Thai kids peace wish for Children's Day
Bangkok Post: 8 Jan 2011
Peace tops wish list for troubled nation's kidsThis year's Children's Day sees the nation's youngsters wishing for peace to return to a society riven by rivalries.
The wishes have been expressed by children from all corners of the country.
Nisakorn Simai, a sixth grader at Uttaradit Kindergarten School in Uttaradit's Muang district, said she did not wish for much except for the return of peace and unity to Thailand after a long period of political turbulence.
She said there appeared to be an end in sight to the ``politics of colour'' that has been tearing the country apart.
``I don't think children should learn from the adults who have done some bad things and caused conflict in the country,'' said the 11-year-old. ``Children could copy their behaviour.''
She said news on television, the internet and in newspapers had overwhelmed her as she saw disputes among political parties and between people in different provinces.
``I beg the adults to stop damaging the country,'' she said.
Such concerns are shared by a number of visually impaired schoolchildren in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Though pupils at the Nakhon Ratchasima School for the Blind in Muang district complained of a lack of learning equipment _ particularly Braille books _ and want more aid from the government, they also urged the nation's adults to stop quarrelling.
A third grader, Kosol Petprakob, 12, made a passionate plea to adults to put their hostilities behind them.
In the lower South, many children who have lost parents in the ongoing insurgent violence want nothing more than a peaceful society.
These children have struggled to come to terms with their grief.
They said they did not want to see other children orphaned, according to Wankanok Por-itaedao, director of the Yala-based social welfare advocacy group Luk Riang.
The only Children's Day gift these children are requesting is for the southern situation to get better, Ms Wankanok said.
Meanwhile, a group of United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) supporters will hold the red shirts' version of a Children Day's celebration in Bangkok today as a counterpoint to the military-hosted activities which they say will engender violence and authoritarianism in young minds.
The red shirt activities aim to introduce a ``proper way of learning'' to Thai children, according to a UDD statement.
It is held under the theme ``Thai kids love democracy. We don't play with soldiers. We are against dictatorship''.
State-organised activities on Children's Day are associated with weapons and military force, which could plant the seed of violence and authoritarianism in young people, the UDD said.
The red shirts' Children's Day event, which includes a motto contest and a public forum, will be held at the Oct 14 monument at Khok Wua intersection from 9am onward.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/215012/peace-tops-wish-list-for-troubled-nation-kids
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