The young girl was known as Plai Fon. It signifies the joyous “end of the rainy season” in Thai.
The happiness that the chubby-cheeked 4-year-old had represented for her beloved family was abruptly shattered in a single horrifying outburst of violence. It has been replaced with an indescribable anguish over what occurred to Plai Fon during the massacre that started at her Thai daycare centre and left 36 people dead, in addition to the murderer.
Her 28-year-old mother, Tukta Wongsila, described her daughter’s typical daily ritual: “When she woke up, she would say, ‘I love you, mommy and daddy and brother.'” Tukta quickly lost air due to her sorrow over the memories.
At least 24 children, mostly toddlers, were hurt in a gun and knife attack on Thursday (local time) in northeast Thailand.
Their anguished families waited for their children’s bodies to be freed for hours outside an administrative office close to the daycare centre the day after their brief lives were cut short.
In order to process compensation applications and arrange meetings with the prime minister, authorities had instructed the relatives to congregate at the office. Tukta, though, was unconcerned with formalities or forms. She merely desired her young daughter.
She sobbed, tears streaming from her red eyes. “I want to get my kid back so I may hold a ceremony as soon as I can,” she said. “I don’t want this insurance money at all. Just so she may be here for the funeral, please.
Near the Laos border, in one of the country’s poorest districts, is the remote town of Uthai Sawan, where Tukta and her family call home. They have long struggled to pay their bills, just like many locals.
During the rice harvest, Tukta and her husband labour on the family’s rice farm, making, with any luck, about NZ$4,632 (US$2,600) every year. On their spare days, they work odd jobs to supplement their income. The mother-in-law and invalid father-in-law of Tukta reside in the home with the couple and their kids. Because they had to take care of their small children and elderly parents, they were unable to relocate to a bigger city in search of better jobs.
The older of Tukta’s two children, Plai Fon, also known as Siriprapa Prasertsuk, was three years older than her younger brother. She had thin, black hair, full cheeks that drew up into a bright smile, and black hair. Her grandmother Bandal Pornsora, 62, already missed the smile.
Bandal remarked, “She was such a good girl. What a nice girl.
“On Thursday, Plai Fon visited the Young Children’s Development Center, which has bright paintings of butterflies and flowers on the walls. The kids had been curled up on mats and blankets having their afternoon naps when a fired police officer came in and started shooting and stabbing them.
On Friday, Tukta found herself thinking about the horror Plai Fon must have encountered in her final moments as she awaited the arrival of her daughter’s body.
She said, “I want to see my daughter, to see how she looked. I’m not sure how much suffering he caused her. She must have felt the anguish even though she was sleeping. I’m not sure what killed her. All I want to do is see her face.
Hours later, when family members of the deceased had assembled to accept the remains, she would finally do so.
Families who left the temple described seeing their kids with severe wounds. Many screamed. Some people passed out.
With her husband and mother-in-law on her side, Tukta entered the temple. When they emerged again, Tukta’s husband passed unconscious. He was brought to a medical facility.
Tukta cried out and flung herself into her father’s arms. She claimed that Plai Fon’s eyes had been wide open.
On the grassy area behind the temple, the couple hugged one other in an effort to soothe one another.
Tukta held tight to a framed photograph of Plai Fon making a mark with a yellow marker and gazing into the lens.
As she leaned towards her father and they both wiped away tears, the young mother’s fingers fumbled on the frame’s edge.
Plai Fon would always say, “I want to sleep with mama,” before going to sleep, according to Tukta.
Tukta sobbed at the thought.
She said, “These are the phrases I hear every night.”
However, I didn’t hear those words last night.
A 4-year-old Thai daycare victim wept, “I love you, mama.”
About Author
