lunedì 3 febbraio 2014

Protests in Bangkok






Fate decided my return in Krung Thep during the protests of Red part of citizens against the actual goverment supported by the Yellow part. As expected we had no problem in walking around the main rodas where the protests were taking place, people were relaxed, listening to their political leader talks or to music, marching with flags or wearing t-shirts designed with Thai national colours and one of the many motto claiming for a sort of turn off and a new start with a new politics which something I guess almost any person would dream in many countries of the world. What in my opinion made this way to protest so unusual was its peaceful character and it's participation level: you could see street vendors busy with their business but always ready to sing and participate, old retired men reading their newspaper on the stool thei brought from home, mothers with their kids eating, or sleeping and playing on a mat unrolled directly of the pavement. All these people arrive early in the morning and return home in the night time with the last BTS train, whereas, if I have well understood, the hard part of the protesters are those sleeping inside their tents, those who dont return home. My friend Ale said that although we can not understand what their leader was saying, for sure he was promising more justice, more democracy and a better distribution of economical resources...pity that almost always these promises don't become reality, and it happens all around the world with very few exceptions.