SONGKRAN MUST NOT BE politicised by anyone
NEW YEAR FESTIVAL OF UNITY AND HARMONY SHOULD BE KEPT AS IT IS
The government is overreacting but the distribution of “red bowls” for people to use during the upcoming Songkran is also uncalled for. Both camps are bringing politics to a local festival that is characteristic of Thai harmony and represents a solid link between rural people and those in the cities. The political strife has made just about anything – events, occasions, lifestyles, individual behaviour, court verdicts, etc – a divisive issue, and the last thing we need is for Songkran to be dragged through the same ugly process.
Songkran should be the time for people to have fun, re-visit their roots and remember what a nicely-blended society we used to have. For decades, Songkran had been celebrated without politics. It allowed people to forget their political leanings at least for a while and have good times or reunions with those whom they may not agree with ideologically.
It’s more than just a festival where people splash water on one another; it’s a period symbolic of the good side of “Thai-ness”, which features being carefree and harmonious.
Why are Bangkok’s streets empty during Songkran? Partly, it’s because many Bangkokians take their vacations upcountry. But more significantly, it’s because labourers based in Bangkok, business executives or high-flying professionals want to visit family members or relatives in rural areas. Metropolitan Thais and rural folks are not as distant as political activists, here and elsewhere, try to make out. Pick out anyone among the movie stars, business hot shots, high-ranking bureaucrats, politicians or even media moguls and chances are that he or she has a strong rural root.
Bad politics has blurred this reality. Somehow, powerful and rich politi
cians who don’t like one another have managed to sow seeds of hatred and mistrust among Thai people. Somehow, what were once unbreakable bonds between rural and city people have looked fragile due to the high-level showdown.
To say that Songkran is the last line of defence may be over-stating it, but those responsible for the Thai political divide must spare Songkran. There have not been many things we can hold onto nowadays as a common symbol of unity that is free from politics. People who have been trying to politicise Songkran should hang their heads in shame, because they are not only trying to chip away at the festival’s unifying characteristic, but also making a lot of “innocent red bowl users” awkward.
Like all other colours, red is common for plastic bowls. “Colours” have caused a lot of damage politically, but they must do nothing more than add to the celebratory mood as far as Songkran is concerned. The festival is for harmony, not division.
We can criticise the authorities for being overly sensitive, or we can question the motive of handing out red bowls for Songkran revellers to use. It doesn’t matter what the “message” written on the bowls is, because words are least relevant under current circumstances. And in politics, even the most beautifully written words could stem from ill intentions.
The point is we all want Songkran to be celebrated the way it used to be. We don’t want anyone, least of all the politicians, to tell us how the festival should feel like or be like. When Thais go out of their homes, carrying water guns, bowls and other water containers, everything else is left behind. This is the way things were and should continue to be.
