‘THAILAND, GO HOME’
Their new room was more spacious. They had plastic sheets to sleep on. Three bulbs lit the space. An alcove served as their toilet.
The beatings stopped. The food improved to include nuts, butter and, later, rice.
Still using meals to measure time, Anucha left scratches on the floor to mark the number of days in captivity.
That changed when a guard brought in some papers for them to sign. He, like the other guards, only spoke Arabic. The Israelis interpreted for Anucha, who said he speaks rudimentary Hebrew.
But the guard left behind a white ballpoint pen. They used it to mark time, draw tattoos and sketch a chessboard on the plastic sheet. Chess pieces were crafted out of a pink-and-green toothpaste box.
Another distraction was the talk of food. Anucha craved soi ju, a Thai delicacy of pieces of raw beef dipped in spicy sauce, that he dreamt and spoke of.
“Food was a source of hope,” he said, smiling.
Weeks passed. Anucha had no inkling of the Israeli raids and bombings aboveground. He often thought of home, his father, his seven-year-old daughter and his partner of 14 years.
On day 35, a man dressed in black arrived for a brief inspection. From his demeanour and the respectful behaviour of the guards, the captives surmised he was a senior Hamas leader.
Their routine resumed, until one day, a guard arrived following their first meal and announced: “Thailand, go home.”
The four Thais were led through tunnels for roughly two hours and arrived overground to a Hamas facility, where a handful of female Israeli hostages were also waiting.
About 11 hours later, they were handed over to the Red Cross, which drove them out of Gaza on Nov 25.
“I didn’t think I would get released,” he said. “It was like I was reborn.”
But the hardest part was still what he saw on Oct 7, Anucha said. “I lost my friend in front of my eyes.”
Source: CNA
