Nuson’s widow flees Yala bloodshed
The devastated widow of an awning installer whose pickup truck was stolen to make a car bomb at the Big C Supercenter in Pattani’s Muang district has decided to leave Yala with her family.
Sawitri Khachornkham struggled to control her grief yesterday at the funeral of her husband, Nuson, in Yala municipality after his body was retrieved days after his disappearance.
Too fragile to face the violence any longer, she no longer wants to live in Yala, her home which, along with Pattani and Narathiwat, has become one of the most ins urgency-prone provinces.
She cited safety as the reason for leaving, though, “I still have no idea where to go,” said Ms Sawitri, who works as a nurse in the province. As the insurgency in the Muslimdominated provinces continues unabated, she said she does not feel safe, even during daylight hours.
Her two children and parents she takes care of are all she has to encourage herself to fight on after the loss of the family breadwinner.
Ms Sawitri said she could not understand how such a murder occurred to her husband who she said was goodnatured and worked hard to help support the family of six.
The widow said she wondered “what their [insurgents’] minds are made of and whether they’ve ever loved people”.
Fourth Army chief Piyawat Nakwanich joined Ms Sawitir’s family for Nuson’s bathing rites and offered moral and financial support.