Safe but sad
Yesterday the police and armed forces finally moved in decisively to clear out the redshirt protesters. Most of the core leaders of the movement surrendered to the police, and many of the protesters agreed to go home, but many others decided to riot. We were shocked and saddened to hear about the destruction of property and the loss of life that followed. Roughly 30 buildings were set on fire and some of them were completely destroyed - including a major shopping mall, one of the largest in Asia.
A curfew was imposed for Bangkok and many other provinces (including ours) and will be in effect for the next three nights. All banks in the area are closed.
The good news is that, as of this afternoon, the situation seems to be calming down. There are still some protesters out, but I have not heard of any new fires recently. Of course it will take a long time to recover from the damage that has been done.
For the most part our neighborhood seems normal today. Eliza went to school and I had my first day of teaching the kindergartners. (The older two classes actually seemed to have remembered some of what I taught them last year!)
We are planning to stay close to home for the next few days and keep a very close eye on the news. We have come up with an emergency evacuation plan for our team - but are trusting that it will not be used! Thanks for remembering us and this country in your prayers.
-Tom