Despite a looming eviction deadline, the community of the ancient Mahakan Fort is adamant that they will not move away, and has called for people to observe the eviction.

After many postponed eviction deadlines and discussions which yielded no results, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) set a new eviction deadline of Saturday, 3 September 2016 to demolish the community behind the wall of the ancient fort of Pom Mahakan, Thai PBS reported.

Aswin Kwanmuang, Deputy Governor of Bangkok, announced that this time no further postponement of the eviction will be granted. The BMA has already cut off electricity and water supplies to certain areas of the community.

But most of the residents of Pom Mahakan have been battling eviction orders for the last 24 years, and are determined not to move.

“We wish to inform you that you might not be able visit the community. Certain restaurants and stores might be closed. Toilets and lights in the community might not be ready because of the power cut and the suspension of water supplies. We do not know what the environment [of the confrontation] will be between the BMA and the community, but we are adamant to continue our peaceful civil disobedience,” reads part of a statement posted on the community’s Facebook page.

The community of Pom Makasan, at least 318 people strong, is almost as old as Bangkok itself. But the BMA, citing a 2002 cabinet resolution and a 2004 Administrative Court order, wants to demolish the cluster of wooden houses behind the fortress wall and develop the area into a public park.

With the help of historians and conservationists, the community recently developed the area into a living museum where many of its renowned handicrafts were available for visitors in an attempt to divert the BMA’s policy.

Whether the BMA’s version of a tarted-up and empty fortress will prevail or the lively noises of the children of Pom Mahakan will remain, is yet to be known. However, one thing that is certain is that the fate of the Pom Mahakan Community will set a standard for how cultural heritage sites in the City of Angels are preserved in the future.

The green strip between row buildings and Ratchanatda Temple in which Pom Mahakan Community is located from above

The main alley inside Pom Mahakan Community

The life behind the ancient wall of Pom Mahakan