Historic Bangkok community being razed despite opposition

The residents of Fort Mahakan have fought eviction for decades, even as city officials have knocked down homes one by one. On Monday morning, dozens of dump trucks and hundreds of officers stood by as city workers marched in to rip apart four more houses.

Officials want to level much of the neighbourhood and put in its place a grassy lawn — a park, they say, to spruce up the city’s historic centre.

“We want to return this area back to the public,” said Jaroon Meethanataworn, deputy secretary of the Bangkok Municipal Authority. “We understand that there are some people affected by this. We’ve been very flexible so far, but this just can’t go on forever.”

Pornthep Buranaburidet is one of the community’s residents trying to fight eviction who have been standing sentry 24 hours a day at the fort’s four entrances.

“People say they want to make this area look like the Champs-Elysees,” Pornthep said. “But we’re not Paris; we’re Bangkok. We’re unique. Why do we have to be like everyone else?”

The city is setting siege not just to a fortress, but to one of the last communities in Bangkok to maintain a centuries-old way of life, preservationists say. There are few laws in place, however, to protect historic sites beyond temples and palaces.

Fort Mahakan was once home to palace guards and their families. Over the centuries, they left, family by family. Residents today come from mixed backgrounds — some have lived there three generations or longer, some are newer arrivals. Most eke out a living as street vendors.

Still, they remain a tight-knit community, proud of the fort’s royal roots. Fading photos of widely revered late King Bhumibol Adulyadej are pinned up everywhere. The last palace guard maintained an extensive collection of stamps, clocks and other memorabilia before he moved out a few years ago due to old age.

The city government contends the residents are squatters, living there illegally ever since authorities seized the land under expropriation laws in 1992. Some residents accepted compensation to move out, but more than 200 have refused to budge despite years of threats and deadlines.

Officials want to build the park as part of a 1978 master plan to conserve and develop the old city. But preservationists believe their plan glorifies monks and kings while ignoring the history of everyday people — sterilizing the past and purging it of any charm that might draw tourists.

A Thai architects association has proposed an alternative plan to renovate 24 houses and turn them into a tourist attraction while letting old residents stay, modeled after the preserved hutong alleyways of Beijing. Curators have already put up signs in Thai and English noting sites of interest – a gold melting house and a massage house, among others.

“What I’m afraid we’re looking at is a vision of Bangkok as a place largely devoid of real people, as simply a monument,” said Michael Herzfeld, an anthropology professor at Harvard University and author of a book on the fort. “Mahakan has become a test case. If the authorities go ahead with their current plan, then they will feel that it’s OK to do the same thing elsewhere.”

Dake Kang, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Historic Bangkok community being razed despite opposition

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