Human Rights
I am a Thai storyteller with nine years of working experience at Thai and international news agencies, including BBC Thai and Agence France-Presse (AFP), as well as international NGOs. As a multimedia journalist, I have covered breaking news, politics, human rights, and development issues in Southeast Asia. In 2020, I began working with international NGOs and human rights groups on communication-related work and conducting research at the intersections of digital media and social change. I am now a Communications Associate at Fortify Rights.
Human Rights
Recent legislative developments have raised hopes, but the Thai government could still sink the LGBTQ dream of equal rights.
(BANGKOK, August 2, 2022)-Since the February 1, 2021 coup d'état and the Myanmar military's subsequent violent crackdown, anti-junta protesters continue to flee to the Myanmar-Thailand border to escape arbitrary arrest and other reprisals for their activities. Members of the LGBTI+ community are among the many displaced now living in uncertainty.
(BANGKOK, April 5, 2022)-"My people aren't recognized by former governments or the junta," 31-year-old Mayyu Ali said. "They accused us of being illegals, terrorists, and Bengalis. Writing our own stories and telling what we have been through in the color of our own words is an act of revolution."
Dead dissidents dumped in a river, activists knotted up by the courts, and Big Brother-style internet laws -- critics of Thailand's junta fear this week's election is poised to sharpen the dangers faced by those who disagree.
Bangkok (AFP) - "A country killing the people... doesn't give a damn about its children," spits 17-year-old Elevenfinger, one of a legion of acerbic young rappers ripping into Thailand's politics, dire education system and calcifying social mores. Thailand's hip-hop scene used to be anodyne, imitating the swagger -- and profanity -- of its American forefather but not the socially-charged lyrics.
Nakhon Pathom (Thailand) (AFP) - Tears flow freely as Chumpol Thummai stands in front of the rusty gate where his brother was lynched by royalists 41 years ago, an act that set off a chain of events that ended in a student massacre.
Multimedia
In 2019, Thailand's military-backed Palang Pracharath Party won a disputed general election and elevated a former general to prime minister. Anti-government protests began in July 2020, after a Covid-19 lockdown ended. Most of the protests have been peaceful, but one intersection in Bangkok has seen nightly clashes between young protesters and police. With no compromise in sight, the situation could become even more dangerous.
FOOTPRINTS documents and visualizes reported cases of arbitrary detention, abduction and enforced disappearance in and by North Korea with the hope of seeking redress and justice for the victims and their families. Hear the voices of their family members in this video clip.
Sumanee Gunakasem has spent her life at the top of Thai society. Known as Thailand's "billionaire Barbie," the 83-year-old still maintains an active social life, attending galas, parties and other events. But behind the glitz and glamour, Sumanee struggles with loneliness and struggles to adjust to life in her golden years.
Ninety-seven kilometres of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and complete control of the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea.
Tears flow freely as Chumpol Thummai stands in front of the rusty gate where his brother was lynched by royalists 41 years ago, an act that set off a chain of events that ended in a student massacre.
At a hip Bangkok diner, foodies with an adventurous palate tuck into a bug-based menu that includes watermelon salad sprinkled in bamboo worms, nachos with silkworm cherry tomato salsa and pasta made from ground crickets.
Breaking News
To the boom of cannons, pipes and chants, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was crowned Saturday in a ceremony governed by centuries-old rituals, vowing a righteous reign and calling for "national security" and "happiness" in a remarkable display of royal power. King Vajiralongkorn is the tenth monarch of the Chakri dynasty, which has reigned over the kingdom since 1782.
Thai Princess Ubolratana was on Monday formally disqualified for running for prime minister, ending her brief and ill-fated political union with a party allied to the powerful Shinawatra clan, just days after a stern royal command rebuking her candidacy was issued by her brother, the king.
Twelve boys and their football coach trapped in a flooded Thai cave for nine days were found alive late Monday after a painstaking search by specialist divers who finally discovered the emaciated group on a mud embankment.
Thailand bade farewell to late King Bhumibol Adulyadej Thursday in an elaborate, ritual-soaked funeral in Bangkok's historic quarter that gripped a nation mourning the loss of its chief unifying figure. Pipers, drummers and soldiers in a dazzling array of costumes joined Buddhist monks, Brahmin priests and the new King Maha Vajiralongkorn as the procession made its way to the glittering funeral pyre.
The billionaire frontman of Thailand's anti-military bloc was stripped of his MP status on Wednesday over a media shareholding case, a court ruling that could lead to him being banned from politics and jailed for up to 10 years.
The young Saudi woman who fled her family seeking asylum abroad is scheduled to land in Canada on Saturday after successfully harnessing the power of Twitter to stave off deportation from Thailand. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun, 18, was already en route to Toronto late Friday when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada would take her in.
Social Issues
Ninety-seven kilometres of rocks in Thai waters stand between Beijing and dominance over the Mekong, a mighty river that feeds millions as it threads south from the Tibetan plateau through five countries before emptying into the South China Sea.
Skipping school to glide through a dirty Bangkok canal on a paddleboard, Lilly fishes out rubbish in her mission to clean up Thailand, where the average person uses eight plastic bags every single day. The US-Thai youngster started campaigning at the age of eight after a seaside vacation in southern Thailand where she was horrified by a beach covered in rubbish.
Smiling broadly, Tanwarin triumphantly cast her vote for prime minister as the first transgender MPs enter parliament in Thailand, where tolerance for the LGBT community is not matched by understanding or opportunity in public life.
While the Southeast Asian nation has 50 billionaires – ninth in global rankings – 14.5 million people live on welfare, making wealth a hot election issue this year.
Aged 98 Sawang Janpram cruised to victory in the 100-metre sprint, came first in the discus and set a record in the javelin -- the undisputed star of Thailand's first national Elderly Games held this week.
Bugs are creeping onto Thai gourmet salad, nachos and pasta.
Digital Videos
I produced and edit this mini-documentary film with Black Squirrel Productions about the life of Thailand's "billionaire Barbie". The video was published on SCMP and received more than 10 million views on Facebook.
Thai scientist Nattapong Nithi-Uthai set up a social enterprise, turning marine waste in Thailand's south into a profitable flip-flop brand.
Thai historian Tanet Aphornsuvan discusses the events leading to and successes of the Thai student movement in 1973.
Thai artist and model "Riety" turned heads with her new exhibition. She painted portraits of Thai women using their blood as ink to criticize gender inequality in a largely patriarchal Thailand.
Gunshots are heard coming from the Terminal 21 mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, where a thai solider who killed 20 people in a shooting spree remains holed up with an unknown number of people feared trapped inside, despite repeated attempts by armed police to flush the gunman out. IMAGES
Research Projects
New research from young journalists in analyzes the coal and clean energy media narratives that are shaping national energy debates in Southeast Asia.
Communication Outreach
A glimpse into one day in the lives of six women from India, Nepal and Pakistan, showing what it is like to work as a Community Health Worker.
User guide video for FOOTPRINTS database, a joint civil society project to document and publish information concerning reported cases of arbitrary detention, abduction and enforced disappearances committed in and by North Korea, including information on the victims, perpetrators, proceedings to seek redress.
북한내에서 벌어지거나 북한이 저지른 것으로 알려진 자의적 구금, 납치, 강제실종 사건들의 피해자, 가해자, 구제절차 관련 정보를 기록하고 공개하기 위한 시민사회의 공동 프로젝트인 FOOTPRINTS의 사용자 가이드 비디오입니다. 종합 온라인 데이터베이스인 FOOTPRINTS는 관련 인권문서와 북한자료 정보도 제공합니다. 공개되고, 접근 가능하며 검색이 쉬운 온라인 데이터베이스인 FOOTPRINTS는 사용자들에게 사건들의 관계 정보와 지리공간 정보도 제공합니다.
My user guide video was featured on VOA News.
I provided consultation for the improvement of the NKFOOTPRINTS.INFO website.
Public Speaking
I joined a talk on the Myanmar Coup on Arirang TV, sharing my perspectives on military coups and the role of the international community to address the current crisis.
I discussed the history of comfort women in Thailand and distorted history lessons in Asia.
I shared my thoughts on the social and technological aspects that helped fuel Generation Z's activism