Thai farmer volunteers risk their lives to protect deserted border villages from looting as artillery clashes with Cambodia displace hundreds of thousands
BURI RAM: Ten kilometres from Thailand’s disputed border with Cambodia, farmer-turned-village security guard Narongchai Putthet stands at a roadside checkpoint with his rifle.
The 60-year-old is one of a small band of volunteers appointed by local authorities to protect rural Thai communities now largely deserted after a week of military bombardments.
Their duties include guarding empty homes from potential looters, caring for livestock and manning checkpoints outside their village.
“Even though we don’t get a salary or an allowance, it’s worth it,” Narongchai told AFP.
“At least we get to help our fellow villagers. We do it with a volunteer’s heart.”
Komkai Seehanam, chief of a village in Buri Ram province, leads the 20-member team responsible for safeguarding the property of about 500 residents.
“Am I afraid? Of course,” he told AFP.
“But some people needed to stay behind and look after our neighbours’ things. We truly care.”
With more than 250,000 Thais in shelters and tens of thousands more evacuated elsewhere since fighting broke out on December 7, the few who remain nap in bunkers by day and patrol at night.
The volunteers know their village by heart, stopping on their rounds to feed cows and pour water for dogs.
Between patrols, Narongchai and Komkai rest under tin roofs or inside a newly built bunker reinforced with tyres and sandbags.
“If someone has rice or vegetables, they share them with the volunteers. We all make do together,” Komkai said.
To become guards, they received basic training from the army, police and local authorities in survival skills and first aid.
“They showed us how far bullets can travel, where shells might fall and what to do if one doesn’t explode,” Komkai told AFP.
“That knowledge helps us protect others.”
At an evacuation shelter in Buri Ram’s Chang International Circuit race course, Narongchai’s wife, Uthai Putthet, anxiously awaits updates.
“How are things right now? Have you eaten anything today?” the 53-year-old farmer asked him during a video call.
This past week of fighting has kept Narongchai and Uthai apart, with each new barrage extending their separation.
“In July, I had to stay at the shelter for about 15 days… now the firing is happening every day,” Uthai told AFP.
“People are wondering ‘will we have to stay like this for months or up to a year?’ It’s really disheartening.”
Another evacuee, Nattamon Pawaputo, also awaits word from her husband and cousin, both volunteer guards in another border village.
“I’m worried about them. I can hardly sleep,” said the 52-year-old.
“I’m proud of them.”
Narongchai and his team remain at their posts for now, standing guard under bursts of heavy fire.
He knows that even a ceasefire will offer him little relief.
“Even if it ends, we’ll still be on edge,” Narongchai said.
“After the last round of fighting, whenever I hear thunder, I still think it’s shelling.” – AFP
