Thai laborers who held captives in Hamas returned to joyful families in Bangkok
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| Thai laborers who held captives in Hamas returned to joyful families in Bangkok |
After being held captive by Hamas for over 50 days, seventeen Thai captives who were let free have returned to Bangkok.
Their release is not related to the deal that has seen the release of seventy Israeli women and children by Hamas so far.
Now that the truce has been extended, there is renewed optimism that the nine Thai hostages who are still held captive would be freed.
Thai people made up the majority of the abducted foreign laborers. Approximately thirty thousand of them work as agricultural laborers in Israel, making it one of the major immigrant groups.
Among the 1,200 individuals murdered by Hamas in its strikes on Israel on October 7 were twenty-nine Thai citizens.
After being freed two days ago, six Thai captives are still in Israel awaiting medical testing. However, Thai Foreign Minister Paranpri Bahidha-Nukara is returning home in addition to the others who were set free.
On Thursday night, they landed at Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok, where some of their relatives are looking forward to their homecoming.
At midnight, Chanapa and Sirirat Bupasiri departed from their village to make it to Bangkok in time for their brother Buddi Sengbun's arrival.
Chanapa told the BBC that they were waiting outside Bangkok International Airport and that they couldn't sleep. When she saw Buddy on the news after his release last week, she claimed to have concluded he was safe.
"We had no idea what had become of my brother. We made every effort: we reached out to Facebook groups, the hiring department, and families who were aware of their loved ones but unaware of us."
She grinned through tears when asked what she would do when she was eventually reunited with her brother. "A hearty hug. Tears and hugs," she said. "Fourteen days and a month. Every day, we are counting down."
Following a short news conference, the employees will return home to field questions from the media. The majority of them are from northeastern Thailand, an impoverished, rice-growing area where many people of working age have relocated in quest of better prospects.
Families unable to finance the lengthy trip or elderly parents unable to go to Bangkok are eager to be back home.
"I'm overjoyed." The only other Thai woman held captive by Hamas is Bunyarin Srichan, whose daughter Nattavari "Yo" Mulka is one of the reasons she is eager for her return.
They'll celebrate with "the best sticky rice we've got" and fried pork with garlic, she adds. In addition, she intends to host a little homecoming ritual, which is customarily observed by Thai people as a means of resurrecting a soul that was imprisoned after a painful event.
Yo was abducted together with her lover, whom she met while working in Israel, and they were both released.
"I thought he was dead," exults the Thai captive upon his liberation from the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The guardian of Yo's two kids, Bunyarin, said that prior to her kidnapping on October 7, her daughter had sent or received three texts every day. Additionally, she gave her mother 25,000 Thai baht ($715; £560) each month, which is half of her pay.
In order to maintain their families and pay off debts, many laborers take out loans to go to Israel and transfer their savings home. Natthaporn Onkaev, 27, is the family's only provider; he was freed on Saturday.
He has been working in Israel for the last two years, and each month he sends home between $800 and $1,000 (£630 and £800).
"My son's return brings me great joy," Thavachai Onkau, his father, said to BBC Thai. Ever since he was discharged from the hospital, she said her kid has called home every day.
To celebrate his return, the family is throwing him a party and making his favorite meal, raw beef salad.
According to Mr. Thavachai, his son is "still very scared" and has no intention of going back to work in Israel.
Since the assaults on October 7, almost 8,500 Thai citizens have been returned home. However, the BBC is aware that some individuals could have returned to Israel as a result of unemployment and debt.
Numerous people have already spoken to BBC Thai about their horrible working circumstances in Israel, which included little pay, filthy living quarters, and excessive workloads.
According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, since October 7, Israeli reprisal bombardments have claimed the lives of almost 14,500 civilians.
However, Hamas has released 102 of the 240 hostages held in Israeli prisons in return for 210 Palestinian inmates, many of whom are women and minors, as part of a negotiated truce that has already lasted six days.
The cease-fire has been prolonged by at least one day; it was originally scheduled to finish on Thursday.
Narisara Chanthasang now has optimism since her husband, Nattapong Pinta, is still a captive held by Hamas.
"When I found out he weren't properly freed yet, I felt as if my heart was being squeezed," he said. "When he gets back, I'll definitely head to the airport." I won't let anybody stop me.
