THE ERAWAN SHRINE CURSE and the RED SHIRT DEMONSTRATIONS
by James Sullivan

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4 June 2010

POLITICAL VOODOO

After the elaborate ceremony for the reopening of the Erawan Shrine, Thaksin’s arch political-enemy Sondhi Limthongkul, openly accused Thaksin of somehow being involved with the vandalizing of the statue in the shrine to begin with, positioning the shrine in the center of modern Thai politics. Sondhi, a media-tycoon who was then leader of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (the Yellow-Shirts) – who himself once led a water-sprinkling ritual at the Government House with intent to exorcise ill-intended spirits – claimed the vandalizing event may have been a evil plot designed by Thaksin so he could then replace the statue in order to somehow gain black magic powers associated with the Erawan Shrine. Thaksin supposedly responded by saying that Sondhi’s accusation was insane.   

WAR ZONE

During the recent Red-shirt demonstrations in Bangkok, the protestors staged mainly at the up-scale shopping area at Ratchaprasong intersection, very near and surrounding the Erawan Shrine. This area eventually became the epicenter of a deadly, burning urban war zone. Although the shrine received fewer visitors during the occupation of the area by the Red shirt supporters, it did remain open and intact amid the violence.

AFTERMATH

Considering that the street riots and deaths culminating on May 19 with the historic military crack-down on the Red Shirt occupation of Bangkok, could it be said that the warnings of curse and doom by astrologers following the deranged man’s hammer-attack on the Erawan Shrine actually did come true?

Since the protests began in early April, more than 80 people were reported killed and thousands injured. Presiding in its dominant position over Ratchaprasong, the four-faced depiction of Brahma in the Erawan Shrine witnessed the unfolding of the entire event, including the burning of the Central World shopping complex across the intersection.

The terrifying events of the final days of the Red-shirt demonstrations truly shocked citizens of the city, despite having had weeks to imagine how the scenario was going to eventually play-out.  

Could things really get any worse?

FORWARD

Whether personally-superstitious or not, we all can only hope that the powerful Erawan-curse in connection of the shrine four years ago has fulfilled its evil intent and no longer holds the citizens of Bangkok hostage to further doom. Certainly the ongoing, deeply hateful division of modern Thai society alone has served as retribution enough.  Solutions now lie not in anything related to powers of the ‘super-natural’ (or perhaps political) world; but in color-blind, human reconciliation of some degree.

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