Darkness Falls Over Thailand
Childcare centre massacre
The nation is reeling from the slaughtering of at least 36 people, including twenty-four preschool children and two pregnant women, at a child development centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province on Thursday 6th October. There is no sense making of such an evil act, with the killer having taken his own life after murdering his three year old son and his wife at their home, as the police surrounded the area.
The killer, Panya Kamrab, formerly a police sergeant, had been relinquished of his duties in June this year, discharged due to drug abuse. He had reportedly appeared in the provincial court of Nong Bua Lam Phu earlier on the day of the massacre, having been told to return on Friday 7th October to hear the court’s ruling.
It is unconscionable that a human being who used to represent the police force, tasked with protecting and preserving life, committed an atrocity on this scale. Comparisons have been drawn between this mass shooting, and a previous incident still fresh in the nation’s collective memory, whereby a soldier killed 29 people at the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima province on 8th February 2020.
In the aftermath of last week’s events, those devoid of empathy, sensitivity, and integrity, have revealed themselves, being the authors of their own downfall. Two CNN reporters who were reportedly in Thailand on tourist visas, unable to work legally, are now being pursued with legal action by the Thai government for entering an off-limits area of the child daycare centre murder-scene, using clips of the blood-spattered rooms for their news reel.
CNN released a statement, with the temerity to suggest their reporters had sought permission to enter the area; although now acknowledged that the approval was not from a legitimate authority. The statement reads as a weak, backhanded apology, lending nothing to salvage the tanking credibility of this lamestream media establishment:
Coconuts Thailand news reported yesterday that a senior police officer had been removed from his post for insensitively and inappropriately laughing during an interview with ThaiPBS on the mass shooting.
The police officer, Paisarn, was heard laughing repeatedly after a reporter asked if the death toll from the mass shooting, which was then 32, included the gunman.
Paisarn laughed before responding over more chuckles:
“when you asked if the gunman was included, I immediately had to think if it’s included. I’m sorry. I got this number from my supervisor. I forgot to ask if the number included the gunman.”
Anyone who has experienced an immediate family bereavement will know that whilst you may never get over the pain of the loss, you can eventually get used to it. The same cannot be said for when innocent youth are ripped from this world so suddenly and inexplicably, with no way for their loved ones to comprehend how and why this has happened to them.
Let us hope that the souls of all those taken may find peace, and that those left behind to suffer are surrounded by people who love them, to help get them through the torturous times ahead.