The content in this page ("The Launch of Sanam Ratsadon: An Archive of Common[er] Feelings" by The Editorial Collective of Sanam Ratsadon) is not produced by Prachatai staff. Prachatai merely provides a platform, and the opinions stated here do not necessarily reflect those of Prachatai.

The Launch of Sanam Ratsadon: An Archive of Common[er] Feelings

An online archive of common people launched on 12th August, using 'mothers' as its first theme.

An example of article from Sanam Ratsadon.

Sanam Ratsadon is an online platform for Thai historical sources in English translation. We collect and promote the writings, art performances, and oral histories that shed light on the lived experience and the linked fate of ordinary people past and present.

Launching on Thailand's Mother's Day, August 12th, our debut quarterly issue "Mothers" intervenes in this occasion, which typically celebrates the role of H.M. Queen Sirikit as the Mother of the Nation, by bringing to the foreground various roles and contributions of ordinary mothers in the struggle against dictatorship in Thailand.

Our four entries invite readers to 

Remember the slaying of a volunteer nurse through an art performance featuring her mother Phayao Akkahad. Imagine the daily life of anonymous grannies from the village who always show up to the courthouse to see their sons as they walk from the prison van to the courtroom.

Make fictive kinship connections to women Red Shirt protesters via a poem by Anon Nampa. Ponder the inscrutable face of Kanya Theerawut whose activist son has gone missing in exile.

And learn from how Sivaporn Panya copes with her imprisonment which led to a host of difficulties for her two teenage sons.

Why Sanam Ratsadon?

Sanam Ratsadon means Commoners Field. We take this name from pro-democracy activists’ subversive renaming of Sanam Luang [Royal Field]. In September 2020, protestors from various activist groups placed a democracy plaque in the field to reclaim it for the masses. That symbol of resistance disappeared overnight. Sanam Ratsadon, an act of reclaiming the spaces and memories of ordinary people, is a tribute to the generations who have fought for democracy in Thailand. 

We welcome anyone who is interested in literary translation and who seek to unearth the people's histories to join our network of volunteer translators by contacting sanamratsadon@gmail.com.   We would also appreciate if you could help spread words about our work among your friends and your networks.

See Sanam Ratsadon's website, Facebook and Twitter.

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