BAN KHOK SAMRAN: When Natthawaree Mulkan’s mother saw that her daughter was among the Thai hostages released by Hamas, she was so happy she danced with her 8-year-old granddaughter outside their home in northeastern Thailand.
“I was elated … I came out and danced,” Bunyarin Srijan, 56, said pointing to her patio.
Natthawaree, a mother of two, was one of 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of a seven-week-old war that started with the Palestinian militant group’s Oct 7 assault on southern Israel.
She was the only Thai female abducted.
Her mother lost touch with her after the attack and then stopped following reports, dreading bad news.
“During that hopeless period I didn’t watch the news for half a month,” Bunyarin recounts alone in her living room.
“I was afraid of seeing my daughter lying dead.”