No colour rifts at ground level,say volunteers
Volunteers helping out with the flood-relief efforts say that at the ground level political differences is not something they think about, though some are urging the government to try and mend the rift by forming a committee that includes well-known faces
“We should talk and, if possible, a committee involving both state and civic sectors could help,” Pichate Yingkiattikun, a volunteer and project manager at Siam Intelligence Unit, said.
The suggestion came after ThaiFlood, a prominent civic network, pulled out of the relief operations during the weekend. The reasons cited were the attempts made to censor the network’s reports and the Flood Relief Operations Centre’s unwillingness to share vital information.
Pichate also said that the relief-and-rescue effort should not be swayed by the media’s short attention span, adding that with the media concentrating on Pathum Thani province now, Ayutthaya and other affected provinces were being ignored. He suggested that perhaps there should be a clear division of labour as to which volunteer group should be responsible for which province, and this decision could be made by a “multi-colour” committee.
Panya Suarkumjorng, a red-shirt volunteer, said it might be a good idea if the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship Volunteers banners were taken down in order to reduce the political tension. He said the rift was real, but volunteers on the ground were not really paying attention to it.
Two yellow-shirt volunteers helping out at Don Mueang Airport, where FROC is based, told The Nation that they had encountered no problems.
“I just rode on a truck full of red shirts and there was nothing,” Buri Ram native Ladarat Thorpoon, who was sporting a yellow blouse with black polka dots, said.
“No problem,” Chiang Mai native Kanisorn Nitisuphanan, also in yellow, said.
