BANGKOK — At Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, families wept with relief as five Thai hostages returned home on Sunday after being held captive in Gaza for 15 months.
At Gate 10 of the arrivals hall, Wichayada Saeyang gently stroked her son’s hair, as if he were still a child. Nearby, Pongsak Thanna clung to his father, his tears soaking his father’s shoulder.
“To see my son, it’s indescribable,” said Vilas Thanna, Pongsak’s father. “I cannot say it in words.”
The homecoming marked the end of a harrowing ordeal that left the Thai labor community shaken. Although Thailand has no involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, its citizens were among the worst affected by Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023. At least 39 Thai farm workers were killed, and more than 30 were taken hostage. Most were freed in November 2023, but two died in captivity, and one remains missing.
READ MORE: Justin Trudeau Warns of Trump’s Canada Annexation Threat as a ‘Real Thing’
“Today is a very emotional day,” said Thailand’s Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, who was at the airport to greet the returnees. “It’s wonderful to see people reunited with their families.”
A Dangerous but Lucrative Job
More than 30,000 Thais work in Israel’s agricultural sector, particularly in the northeast region of Isaan, where poverty drives many to seek higher-paying jobs abroad. Farmhands in Israel can earn at least five times more than they would in Thailand.
Despite the dangers, thousands of Thai workers chose to remain in Israel even after the October 7 attack. Some have continued to travel there on new contracts.
But risks persist. In October, Hezbollah rockets killed four Thai workers in northern Israel. That same month, another Thai worker died near the Israel-Lebanon border after an explosion in an orchard.
Life in Captivity
The freed hostages recounted months of confinement, surviving on pita, beans, and vegetables. The diet was far blander than the spicy cuisine of their homeland. With little exposure to sunlight, many suffered from vitamin deficiencies, Thai diplomats said.
At the airport, Nukan Suwannakham, the mother of Sathian Suwannakham, was relieved to see her son looking healthy.
“He even looks fatter,” she said with a smile. “He has chubbier cheeks.”
Her son told her that all he did in captivity was “eat and sleep.”
For some families, the traumatic experience has led to life-changing decisions. Pongsak Thanna plans to become a monk to show gratitude for his survival. Others, like Anong Saethao, whose husband Bannawat was also freed, are determined to protect their loved ones from similar risks.
“I will never allow him to work abroad again,” she said.
As the freed hostages return to their families, Thailand’s labor community is left grappling with a difficult question: Is the promise of a better income worth the dangers of working in a conflict zone?
