Walls close in on Thailand's poorest as virus shrivels economy
31 May, 2020
Shuffling around their tiny slum home which is too small to operate in, Thanapat Noidee and his wife Papassorn share donated noodles with their sons and worry about bills, as the coronavirus pushes Thailand's poor deeper into penury.
The wood and breeze-block hut which is their house stands in the heart of a Bangkok commercial district festooned with five-star hotels and upmarket restaurants.
They share the small space in the shadow of the local high-rise developments with their children Woraphat and Kittipat, aged six and seven respectively.
Beneath the 1.2-metre-high (four feet) ceiling, the adults need to kneel to move around the single room which is the bedroom, living room and dining area.
Downstairs, a tap offers a shower and a set concrete surface serves as a cooking area, a space distributed to rats which clamber over their washed dishes.
Papassorn lost her job as a messenger as Thailand locked right down to control the coronavirus in late March.
"I have to borrow funds for the electricity from my dad and grandfather," she says.
"The school term opens again soon (Jul 1) and I have to find money for all those expenses aswell."
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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