Christin Walker felt led to teach in Thailand.
Now she’s got a front-row seat to observe the antigovernment protests that are rocking the capital.
The East Brainerd native and Lee University student had a student teaching placement in January and February at Bangkok Christian College.
Then the school offered her a full-time job teaching fifth- and sixth-grade math in the college’s English Immersion Program.
“I prayed about it, felt like it’s what God was calling me to do, and flew back to Bangkok the day after graduation (May 9),” Ms. Walker, 23, said in an e-mail from Thailand.
She’ll occasionally share her observations and photos of the ongoing confrontation in the Times Free Press.
Here’s her first report.
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My apartment in Bangkok is about a 15-minute walk from the Red Shirt camp at Lumpini Park, so last week I had the bright idea of going down there with a friend to check things out for myself.
I actually gained access to the Red Zone, walking right into the park surrounded by barricades made of tires, sharpened bamboo and razor wire. There were tents set up everywhere, and music was blaring over the loudspeakers with intermittent announcements that resulted in applause.
The protesters were hospitable and offered us food and drinks as we walked around taking pictures of the area. The stone-faced security guards had their eyes to the sky, though, intently observing the skyscrapers around the business district area.
Outside of the barricade, hundreds of soldiers and policemen were patrolling the area around Sala Daeng, and used homemade rockets littered the ground.
My good sense kicked in eventually, and we left before the sun went down. Only a few hours after we left, the leader of the Red Shirts, Seh Daeng, was shot by a sniper and later died.
Over the next couple of days, parts of Bangkok were declared “live firing zones.” Roads closed and businesses shut down, leaving the area around my apartment deserted. Faint sounds of gunshots and explosions penetrate the stillness as the clashes continue. Helicopters continually circle the area, and sirens have taken the place of the usual honking traffic.
I’ve had the chance to talk to several Thai people about what’s going on in the city, but the opinions and loyalties are divided. Some support the government and want order restored to the city. Others support the Red Shirts, demanding justice and democracy.
The common thread of these conversations, though, is that the whole ordeal is built upon inconsistencies.
Peace talks and negotiations can only work if both sides are willing to work together and stay consistent about their demands.
This isn’t happening.
Now, the Red Shirts are spreading out, and instead of being heavily concentrated in only one area, other areas of the city are erupting in violence. Both sides are claiming to want peace, but nobody wants to lay down his weapons first.
It’s weird being here in Bangkok and witnessing all of this happen. I almost regret going down to the Red Zone, only because now I have faces to put with the news headlines and nameless casualties.
Standing for what you believe in and fighting for your convictions is something that I can sure relate to as an American and even as a Christian.
Bangkok, Thailand, may be a world away from Chattanooga, Tenn., but keep in mind that the faces you see in the media are actual people, not just news.