Showing 1 - 10 of 13
Temperatures soar, headaches rise
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/05/2023
» Like other early birds, Dao Dul, 35, goes on duty at first light. For her, time is literally money. Her office is not a well-built weather-proof skyscraper. It is a makeshift cart that provides affordable dishes to hundreds of community residents from dawn to dusk.
Giving evidence
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 20/03/2023
» Under authoritarian rule, truths are silenced, censored and mutilated. Yet, many people find ways to tell their stories. It is an irony, though, that a repressive regime is a precondition of creative resistance.
When art gets stifled
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/11/2022
» 'Art is short, a case is long," read a banner. Students apparently hijacked the well-known motto "art is long, life is short" by Prof Silpa Bhirasri, the father of Thai modern art, in protest of Chiang Mai University's legal action against its own lecturers and a student who "trespassed" on the art centre to exhibit works, some of which might challenge those in power, last year. It is a case in point for stifling democracy in Thai art.
Give mental health a chance
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 18/10/2022
» A string of mass shootings by officers in recent years may involve many factors, but they highlight the need for an improvement in mental health services, experts say, following the nursery massacre in Nong Bua Lam Phu's Na Klang district that left 36 people dead, mostly young children, and others injured.
In a king's footsteps
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 26/09/2022
» The sea breeze blew in as a group of visitors arrived at Mrigadayavan Palace, the former summer retreat of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi. After more than two years since the beginning of the pandemic, the heritage site remains closed for a restoration project that unveils traces of its early days.
Lessons of history
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/10/2021
» After decades of military authoritarianism, student demonstrators in Bangkok began to call for the restoration of constitutional rule and a return to democracy. In the face of the challenge, the entrenched generals refused to negotiate and arrested the protest leaders, claiming they were influenced by communism. It paved the way for the popular uprising of Oct 14, 1973.
Waiting for change at Din Daeng
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/10/2021
» It was after dusk when the first bang went off somewhere in a war-like zone. "They are just warming up," said a young dropout waiting for his friends amid an explosion near the bridge at Din Daeng intersection in Bangkok.
Rebel courage can be a force for needed change
Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/09/2021
» Clad in khaki uniform, a civil servant gave a three-finger salute even though he knew he could face a disciplinary probe. Nevertheless, he made a moral choice in defiance of the rules and norms that expect bureaucrats to remain politically impartial.
Pandemic is disrupting travel plans
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/05/2020
» When Alexis Luckey and Sam Matthias set foot in Bangkok in March, they never expected their journey would be turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic. However, after spending a month at a local quarantine centre in Nonthaburi, the couple decided to put off their plans to return to the United States.
Virus puts police officers in harm's way
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 30/04/2020
» Although some members of the public can safely work from home, police officers are combating crime at their own risk amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected 60 officers and put nearly 1,500 in self-quarantine.