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Schools are a major battleground in southern Thailand
Schools in southern Thailand have become a battlefield, as reflected in the number of teachers being attacked by Rungrawee Chalermsripinyorat, Southeast Asia analyst at International Crisis Group, said, "Teachers are at the centre of an ideological contest. Schools have become an ideological battlefield. Teachers in state schools are viewed as government agents who indoctrinate [students with] Thai nationalism. The attacks [on teachers and schools] are symbolic attacks on the state. This explains why teachers are being targeted." Boonsom Thongsrirai, president of the Confederation of School Teachers in the Three Southernmost Provinces said that virtually all of the 27,000 teachers at 1,305 schools in those provinces carry handguns and are escorted by police and soldiers to and from school. Boonsom, who carries a .38-caliber handgun, said teachers need to remain vigilant at all times. A native of Pattani, he said he agreed with Rungrawee's view but added that teachers were seen as easy targets because they were spread out and not properly trained to fight back. Every time a He said that some Thai-Malay Muslim parents do not trust government schoolteachers, and that officials could do more to provide security for teachers. Rungrawee said a lot of money had been spent on providing security and that it was hard to expect greater efforts in that area. As for how schools can be viewed as less of an agent for nationalist indoctrination, Rungrawee said that although the government has introduced bilingual lessons, it may be too little too late. With attacks continuing and Buddhist families leaving the region, Thai-Malay Muslim students are becoming increasingly isolated and lack the socialisation skills needed to live with people of other faiths or ethnicities. Rungrawee said, "This is worrying." Boonsom said teachers are preoccupied with security issues, as they try to tackle the twin tasks of winning the hearts and minds of Thai-Malay Muslims while keeping themselves alive. Posted by: ryuge 2012-01-29 |
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