by Ben O'Hara-Byrne
It's strange how every once in a while an image pops up in front of you that perfectly explains the story you're trying to cover.
Photo by Barry Acton, Global National
That was the case with this remarkable shot of a young boy and his colourful water gun surrounded by Thai soldiers as they waited to move on protestors not far from Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday.
When I landed in the Thai capital Monday night, I expected to find a city under siege. A state of emergency had been declared and authorities had been engaged in running street battles with red-shirted protestors throughout the day. I'd watched images of burning buses, soldiers firing their weapons, people hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails. I expected the worst.
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Not quite.
On our way in from the airport, we were told an entire area of Bangkok, not far away from the protests, was also filled with people toting guns…water guns.
It turns out we'd also arrived for the beginning of Songkran Festivak (Thai New Year) and thousands of people were also out on the streets running riot, honouring a Thai tradition of ushering in the new year with a massive water fight.
So while the Thai goverment hung on for dear life and violence raged in one part of the city, people elsewhere were chasing each other around with Super Soakers and buckets.
A strange contrast for sure, but a very fitting one I would discover.
The protests this past week did indeed reflect deep and difficult-to-solve social and political divisions in Thai society. A chasm that exists between poor and not-so-poor, rural and urban, red shirts and yellow shirts, between those who feel the system works against them and those who built and defend that very system.
They are problems that continue to damage the Thai economy, its tourism industry and international confidence in the country. People are losing their jobs, and this week, others lost their lives. It's no small matter.
But I would also learn that inside Thailand, many stare down these bursts of chaos by carrying on with the things in life worth celebrating.
Some of the tension you would have expected in Bangkok this week just wasn't there. The fact the water fight continued as images of real violence – taking place a short distance away – were seen around the world surprised no one I spoke to.
I was trying to figure out how to explain that contrast properly when I caught sight of the small boy and his rainbow-coloured water gun sitting on the sidewalk, not more than a few hundred yards from burning buses and angry crowds, taking it all in.
Photo by Barry Acton, Global National
He said it all for me.
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A big thanks to cameraman Barry Acton for capturing the images and all his hard work in sweltering conditions and to our emergency fixer Melissa Stewart for getting us to the right spot in the first place.
Ben is Global National's Asia correspondent.
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