We managed to spend a few minutes at the Rajprasong intersection this afternoon, talking to red shirt protesters gathered for the one year commemoration of the deaths of 91 people, mostly red shirt protesters, during the Thai government crackdown last year.
As always, the atmosphere at the red shirt commemoration, even though serious, was still friendly and welcoming. We lost count of the number of people who asked us why we were there and if we liked Abhisit or Thaksin.
We bought food and iced drinks, a coffee mug proclaiming “I am Red” and, of course, the pre-requisite red shirt.
As of this writing, government observers say more than 10,000 red shirt protesters are now at Rajprasong listening to leaders speak (although it looks like a lot more to us) and commemorating the needless deaths of so many people last year.
The saddest thing there was to see the people sitting behind or beside large photographs of their children, mostly young, who were part of the group of 91 people who lost their lives. Couldn’t tell if this kind of gathering is cathartic for them or upsetting as, this time, just a year ago, their child was still alive. This year, there they sit, in some cases just feet from where their child died.