Prapavee ‘Bamee’ Hemata
Creator of #Gu-Ja-Perd-Mueng-Ja-Tummai (I’ll open. Whatcha gonna do about it?)
How did it begin?
I was on Facebook reading the latest restrictive measures imposed by CCSA that was announced at the last minute in the middle of the night on June 27. I could barely sleep that night. I calmed myself down by venting my rage on Facebook with the hashtag #GuJa-Perd-Mueng-Ja-Tummai (which roughly translates to ‘I’ll open. Whatcha gonna do about it?’). Actually, it is just one of my regular statuses about how messed up the restrictions are, but it gathered steam. I decided to gather allies who are at a tipping point and ready to challenge the new order, to show the power of people through civil disobedience.
What do you want from the government?
We don’t care about the compensation or ridiculous measures anymore because we talked about this over and over since the day they shut us down. The compensation and opportunities to reopen that they promised were just lip service. We obeyed their instructions for a year and nothing good has come of it. The only thing we want right now is to let reopen for business.
We have seen many venues sneakily selling alcoholic beverages. And, of course, the police have turned a blind eye when a bribe is paid. This shows the contradiction of Thai society, where people suffer from following the rules, while the others who break them survive when money changes hands.
What’s your next step?
We just launched a civil disobedience campaign dubbed ‘Kuen-Klang-Kuen’ (Returns the Nightlife) by organising an unplugged concert at Junk House Music Bar. The firstweek gig will be hosted by Ammy The Bottom Blues and is limited to 30 seats per session. We encourage restaurants and bars to challenge the new restrictions by operating the venue with limited seating while following the safety measures in place. Our campaign is inspired by the flash mob model, where the next concert or activity will take place at different locations and times at our ally venues. The goal is to back-up those businesses and people while showing the government that we don’t give a damn about them.