Yesterday at 5pm, I was back at point zero in Silom to see what was happening. What I saw frightened me. It was a small group of counter protestors who appeared quite provocative and aggressive in voicing their opinion. Why did it frighten me? Because such action within such a volatile environment where you have armed soldiers and police facing a whole camp of determined protestors could easily start armed conflict, and there are all these people around watching and doing their business.
Then, a Thai man standing beside me, watching the same small number of aggressive protestors, told me - There will be a fight here at 8pm.
You know what? At 8pm last night, five grenades were thrown into Sala Daeng and the Skytrain station. Three people were killed and 75 wounded. This was no accident. It was well planned. For me, it was a very uncanny, unnerving experience.
The big question is - Who did it? As I have said before, a frustration in living in Thailand is that you never really know what is happening or what is really at play.
As I read yet again today, how many deaths do Thais need before they stand back and start thinking and working out their differences and dealing with the real issues?
I am John Murray, an Australian, Catholic priest of the Order of St Augustine. I live and work in Thailand and have been here since October 2005. I have many stories from my life journey and would simply like to share some of them. So hope you enjoy and go away sometime with a smile or a helpful little insight.
We gather
to give thanks for my 25 years.
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