Students, worshipers and caretakers of the Chao Mae Tub Tum Shrine gathered to protest against the removal of the shrine by Chulalongkorn University’s Property Management Office on Monday with protesters say they plan on continuing protests to stop any development.
The Property Management Office plans to build a 1,800-unit condominium on the site and remove the shrine. They reassured the students and caretakers that they will relocate the shrine to the 100-year Chualongkorn Park, and any construction costs would be covered by the office.
The Chao Mae Tub Tim Shrine is considered to be a sacred shrine for the Taecheow Chinese community that once lived in the Suan Lum area.
The majority of the Chinese inhabitants have since moved out or were evicted due to high rent costs.
The shrine and the community had occupied the area long before the establishment of Chulalongkorn University over a century ago.
When the university was built, King Rama VI offered an incense vase that was deemed very sacred to the Chinese community in good faith.
The shrine is the last standing remnant of that large community and many still come to pay their respects.
The shrine currently sits on a large piece of empty land that has been turned into a parking lot.
The protesters are concerned with the Property Management Offices’s offer to relocate as there are no official documents to prove they will uphold the agreement.
“They do not have any concrete plan on what they are going to do with the shrine’s reconstruction. The new location of the shrine is also quite small and it does not take into consideration the large number of people that visit the shrine during important events,” said Wanpen, a fourth-generation caretaker.
“They would also prevent us from staying at the shrine and look after it during the day. This is not right.”
Wanpen also added that if the shrine was to be relocated, they would want the new shrine to be finished first so that they could have a ceremony to move the shrine to the new location.
A letter has been written by the shrine caretakers to Princess Sirindhorn and His Majesty King Rama X regarding the relocation of the shrine but they have yet to receive a response.
Notice of Eviction
The students and caretakers confirm to Thai Enquirer that the eviction notice was given at the end of 2019. It was supposed to happen earlier in 2020 but because of the outbreak of COVID-19, the eviction and removal of the shrine were moved to June 15 and June 16, respectively.
Wanpen tells Thai Enquirer that due to the protest, the removal of the shrine will be extended and there should be future negotiations.
Protesters say that they will oppose any unilateral attempt to move the shrine without first consulting the protesters.
The protesters also dispute the notion put forward by the management office that no one visits the shrine anymore.
“To claim that people do not come to visit the shrine is incorrect. If you look only at the regular days, of course, there will be a low number of people coming here,” said Amporntep, a graduate student from Chulalongkorn University, who has been visiting the shrine even before he enrolled at the university.
“The turn-out rate during large festivals are in the hundreds and it’s always a full house when there is a Chinese soap opera performing. This shows that there is still a connection between the community that once lived here and the shrine,” he added.
The students also told Thai Enquirer that there were trees planted around the shrine by the Property Management Office. This was allegedly done to limit the space of the shrine.
“I have been coming to this shrine since I was a child. You can evict the people that live around here, but you cannot remove this shrine!” said Nawarat Saetung and her mother Siemngeng Saetung, who is 91.
Fears for marginalized cultures
There are also fears among the students that the shrine is being removed because it is worshipped by a cultural minority and the historical significance behind the architecture and ceremonial aspects will not be respected.
“There is actually a lot of history within the shrine that if it were to be removed, it would be very difficult to transfer its history into the new building, such as the murals and carvings that are inside of the shrine,” said Puttipong, a graduate from Chulalongkorn University.
“We understand that by law the Property Management Office has the right to remove the shrine, but if you look at it realistically, people still come here to worship,” said Puttipong.
“We are concerned that the shrine is simply being removed because it is not popular. Imagine if this was a Buddhist temple, would it be as easily removed?” he added.
Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, a prominent student activist, also told Thai Enquirer that there have been issues with the relocation of other shrines.
“If you look at all of the shrines that the university has relocated, you will see that it has lost all of its liveliness. Even during [large] festivals, they are closed. It really destroys people’s way of life without considering the cultural dimension of it.”
