Reporters Dice With Death In South Thailand

From Zabidi Ishar PATTANI (South Thailand), Sept 10 (Bernama) -- "I lost consciousness when the bomb went off and only woke up several days later at the hospital", recalled newspaper reporter Ahmad Abdul Karim on the close call that he encountered in a bomb explosion at a railway station six years ago. However, dicing with death is part of the job routine for this dedicated Daily and Thai PBS reporter in the volatile Yala, in South Thailand where bombs and violence rock the landscape regularly. In the more than a decade insurgency, almost 5,000 people have been killed including more than a dozen journalists. As for Ahmad, the afforementioned incident was his first of the three close calls he had so far. THE CLOSE CALLS GOT CLOSER "I had three close calls but it was the second one that caused serious injuries", he said to the writer when met here recently. Recalling his three close encounter with fate, he said, the first incident that he was involved was in 2005, when he was 23 years old. He was a rookie reporter then assigned to cover a bomb blast incident where a bomb on a motorcycle went off. "After half and hour at the scene, another bomb went off nearby and due to the impact I was flung some distance", he said. Fortunately there was no death or injuries in the incident and Ahmad only suffered minor lacerations. Two years later, in the second incident, Ahmad rushed to cover another bomb blast incident at Yala Post Office. While he and another four of his colleagues were snapping pictures of the scene, a second bomb strapped on a motorcycle parked nearby went off. "In the 7.45 a.m incident, a policeman was killed and three others including me were seriously injured", he said adding that he sustained injuries on his head and was taken to the Yala hospital. "God still loved me, so I recovered after being hospitalised for a month", he said. Ahmad's last close call with a bomb explosion was in 2011 when a communcation tower was blown up. Ahmad who was 15 meters away from tower was knocked out when a second bomb went off. In the incident a soldier lost his right leg and another three reporters were also injured. "In the third incident, though I was knocked out I fully recovered a week later after taking a week's rest and undergoing traditional treatment", he said. NOTING STOPPING FROM CONTINUING HIS WORK He admits that his wife gets traumatised each time he is called to cover bomb explosions, a regular occurance in South Thailand. "This is how it is in South Thailand and I risk my life for my organisation and the readers. If I'm killed in line of duty, I can only say it is a great sacrifice for a noble cause", he said in a voice chocked with emotion. In this conflict prone region of Thailand, reporters are considered 'heroes' and their voice in the press are the voice of the people that the government often listens to. "We are happy to serve the people. Journalism is a honourable profession and the people depend more on us that the elected representatives as we serve as their voice", he adds. As for Ahmad's father, Abdul Karim Raman Siriwong, who is also the President of Yala Territory Reporters Association, though he is concerned with his son's safety but being a journalist himself he understands his son's call of duty. HOPING THAT PEACE WILL RETURN "This is the work of a reporter. Speaking of fate, I will leave it to the hands of god and pray for my family's safety and that peace will return here. "I often advice my children to be careful regardless where they are and we will always pray for them," he said voicing his concern over the insurgency in the territory that has claimed thousands of lives. This is the price to pay when there is bloodshed, said Abdul Karim. -- BERNAMA