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BANGKOK: As thousands of Thai protesters try to hold months of demonstrations against the system, dozens of shelters in Bangkok have opened their doors to shelter tired protesters, sometimes for free.
Since mid-July, protesters led by Thai youth and students, often organized online, have defied crackdowns to continue to call for Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to step down and challenge a long-standing taboo by demanding reform of the monarchy.
LEE: Thai royalists confront protesters in Bangkok
With protesters sometimes facing water cannons and playing cat and mouse with police in sweltering conditions late into the night, many have been sleeping on the street.
“I felt bad for those who had nowhere to stay,” said a 23-year-old medical student, who declined to give her name due to concerns about being targeted by authorities.
She has been offering free rooms online to protesters, she said.
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A Twitter account, Mobmeeteenon (“protesters have places to sleep”), is helping connect protesters to rooms after the government issued an emergency decree this month and cracked down on people camping in front of government houses.
Another 25-year-old volunteer, who has also helped organize places to stay, said that around 500 people have been housed since the effort to provide rooms began.
In addition to a bed, the protesters receive three meals a day and transportation to the protests.
READ: 2 activists accused of endangering the Thai queen as protests continue in Bangkok
There is plenty of room in hotels and hostels in generally bustling Bangkok, which is practically empty of foreign tourists since authorities closed Thailand’s borders to most commercial flights in April to contain the coronavirus.
A protester from Chonburi province east of Bangkok was shocked when offered a bed when he thought he would be sleeping on the street after a recent demonstration.
“There are four people sleeping in this room. This is my place,” said the 27-year-old, speaking from a hostel in central Bangkok.
On Thursday (October 22) the government revoked an emergency decree that included bans on political gatherings of five or more people and from publishing news that could affect security.
