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Thai paints bunker murals to find ‘peace amid chaos’
The Straits Times
|December 14, 2025
On the grey walls of a rural Thai school’s concrete bunkers, a man calmly paints colourful scenes of helicopters, tanks, fluttering national flags and soldiers carrying the wounded.
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“Peace amid chaos — not everyone can feel this way,’ said Mr Watthanachai Kamngam, a 38-year-old music teacher whose vibrant murals were inspired by the harsh reality around him.
Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in fierce military conflict this week at their 800km-long border, stemming from a decades-long territorial dispute over ancient temples.
The renewed fighting has displaced around half a million people on both sides and killed at least 20 - with hundreds seeking shelter in concrete bunkers from continuous explosions.
The boom of artillery often echoes loudly enough to shake the windows of empty classrooms of the school just 5km from the frontier.
Dit verhaal komt uit de December 14, 2025-editie van The Straits Times.
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