Pongsak, who left his tribal Buriram state five years ago in search of better opportunities, did just that.
His quest brought him to Israel, where he often livestreamed on Facebook his work picking produce, with Thai rock songs blowing in the background.
But on Oct 7, 2023, instead of posting on social media, he called his parents.
When we first visited him in October of last year, on the first anniversary of the invasion, Wilas told CNA that his brother had picture called to inform me that there was a battle in progress and that there were bombings and firings.
” He was shouting,’ Hide, cover, cover from the weapon initially. There are more forthcoming. We may hide earliest.’ During the video phone on October 7 he was saying something like that for about 10 minutes.
” After that, the message was cut.”
THAI VICTIMS OF OCT 7 Strike
The cross-border invasion killed 41 Thais, in one of the deadliest time for Thais worldwide in recent history.
Pongsak was one of 32 Thais who were taken to Gaza and taken by insurgents. He was one of six Thai captives who remained in prison for 15 weeks, despite the release of the majority of the Thai hostages.
The hostages and casualties in Thailand are “oublied victims” of the Hamas assault, according to a top diplomat.
Behind the scenes, efforts to secure their transfer continued slowly.