Mrs. Daojang: Yes, my sister, Pensri Boonsprasert, who was then 25 years old and working as a waitress in a restaurant in Victory Monument, disappeared during the incident. She went to work that day. It so happened that the area of the demonstration was near her work place. There was chaos. Many people who worked in the area tried to get out of the place. She was one of them, but unfortunately, she disappeared and never came home.
We saw her last on May 17 at 3 p.m. before she left the house. A friend of her sister said that they ran out of the restaurant together. Because of the crowd, they were separated. My husband was also present during the incident. He saw her and told her to go back home. But she did not come back. We were worried, but at first, we did not think it was serious.
The Voice: What actions did you take after suspecting that she might have disappeared?
Mrs. Daojang: On May 20, we filed a case with the police. We still did not think that she disappeared. There was a rumor that people were taken by the authorities. When she did not return after a week , I started to suspect she had disappeared.
Three years after it happened, we filed a case in court. The court needed documents for the Ministry of Interior. In that case, the court investigated the details. The court announced that my sister had indeed disappeared. Many persons disappeared, but only 38 cases were declared to be so.
There was an announcement of an amnesty law. It was imposed during the same year by Suchinda Kraprayoon - just before his resignation and a few months after the event.
We searched around the area at the Royal Thai hotel, in hospitals and in the Wat Don Temple known to be a dumping area of dead bodies. My sister was nowhere to be found.
The Voice: What was the situation of Pensri before she disappeared? She had children who are now with you, you said. How old were they when she disappeared? How are they now?
Mrs. Daojang: Pensri was separated from her husband, but she had two little boys. The younger was one year old and the elder was two years old. They are with me now - an extension of my family. My husband and I treat them as our own. They do not remember their mother anymore. They were told about what happened when they were two and three years old. The effect on the elder brother is not very obvious. But the younger brother is very quiet and passive.
Both boys are in Grade 7. We are an extended family. They and my own children are like siblings. They grow up together and sleep together.
I go to school for my own children on Mothers' Day. But since it is the same day, I cannot go for my sisters' children. If it would not be on the same day, I could go to school for them. When I am not available, nobody will be with them on this day. So, they avoid the area where there is the ceremony and stay in another place. The teacher asked them about their absence, but they just answered that they do not have a mother.
Because my sister was separated from her husband, her children also do not know their father. We tried to trace him, but until now, we do not have any contact with him.
The Voice: What is now the situation of your family after your sister disappeared? What changes did you have to make after the disappearance?
Mrs. Daojang: We are mentally affected because of the disappearance of my sister. Financially, we are in a difficult situation. There are many members of our family. It entails a big expense. We stretch our budget to the point that I sometimes just scream because the difficulty is beyond my capacity to bear.
My mother died in a car accident many years ago. My father is 87. He knows what happened to his daughter, but he cannot help because he is already very old. After the incident, he just cried and cried, but was helpless to take any action. Now, he does not mention anything about it anymore.
The Voice: What have you done as foster parents to normalize your family life?
Mrs. Daojang: We cannot forget what really happened. We continue to cry. Financially, we survive day by day. We have not received any financial help from the government at all. There was a call to help the dead. But there was nothing for us. The government did not do anything in our case.
We are grateful to the Children's Foundation who regularly gives us Eight Thousand Baht (about 200 $ US dollars) per month. But we receive nothing from the government.
The Voice: How were you able to be in contact with the Relatives Committee?
Mrs. Daojang: There was a hotline service. Krongkarn, our Secretary-General, helped us. We started to work together. We have meetings everyday. The organization gives us hope that someday, we can find my sister and the other disappeared. The group makes our voice louder.
The Voice: Where do you think your sister is at the moment?
Answer: We think that she has been killed.
The Voice: What should the Thai government do to help you? In what way can other organizations from other countries help?
Mrs. Daojang: Inside the country, the Thai Commission on Human Rights plays an important role to help victims of human rights violation. In terms of international organization, it can help in terms of pushing other countries to approve the International Criminal Court in order to prevent future violations. The other role that the government should play is to create a balance of power among different sectors of society.
The May 1992 massacre has reduced the military's influence in politics.
The Voice: What is your message to other families of victims in other countries?
Mrs. Daojang: We are all brothers and sisters. We send encouragement to these people to keep on hoping and fighting. This thing should never be repeated anywhere in the world.
