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.