Thai mother danced with joy after daughter released from Gaza
By Napat Wesshasartar
BANGKOK SAMRAN, (Reuters) – When Natthawaree Mulkan’s mother saw that her daughter was among the Thai hostages released by Hamas, she was so happy she danced with her 8-year-old granddaughter outside their home in northeastern Thailand.
“I was elated … I came out and danced,” Bunyarin Srijan, 56, said pointing to her patio.
Natthawaree, a mother of two, was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of a seven-week-old war that started with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel.
READ MORE : Hamas delays hostage release, demands aid to northern Gaza
She was the only Thai female abducted.
Her mother lost touch with her after the attack and then stopped following reports, dreading bad news.
“During that hopeless period I didn’t watch the news for half a month,” Bunyarin recounts alone in her living room.
“I was afraid of seeing my daughter lying dead.”
Some 30,000 Thai labourers, mainly from the country’s impoverished northeast, work in the Israeli agriculture sector, one of its largest groups of migrant workers.
Natthawaree is seen in a photograph from the Thai foreign ministry in a clinic, smiling with her hands clasped in a traditional ‘wai.’
Bunyarin said her daughter had planned to marry her boyfriend, Boonthom Phankhong, who was also abducted by Hamas and released on Friday.
“After she’s back, I’m going to take her to the temple to observe religious rites,” she said, wiping away tears.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on Saturday that the government was still trying to secure the release of 20 Thai citizens who remain captive.
The Prime Minister of Thailand tweets today and shared some pictures of hostage that free from hamas,
ผมรู้สึกดีใจเป็นอย่างยิ่งที่ได้ทราบข่าวการยืนยันการปล่อยตัวประกันของพี่น้องแรงงานไทยทั้ง 10 ราย ที่ปัจจุบันรักษาตัวอยู่ที่โรงพยาบาล Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) ในอิสราเอล ภายใต้การดูแลประสานงานของกระทรวงต่างประเทศอย่างใกล้ชิดครับ… pic.twitter.com/lrVyHsObM8
— Srettha Thavisin (@Thavisin) November 25, 2023
“I am very happy to hear the news confirming the release of the 10 Thai worker hostages who are currently being treated at Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Israel under the coordinated supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
I would like to praise and thank the mediation efforts of all parties involved. We also welcome the agreement to a temporary ceasefire for 4 days so that humanitarian aid can be delivered to those in need in the Gaza Strip at the first opportunity. We reiterate and call upon it again. Please continue to release innocent Thai hostages as soon as possible.
