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BANGKOK – Thai street food vendors have earned the nickname “CIA” for the intelligence that helps them reach protests not only before the police, but also many protesters.
Selling everything from fish balls and fried chicken to dimsum and coconut ice cream, his business is booming as tens of thousands of people take to the streets in protest against the government and the monarchy.
When most of the protesters arrive, the first street vendors are there with mobile food carts.
“We have to follow the news very closely. We formed a chat group after protesters nicknamed us ‘CIA,’ “said Petch, a 29-year-old salesman. They called their information-sharing mobile messaging group “CIA Mobile Fishballs for Protests.”
Vendors are ready to move in an instant and use their mobile phones to scan the advertisements of protest groups, which advertise protest sites at the last minute to confuse the police.
“They arrive even before us,” said Ploy, 28, at a protest of tens of thousands of people Wednesday.
The protests, which began in July, grew even further last week after they were banned by Prayuth Chan-ocha, the former military ruler that the protesters seek to overthrow. They also want to curb the powers of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. (See related story in World, page A8)
For some, the protest is not just a source of income.
“This car is not sold to soldiers and police. Prayuth, get out, ”reads the sign on the cart of soda vendor Komsan Moonsan, 44, whose wife and children also bring their carts to the protests. Last Friday he was hit by a water cannon.
“I am here both to sell and to support the protesters. I hate Prayuth very much, ”he said, complaining that under Prayuth’s government his income fell to 700 baht ($ 22) a day from 2,000 baht ($ 64) earlier. At the protests, he estimates he earns 1,000 baht ($ 32) a day.
Thailand’s economy was the slowest growing in Southeast Asia after Prayuth first seized power in a coup in 2014 and has taken a bigger hit than any other in the region as the coronavirus halted the vital flow of foreign tourists.
“I attend all the protests,” said Win, 37, another fish ball vendor. “Things sell out in just a couple of hours.” —Reuters
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