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| Southeast Asia |
| Teachers in Thailand under fire -- and learning to shoot back |
| 2006-09-10 |
| "When you pull the trigger, you've got to keep steady," the instructor sternly told the elementary school teachers. "If your hand is shaking you can't shoot." Teachers have one of the deadliest jobs in southern Thailand, with 44 killed by the bombs and bullets of an Islamic insurgency since 2004. So the teachers are learning how to shoot back. The Chulabhorn naval base, on the Gulf of Thailand in Narathiwat province, opened its heavily guarded gates on a recent Sunday to a training course for 100 public school teachers, mostly Buddhist men and women who say bringing a gun to school has become essential. "You'd never see a teacher anywhere else in Thailand carrying a gun," said Sanguan Jintarat, head of the Teachers' Association that oversees the 15,000 teachers in the villages and towns of the restive south. "But, we need them, or we'll die." That teachers -- not to mention Buddhist monks, bank tellers and motorcycle mechanics -- have become targets in the insurgency illustrates how badly law and order has degenerated in southern Thailand since the violence flared in January 2004. At first insurgents targeted mainly civil servants, soldiers and police officers. Attacks then spread to businesses that serve soldiers: restaurants, outdoor markets, garages. And now come attacks that seem to have no rationale at all, such as the murder last month of an elephant trainer who was shot seven times by gunmen who had lined up with children to buy tickets for a show. More than 1,700 people have been killed across Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat -- the only Muslim-majority provinces in this otherwise peaceful, tourist-friendly Buddhist country. Among them was a teacher gunned down at his blackboard in July as his 4th graders watched in shock, and a Buddhist art teacher clubbed by a village mob in May until her skull shattered. Teachers may be targets, officials say, because they are symbols of the central government's authority, or be taken hostage to be traded for captured insurgents, or because the militants want to do away with secular schools, sending the message that only Islamic schools -- which have been spared violence -- are safe. But almost everything about this insurgency is a mystery. It isn't clear whether the militants want a separate Islamic state in what was a Malay sultanate where insurgent violence has waxed and waned over the past century. No goals are stated, no responsibility is claimed for attacks, and no allegiance to foreign Islamic groups is declared. Authorities insist the uprising is purely domestic, but have been unable to arrest any leaders. They have flooded the area with 20,000 troops, but some local officials compare the predicament to that of the U.S. military in Iraq. Lately militants have unleashed a wave of coordinated bombings every few weeks that kill sparingly but suggest a new level of sophistication and determination. Less than two weeks ago 22 banks were bombed simultaneously, dealing a potentially devastating blow to the local economy. "Of course teachers should not be carrying guns, but they need to protect themselves," said Srisompob Jitipirmosri, a political science professor at Prince of Songkhla University in Pattani province who tracks the violence. His studies show that nearly 300 schools and teachers have been targeted -- mostly arson, bomb attacks and shooting at guarded teacher convoys going to and from school. Aree Aatomphrasangsa, a 50-year-old elementary school principal, says she owns two shotguns but has a problem -- they don't fit in her purse. "I want a smaller gun -- a revolver," said Aree, pulling out earplugs as she walked off the military shooting range with a tray of blanks. Her school is in the Sisakorn district of Narathiwat province, in an area dubbed the "Red Zone" -- a classification reserved for the most dangerous districts. "A revolver is easy to carry and shoot," explained Aree, a slight, bespectacled woman with a ponytail. "When I drive, I can hold the steering wheel with one hand and use the other hand to shoot." Nearby, Supat Sunanthakantharot, the shooting instructor, offered beginners a "short cut" -- hold the gun in two hands, don't shoot and blink at the same time, don't be afraid of the bang. "Focus. And remember, a gun can only protect you if you use it when you need it," said Supat, as he passed around a crate of pistols for the teachers to try. At least one teacher in Yala province is known to have escaped by shooting back after an attacker fired at him as he was driving to school in March, said Thawach Saehum, a teachers' association official. Strict gun laws have been relaxed for teachers, who are eligible for a special permit to carry weapons in the three provinces. But bureaucracy and high demand delay the processing of applications by months. Thousands of teachers and school principals now carry guns -- many without permits -- and hundreds are wait-listed for gun training, said Sanguan, the teachers' association head. The armed forces offer teachers .9mm Steyr pistols for 18,000 baht ($480), about a quarter of the street price. While some worry that a teacher's gun could make him or her more of a target, or end up in a student's hands, the crisis is so acute that there is little debate about arming teachers. Shooting courses started in late 2004 but have taken on new urgency since the shocking murder of the 4th-grade teacher July 24 at the Ban Bue Reng primary school in a Narathiwat village. Prasarn Martchu, a 46-year-old Buddhist, was standing at his blackboard teaching a morning Thai-language class when a gunman walked in disguised as a student, fired twice and escaped while the two armed guards on duty were scared off by the gunfire, according to school officials. At the dilapidated school, principal Adul Jehyeng now has a guard with a shotgun at his office door, but he isn't reassured. "We're terrified," he said. "We need soldiers not security guards here. We need a new fence, one that nobody can climb over. We need better protection." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #14 flyover: I admit it's hard to picture armed Buddhist monks - that's as close to pure cognitive dissonance as I can conjur, without my head exploding. I think there's this Richard Gere-ish view of Buddhism as a religion of peace. I'm afraid that's wrong. The very existence of Thailand is proof that Thai Buddhism isn't a religion of peace. Whatever a nation's religion, its borders have always been under pressure from foreign countries and internal threats of secession. Thailand has held up until now because it has always been ready and willing to defend itself, and indeed extend its territory if necessary. Laos, Cambodia and modern-day Malaysia were all Thai vassal states before European imperialists replaced the regional ones like Thailand. They weren't vassals by choice. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2006-09-10 23:35 |
| #13 They are going about this all wrong. The solution does not depend upon arming the school teachers or any other civilians for that matter. Resolving this requires killing all of the Muslims involved and deporting the rest. There is no such thing as peaceful coexistence with Islam. This has been proven over and over again. The only argument against this comes from Muslims who, as usual, might claim to be moderate but, somehow, never turn out to actually be so. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-09-10 19:52 |
| #12 I mean, just look at thai kickboxing, that would convince anyone they can take names and kick asses as good as anybody else. In college I knew a 5' tall kick-boxing champion woman. Not Thai, though. Indian extraction. Jain. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2006-09-10 18:55 |
| #11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9LY730g9u8 |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-09-10 10:53 |
| #10 And sure, some Buddhist monks, not very good Buddhist monks, will aid a side in a conflict by being observers or in other non-combat ways. Actually, AFAIK, in S. Korea and in Thailand, there have been/is some very violent mob fights between various buddhist monks factions, often for the control of charity and/or "territories"; sometimes, this makes to the MSM, I remember even seeing one of thoses fights in a cheesy "the most spectacular videos" type program, and boy, did those monks put all their heart into it!... Fighting with rocks, clubs and chains like the best of them... the meat of this segment was IIRC when a telescoping cabin used by the riot police to reach the monks holed up in their temple overturned. Ouch. Of course, this is mostly a spectacular anomaly, but I can't see buddhism as a "true ROP" (even if one judge by the much weaker resistance to islam compared to hindouism during the conquest of India, which led to buddhism being almost eradicated from its birthplace). IMHO, asian buddhists are as likely to go to war and use violence than the regular christians (who also should be non-violent, from Jesus' teaching) I mean, just look at thai kickboxing, that would convince anyone they can take names and kick asses as good as anybody else. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-09-10 10:42 |
| #9 the combination of "armed" and "monk" is what got me. Sure, some Buddhists, not very good Buddhists, will fight. You need to get away from the MSM and culturally sensitive crap that tries to paint Buddhism with one big broad stroke of 'pacifism'. There's a difference between using a religion to go out and pick a fight and another which says don't seek it out, but if it comes to you, fight the best fight you can. |
| Posted by: Pholurong Flavilet2357 2006-09-10 10:29 |
| #8 Should learn to shoot first. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-09-10 10:15 |
| #7 Authorities insist the uprising is purely domestic, but have been unable to arrest any leaders hint: check the mosques |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-09-10 09:47 |
| #6 Well, if one has to put up with the nuthouse Dalai Lama calling islam a religion of peace, one should be prepared to see armed monks as well!! Sure enough, not every (thus plentiful) saffron robe has any real depth for the wearer as much as it is traditionall/culturally promoted....a statistically unlikely thing. A fun loving ppl is being pushed to the brink. |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-09-10 05:36 |
| #5 SW - the combination of "armed" and "monk" is what got me. Sure, some Buddhists, not very good Buddhists, will fight. And sure, some Buddhist monks, not very good Buddhist monks, will aid a side in a conflict by being observers or in other non-combat ways. But the combo - LOL - that's pretty hard to fathom. I've been to Thailand several times - love the place and people - and just have a hard time wrapping my head around armed monks, heh. Duh - Now all Buddhists are not Shaolin, LOL. The Thai variety is chock full of animism. They have their share of really bizarre bogeymen, too, LOL. Thai horror movies are hysterical, at least to me / us. And that seems to be about all they make, besides soaps and the occasional historical drama. Of course our movies can look pretty silly to them, too. Nothing like buying a recent US movie ripoff for a buck on CD and, when you watch it, you hear audience laughter at "inappropriate" times, LOL. |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-09-10 05:13 |
| #4 " I admit it's hard to picture armed Buddhist monks..." Yeah, me too, but if their forebears started the Shaolin school of martial arts in yonder days it might be innovative and necessary to adapt to modern technology. Deep down there's no Buddhist teachings that actually denies self-defense. |
| Posted by: Duh! 2006-09-10 04:45 |
| #3 Why is that, flyover? Lots of the Viet Cong were Buddhists; as a matter of fact, the VC went out of their way to recruit members in Buddhist monasteries so that they could operate as remote observation posts. And those monasteries were on a "no-target" list throughout the VietNam war. |
| Posted by: Shieldwolf 2006-09-10 04:44 |
| #2 They are Muslims spreading the word of Allan. Whomever they target deserves it - they're all cattle, anyway. Hmmm, how does the UN "define" missionary work such as this, I wonder? Shoot straight and keep low, folks. I admit it's hard to picture armed Buddhist monks - that's as close to pure cognitive dissonance as I can conjur, without my head exploding. |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-09-10 03:28 |
#1 mostly Buddhist men and women who say bringing a gun to school has become essential. ... "we need them, or we'll die."Has anybody told Richard Gere? *spit* Aree Aatomphrasangsa, a 50-year-old elementary school principal, says she owns two shotguns but has a problem -- they don't fit in her purse. "I want a smaller gun -- a revolver," said Aree.... "A revolver is easy to carry and shoot," explained Aree, a slight, bespectacled woman with a ponytail. "When I drive, I can hold the steering wheel with one hand and use the other hand to shoot."Get that lady an NRA membership! now come attacks that seem to have no rationale at allYou mean like in D.C.? |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-10 02:46 |