Street food vendors in the style of the ‘CIA’ first on the scene to feed the Thai protesters

BANGKOK: With an intelligence network so good that they have been compared to the CIA, Thai street vendors are often the first to arrive at “guerrilla” protests in Bangkok, where they sell sour pork and fish balls to a hungry crowd. .

After a government crackdown last week, protest groups have begun to keep places for their demonstrations secret, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha until the last minute, in an attempt to outwit the authorities. .

But protesters have quickly noticed that they are often second on the scene, behind the food vendors preparing their carts and preparing for a busy night of spirited sales.

Meatball vendor Rattapol Sukpa says he is staying ahead of the curve by monitoring Facebook for clues about the latest locations, and is in constant contact with other vendors who are keeping each other up.

“My earnings were good before, but by selling at protest sites, you were selling faster than normal,” the 19-year-old told AFP as he settled near the Victory Monument.

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Business has been booming since the protest movement began in July, and vendors are now a regular feature on the sidelines.

A post asking people to come and demonstrate at a new protest site on Tuesday (October 20) featured an image of a food cart with the caption “Let’s send the CIA first.”

The bonanza has also given Rattapol a better work-life balance, he said, allowing him to sell his entire cart at 8 p.m. instead of the usual midnight closing time.

The protesters are calling for serious changes to Thailand’s status quo: a review of the Prayut administration, a military-scripted rewrite of the constitution and reforms to the kingdom’s impregnable monarchy.

But their gatherings also bring a food festival atmosphere.

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Balls of sour pork and rice sausage, a delicacy from Thailand’s northeastern provinces, hang like bead necklaces from a street vendor’s cart, ready to be fried and served with cabbage in plastic bags.

Also on the menu are hot dogs, soups, cold drinks, pickled fruits, and satay sticks.

“I DOUBLED MY INCOME”

Some vendors have their cooking stations connected to their motorcycles, making it easy to access the rally areas.

Selling food to captive crowds that often number in the tens of thousands is increasingly lucrative, said Anucha Noipan, a fried chicken vendor who used to earn $ 97 a day.

“But since I started selling on protest sites, I have doubled my income to about 6,000 baht ($ 192) a day,” said the 21-year-old.

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New to the scene after leaving a job as a rubber producer, Anucha says he agrees with the movement’s demands and would not sell his crispy fried chicken at rival rallies led by royalist supporters.

“I don’t think I have the same point of view on politics as the yellow shirts,” he said, referring to a term used for the pro-monarchy bloc.

Tensions escalated last week, with police deploying water cannons against protesters in Bangkok’s central business district, sparking widespread condemnation from Thai society as images of the attack resounded on social media.

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As his chicken thighs sizzle in a pan, Nattapol Sai-ngarm said he is aware of the risks of doing business in such a dangerous environment.

But the free fall of the economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has left him with no option.

“I used to be afraid” of a police crackdown, he told AFP. “But I have come every day, so I have gotten used to it.”