Teaching is a dangerous job in the restive Deep South
The killing of Mrs Pairat Chitsane, a 50-year old school teacher of Ban Duwa school in Pattani’s Mayor district, at Palas market at the joint border of Panareh and Mayor districts on May 7 allegedly by southern separatists has, once again, highlighted the safety or lack of safety problem for teachers in the restive Deep South.
Mrs Pairat was stepping out of her car in order to buy fried banana from a roadside foodstall in the market when she was gunned down in broad daylight. The killer then escaped in a waiting motorcycle.
She became the fourth teacher killed so far this year. Of these, three were women.
For the past ten years since the start of a new round of insurgency, altogether 172 teachers and education-related staffs have been killed with most of the incidents took place while they were travelling back or forth between schools and homes or while in the class. It is rare that teachers were attacked while they were at homes or while shopping.
Speaking on condition that her identity was kept confidential, a Buddhist female teacher said she was shocked when she learned about the fatal shooting of Mrs Pairat. She said she felt that more teachers had come under attacks and every time a teacher was shot dead help would pour in for the teachers but, after a while, everything would be forgotten.
"There is no safety for school teachers any more whether at home, in the market or on the street," said the teacher who admitted that she herself felt insecured but could not quit the teaching job because her students need her.
Asked why she didn’t evacuate to elsewhere which is safer, she said that she was born in Pattani, love it here and would prefer to die here and would not regret if she gets killed because of her teaching.
The teacher predicted that the situation would get worse after schools open this month for the new semester as teachers would have to run the gauntlet of travelling from homes to schools under the protection of security forces. She said that all teachers in the region, herself included, were fully aware of the risks they have to face.
Ms Nithima Lama, a Muslim school teacher of Ban Katoh school in Rueso district of Narathiwat, told Isra news agency that she felt very sorry for repeated tragedies involving teachers. She admitted that she was bored with the situation, bored with the unreliable security measures "but life has to go on".
"We really feel not safe. Since we get out of our homes we feel that we are watched (by both the security forces and the insurgents) every step despite the fact that the unrest situation has eased somewhat," said Ms Nithima.
Regarding the situation in Rueso district, she said that since most of the teachers here are local people, there were less incidents of attacks against teachers and, besides, those who feel insecured can asked to be transferred to other places where they feel more secured.
Nevertheless, she admitted that she felt worried about her safety too because, occasionally, she had to travel out of the district.
A male teacher working in Narathiwat said that teachers had to take care of themselves too because security forces could not give them 100 percent protection. He noted that even Hat Yai was not 100 percent immune from terrorist attacks.
All teachers, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are vulnerable and they will have to be cautious and on guards all the time.
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Caption : The killing of Mrs Pairat Chitsane