KUMPHAWAPI, Thailand: The families of Thai farm workers held for over a year in Gaza cheered and wept with relief Thursday as they were freed in a hostage-prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.
Five Thais were released along with three Israelis held by Hamas as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.
When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, 31 Thais were abducted, with 23 released by the end of that year and two confirmed dead in May.
“It is confirmed, my son did not die. Thank you God,” Wiwwaeo Sriaoun said as she heard the confirmation that her son Watchara Sriaoun was among those freed.
“I will hug him when I see him. I want to see if his health is OK, I am worried about his health,” she added between sobs.
“Thank you, thank you God he did not die. We trust in God.”
Around 10 family members had gathered to support Wiwwaeo as she waited for news at the modest house on the family rubber farm in northeast Udon Thani region.
Before her son’s release was confirmed, Wiwwaeo spent the day watching news on a tablet computer, hoping for a good outcome.
“Come, come home back to your father, mother and daughter,” she said as she watched.
When Watchara appeared on screen, the family erupted into cheers and shouts of elation.
“It’s him, it’s really him! He does not look thin at all, he looks the same weight but his hair is shorter than before. They probably cut his hair,” his mother said.
After a video call with her son, Wiwwaeo said he appeared well but traumatized by his experience.
“I think he was in fear. He thought he could not return home. I see his fear. He is glad seeing me and his father but I know he is still in fear,” she said.
Watchara was freed along with Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao, according to the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
One Thai citizen remains in captivity.
Hailing from the poor, rural region of Udon Thani, Watchara moved to Israel three years ago to work as a farmer for better wages.
“My friend called around 10:00 p.m. and said the ambassador told her five Thais will be released, and my friend said my son could be one,” Wiwwaeo told AFP as she waited for news of the release.
“I could not sleep from then until now. I was up until 3:00 am and my husband and I went out for rubber tapping and since then I have been monitoring the news.”
In Buriram, another part of northeast Thailand, the family of freed hostage Pongsak were similarly elated, sobbing with relief as his release was confirmed.
“I’m so happy,” his father Wilas Tanna said through tears, in footage posted on social media platform X by a Channel News Asia correspondent.
Watchara’s younger brother, who was also working in Israel, returned to Thailand after Watchara was kidnapped.
“We told him to come back because we were worried,” his mother told AFP.
Watchara’s aunt Ratana Sriaoun said that after earlier disappointments, the family refused to believe he was coming home until they had official confirmation.
“I am so happy, finally I get to see my nephew,” she told AFP.
“I can’t put these feelings into words. My heart is full, and my tears are of pure joy.”
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she was “elated,” thanking Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Turkiye and the United States for their work to secure the releases.
The foreign ministry said the five would be taken for medical screening and treatment, and were expected to return to Thailand within 10 days.
The Southeast Asian nation has about 30,000 citizens in Israel, most of them working in the agricultural sector, where they earn significantly higher salaries as farm laborers than they would at home.
A total of 46 Thai workers have been killed since the October 2023 attacks, according to the foreign ministry in Bangkok.
Thailand’s labor ministry said last week that the country will expand its workforce in Israel by 13,000 positions.
Tears of joy for Thai hostages freed in Gaza
https://arab.news/cwryq
Tears of joy for Thai hostages freed in Gaza
- Five Thais were released along with three Israelis held by Hamas
- “It is confirmed, my son did not die. Thank you God,” Wiwwaeo Sriaoun said as she heard the confirmation that her son Watchara Sriaoun was among those freed
Turkiye to forge on with tight economic policy, some fine-tuning, VP Yilmaz says
- The central bank forecasts inflation between 13-19 percent by end-2026
ISTANBUL: Turkiye is committed to carrying on its tight economic policies in order to cool inflation, and though it may fine-tune the program it will not change course, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz said in comments embargoed to Friday.
“There is no plan to pause our program,” Yilmaz said at a briefing with reporters in Istanbul on Thursday. “All programs are dynamic, and adjustments can always be made.”
Yilmaz, who plays a key role overseeing economic policy at the presidency, said any such adjustments would aim to support production, investment and exports while moderating consumption.
Turkiye has pursued tight monetary and fiscal policies for more than two years in order to reduce price pressure, leading to high financing and borrowing costs that have weighed on businesses and households. Inflation has eased slowly but steadily over the last year but remains elevated at 31 percent annually.
Last month, Is Bank CEO Hakan Aran warned that focusing solely on one target — inflation — could create side effects, suggesting a “pause and restart” might be healthy once the program achieves certain targets.
Yılmaz said the government expects improvements in inflation in the first quarter, which should reflect to market expectations for year-end inflation around 23 percent. The government projects inflation to dip as far as 16 percent by year end, within a 13-19 percent range, and falling to 9 percent in 2027. The central bank forecasts inflation between 13-19 percent by end-2026.
Yilmaz noted inflation fell by nearly 45 points despite pressure from elevated food prices, hit by agricultural frost and drought.
The agricultural sector is expected to support growth and help ease price rises this year, which could help achieve official inflation targets, he said.
Yilmaz said the government wants to avoid a rapid drop in inflation that could hurt economic growth, jobs and social stability.
Turkiye’s economic program was established in 2023 after years of unorthodox easy money that aimed to stoke growth but that sent inflation soaring and the lira plunging. The program aims to dislodge high inflation expectations while boosting production and exports, in order to address long-standing current account deficits.
The central bank, having raised interest rates as high as 50 percent in 2024, eased policy through most of last year, bringing the key rate down to 38 percent.
Asked whether lower rates could trigger an exit from the lira currency, Yilmaz said: “What matters is real interest rates. Lowering rates as inflation falls does not affect real rates, so we do not expect such an impact.”
He added that the government will strengthen mechanisms that selectively support companies while improving overall financial conditions.
