“I am no longer living in fear of the outbreak, I am now living in fear of starvation,” said Waanna Thamsangwan, a food vendor from Samut Prakan.
Waana was one of the many people who came to protest at the Ministry of Finance two weeks ago. They demanded to know why the government discarded them from the 5,000 baht handout scheme.
“Today, I am eating rice and omelet with my granddaughter but tomorrow, I do not know if I am going to be able to afford any more rice or eggs for her,” she said through tears.
Waanna said she can no longer make a living as she does not have any more money to buy fresh ingredients for her stall. She is also living with diabetes.
Normally, she would be able to make ends meet from selling food in the morning but she does not have enough savings to keep buying supplies.
“Leaving no one behind? I believe I have been left behind now,” she told a local TV channel.
Other stories
One taxi driver, who rented his car on a daily basis, said he wanted to go home to work on his rice field since he cannot find any customers in Bangkok but he cannot do so because of the ongoing drought.
There are many like him.
On April 11, a 20-year old man walked into a police station in Phuket with one speed pill on his hand so that he could be arrested by the police. He said he could not find any job or food and because of the lockdown, he was unable to return to his home town in Phatthalung.
He said he would rather be arrested so he could at least eat under police custody than die of hunger on the streets.
On Thursday, a murder-suicide case was found in Rayong. A husband, 34, strangled his wife, 31, to death before shooting himself in the forehead with a home-modified pen gun.
They both worked at an electrical company. The husband has been dealing with depression since 2019 when the economy slowed down. He took a chance to start his own business but failed because of the economic downturn. When the outbreak occurred, he lost what little he had left.
A sorry state of affairs
I could go on but I think I have depressed you enough for one day. But let me tell you something, there are plenty more cases just like these.. A trend I’ve noticed is the increase in suicide cases linked to debt in April. What is happening now happened before in 1997.
The death toll from the virus should be measured not by those that die from the disease but from the effects of the disease as well. If that were the case, we’re severely underestimating the death toll.
If I could choose, as I am sure is the case for many of our readers, I do not want to read about this kind of news anymore but our government’s incompetency in providing compensation to the poor has not left us with much choice.
To be fair, the magnitude of the crisis is unprecedented and the government is doing a good job with stopping the virus from spreading.
But do not tell me that they are doing the best they can to help everyone in need because they are not.
Giving 5,000 baht per month to workers within the informal sectors is a good initiative but why make it so hard for the poor to receive it?
How do you still not know who the poor people living under your governance are? Why are you still buying support vessels, submarines, and armored vehicles? Why do you have to ask the rich for help? Why are you planning to take out money from the universal healthcare program to support a national health crisis?
Why did you say you weren’t going to leave anyone behind when that is what you’re doing?
I wish I had answers to these and other questions but I don’t. Such is life under the Prayut Chan-ocha government.
This government should try to keep their promises for once since almost none of the promises during the election campaign have come true. Higher wages? Bullshit. Higher crop prices? Bullshit. Legalize useful applications? Bullshit.
Khun Prayut, please stop making promises you can’t keep.
