Voices that matter
published : 9 Jul 2021 at 04:00
It s been over a year since the coronavirus pandemic swept across Thailand. Restaurants, bars and other businesses have shut shop in droves while nightlife districts have turned into ghost towns. The streets are eerily empty while rental ads and closing signs are spotted on dusty iron shutters. Countless people who work in the nightlife and entertainment industries have been among the first groups to be most severely hit by the effects of Covid-19 and yet, they also seem to be the last group to receive any empathy from the powers that be. Their places of work have been temporarily closed or restricted to a point that they can no longer earn a livelihood. But empathy isn t what they want (or need), they are demanding accountability from the authorities. Let s hear what they have to say.