Thai mother describes ‘indescribable sadness’ as Hamas holds her daughter captive
In the farmlands of Khon Kaen, the sun is beaming. But Boonyarin Srichan says she feels she’s been left in the dark, desperate to hear more information about her daughter who is being held hostage thousands of miles away in Gaza.
Nutthawaree “Yo” Munkan is 35 years old and she’s one of the dozens of Thai farm workers who were kidnapped in the assault by Hamas on 7 October.
Thai people make up the largest group of foreign nationals working in Israel, mostly employed doing unskilled labour on the country’s farms.
Yo’s mother Boonyarin says Thai hostages like her daughter are being forgotten about, caught up in a war they have no part in.
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“I want the authorities to give me more updates and information. Everything is so uncertain. Nothing is coming from them,” she says.
“We were told to wait for so long. But this is long enough. We’ve been waiting too long.”
At least 39 Thai citizens were killed and at least 26 are being held hostage.
That’s the second largest group of victims after Israelis.
Many left their homes to escape poverty and to try to raise money for their families. But on 7 October, many were on the frontline of the assault by Hamas, trying to hide near the fields where they worked.
Yo’s mother was sent a video she believes shows Yo cowering in a truck.
She said a friend of Yo’s who survived told her: “There were four Hamas militants shooting and Yo got scared and cried out so Hamas knew they were there and Yo and her boyfriend were taken away.”
Mother’s last message to daughter
Boonyarin says her sadness is “indescribable” as she looks at the last message she sent to Yo.
It’s a picture of Yo’s 8-year-old daughter whom Boonyarin has been caring for in Thailand as her mother worked.
Boonyarin believes Yo is being held in a tunnel and may be unwell, but she’s convinced she’s still alive.
She has had no confirmation of that, but recently a negotiator for the Thai government said they’ve been assured all Thai hostages in Gaza are safe and will be released soon.
Thai officials have met with the Qataris, Egyptians and Iranians to try to broker a release deal.
So far, we know it is Israelis who will be prioritised – women and children.
Some of the families of the hostages in Thailand say bureaucracy and diplomacy have prevented them from getting the information they need about their loved ones.
The reality is that negotiations are extremely delicate and can very quickly be derailed – the government keen not to give a running commentary that could compromise talks.
Boonyarin is hopeful the new hostage deal means her daughter is inching closer to coming home.
So far, there are sadly no concrete guarantees.