San Francisco Frontiers - Thai teacher finds 'peace amidst chaos' painting bunker murals

"Peace amidst chaos -- not everyone can feel this way," said Watthanachai Kamngam, a 38-year-old music teacher whose vibrant murals were inspired by the harsh reality around him.

Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in fierce military conflict this week at their 800-kilometre (500-mile) border, stemming from a decades-long territorial dispute over ancient temples.

The renewed fighting has displaced around half a million people on both sides and killed at least 20 -- with hundreds seeking shelter from continuous explosions in concrete bunkers.

The boom of artillery often echoes loudly enough to shake the windows of empty classrooms of the school just five kilometres from the frontier.

"As I live through the fighting, I just want to record this moment -- to show that this is really our reality," Watthanachai told AFP.

He first picked up a paintbrush in July, when earlier border clashes erupted, lasting five days and killing dozens.

After ensuring the school's pupils were all safe, he chose to stay put and engage in his therapeutic pastime, despite hearing hundreds of shells in a single night.

"Of course I'm frightened," he said. "But art helps bring my feelings back under control."

- 'Warm, safe and comforting' -

Elsewhere, brand new concrete bunkers sitting under layers of blue-and-white sandbags offered an oasis of calm for other Thai border residents.

Sommai Sisuk sits near a small fire with his neighbours, warming their hands against the winter chill as they cook sticky rice for dinner.

"During the last fighting, we didn’t have any bunkers at all," he said, adding the new shelters were completed in November.

"Everyone was scared and anxious -- we didn't know what to do. But this time it feels a bit safer because the authorities built this bunker for us. It looks solid, and people are satisfied."

The 62-year-old farmer and lottery ticket seller said the shelters have become a gathering point for those who chose to stay behind to watch over their homes, fields, and livestock.

"Having this bunker here is life-changing," he said. "When the gunfire gets loud, we can all run inside together. It feels warm, safe, and comforting."

But even with new protection, Sommai has little hope that the border conflict will end soon.

"The fighting will drag on. Thailand won't give in, and Cambodia won't give in either," he said.

"These bunkers matter so much. They really do."

K.Hernandez--SFF