Time to heal old wounds

Posted by admin on May 27th, 2010 filed in Living here, People

So what next for Thailand? The nation’s tourism industry is reeling from every conceivable nation advising against travel here, Thaksin’s been indicted on terrorism charges and the red shirts are vowing more protests. We may have reached a hiatus in the bloodshed, but it is surely just that and tensions will once again be stoked up to boiling point.

The destruction that gripped Bangkok will take months to repair, but the wounds that have been left in the national psyche will take even longer. This land of smiles is now irrefutably a divided territory. This a country at civil war where two diametrically apposed bodies seem hell bent on destroying each other, and everything else in between.

But this is not a hopeless state of affairs. Ordinary people will be so horrified with what’s occurred that perhaps a new moderate sense of unity can be achieved. Thais have so much in common and are normally so peaceful and welcoming that this shocking turn of events has appeared even more brutal.

Both sides must see that there are absolutes which can never be achieved – Thaksin in power and deputy PM Suthep facing criminal charges being two insurmountable obstacles that should be forgotten. If you look at Northern Ireland and the progress made there it is clear that conciliation is possible even in the most bleak circumstances, but real effort has to be made to make it happen.