KUMPHAWAPI, Thailand – A Thai farm worker held hostage in Gaza for more than a year said he felt “reborn” as he and four compatriots arrived home on Feb 9 to tears of joy from their relieved families.
The five Thais smiled as they walked into the arrivals hall at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after being freed on Jan 30 as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.
The five – Mr Watchara Sriaoun, Mr Pongsak Tanna, Mr Sathian Suwannakham, Mr Surasak Lamnau and Mr Bannawat Saethao – were met by a small group of overjoyed relatives and officials before travelling on to their hometowns.
Mr Watchara was embraced by his parents and nine-year-old daughter as he arrived at his simple two-storey home in north-eastern Udon Thani province and was handed bright yellow marigolds, a Thai symbol of prosperity.
“Thank you to everyone who helped me out, I feel like I have been reborn,” the 33-year-old Christian said, before eating his first meal with his family in several years – boiled rice with pork.
Weeping, his 85-year-old grandfather told him: “You are back, I thought you were dead.”
His mother Viewvaew said he had little to eat in captivity, and was sometimes not allowed to shower, but kept himself sane by drawing on whatever he could find, including his blanket.
“I am really glad that I can hug him in person, I thank God that my son is healthy both mentally and physically,” she said.
Mr Pongsak told reporters at the airport that he was at a “loss for words” as he saw his family, and wanted to thank everyone who helped get them out safely.
“We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for them. We can finally return to our motherland,” he said.
Mr Somboon Saethao, the father of Mr Bannawat, was joyful as his son arrived in Bangkok but told AFP: “I don’t think I want him to be far from home again.”
Mr Bannawat moved to Israel nine months before his kidnap in search of a better income for the family, he said.
Never gave up
Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said it was “very inspiring” to witness the hostages’ return and that officials would monitor their reintegration into Thai society, “focusing on their mental health”.
“We never gave up on these hostages,” he said during a news conference at the airport.
Mr Boonsong Tapchaiyut, a labour ministry official, said at the airport each hostage would receive a one-time payment of around US$18,000 (S$24,360), along with a monthly salary of $900 until the age of 80, to ensure they did not have to return to Israel.
Thirty-one Thais were abducted when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct 7, 2023, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May 2024.
One Thai national is still believed to be alive in Gaza.
The handover of the five hostages in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza in January was marked by chaotic scenes as Islamic Jihad and Hamas fighters struggled to hold back hundreds of spectators.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said after their release she was “elated” that they were out of captivity and thanked Israel, as well as Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkey and the United States for their work to secure the releases.
A total of 46 Thai workers have been killed since October 2023, according to the foreign ministry in Bangkok, the majority in the Hamas attack and some by rockets fired by Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
Thailand’s labour ministry said last week the country will expand its workforce in Israel by 13,000. AFP
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