had declined after the dam's sluices were shut.

However, Payungsak said the protesters should admit that the dam also delivered many benefits despite its environmental drawbacks.

"You need to understand other people's needs too, and sometimes I can't help wondering whether there is an ulterior motive in this protest," the headmaster said.

He said the villagers had received fair compensation and the majority had started new lives and were not interested in protesting.

"Those who are not protesting now live happily, and I really can't understand why my parents have to demand more," he said.

Payungsak suspected that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were partly responsible for stirring up the protest as the villagers often turned aggressive when in a mob.

He said these same villagers were ready to listen and understand when the NGOs were not around.

"But when they go back to the NGOs, they adopt extreme ideas. Without NGOs, I think the protesting villagers could successfully negotiate with the government," he said.

But no matter what his six grown-up children say, Khamta, 66, insisted that he would keep protesting.

Daeng, daughter of protester Sawian Dumkaew, said she opposed her 64-year-old father's participation because she feared for his safety and was worried for her mother.

"I don't know why my dad has chosen to live hard with the mob and leave my mum alone in Ubon Ratchathani," complained Daeng, who is married to a merchant.

She said Sawian insisted that he must protest against the government's actions. The argument that the government cannot please all has failed to sway Sawian. "Because he just doesn't listen, I have to let him do what he wants, but I never visit him at the protest site, because I prefer peace," Daeng said.

While Daeng did not agree with the protest she acknowledged that the fish population had dramatically dwindled since the dam's construction.

Her brother, however, thought differently.

Pratuang Dumkaew not only fully supported his father in the protest but also joined the demonstration himself for at least eight years. He only withdrew a few years ago to become a security-guard officer.

"I have to work to support my family," Pratuang said.

Asked for his reasons for protesting, he said the dam had caused flooding in 30 of 40 rai of paddy field belonging to his family and deprived him of a livelihood as either a farmer or a fisherman.

He also believed that only the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) benefited from the dam.

"So I've thrown full support behind my dad's protest," said Pratuang.

On his holidays, Pratuang usually takes food for the protesters.

"The elderly protesters are pitiful. They come to Bangkok with only a bag of rice to fight for Pak Mool people," he said.Kham Thongkoon, a 54-year-old protester, said her son, a tuk-tuk driver in Bangkok, often visited her during his holidays to cheer her up.

"Although he does not join the protest, he always gives me moral support and make me feel I am standing up for him," she said.

Like most of protesters in front of Government House, Kham does not know exactly where her son lives in Bangkok and has to wait for his visits.

Most protesters' children are workers in Bangkok, where they also struggle to make ends meet.

 
 

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