29/6/08
Midway through the 2008 season, Chonburi fans were shocked to learn that we had been evicted from our home at the local Municipal Stadium. A home that only a few months earlier had hosted the greatest night in the club’s history. What was going on? Well, to be honest, almost ten years later, I’m still not sure what happened and why. No doubt it had something to do with the murky world of Thai politics so it’s best I don’t go there! Whatever the reasons, we were now stadiumless and there was nothing we could do about it. Or was there?
There was! It was decided during a meeting at the house of one of the fan club members, that we would stage a demonstration at the home of the person who had made the decision. And that this protest would be held en route to our next away match against Customs. Banners were made and plans were drawn up in order for us to stage a successful, and hopefully, peaceful, campaign. We were determined not to give up without a fight.
On the day, we met at our usual place in front of Suan Tamnaknam, an hour earlier than normal. Word had got around and a very healthy crowd had gathered in order to support the cause. The three full buses then wound their way through the backstreets of the city before reaching our destination - a DVD shop (remember those?) - on the main Sukhumvit Road. On arrival, we all alighted and the banners and placards were handed out. We then spread ourselves out along the pavement and the road in front of the store.
As it was still relatively early on a Sunday, the business wasn’t open, but the occupants were clearly inside, doing their best to pretend we weren't there. However, outside, things had started to get a bit chaotic. The highway had become blocked and traffic was building up. We also had bemused passers-by stopping to ask what all the fuss was about and then, in some instances, joining us. With all this going on, even the Thai police could no longer ignore the situation.
Two bobbies turned up on a motorbike and requested to speak with the ringleaders. A couple of the lads put themselves forward and a lengthy discussion took place. This chat resulted in the police ordering the, by now, slightly nervous shop owners to open up and allow a few representatives of ours inside. This duly happened and more talks ensued; I was lucky enough to be one of those admitted, but spent more time perusing the racks of films than I did listening to what was being said. Most of which I couldn’t understand anyway.
After about forty five minutes of debate, everyone wai’ed to everyone else and we rejoined the others outside to continue our trip to watch a football match. The protests continued at the stadium (see photo), but ultimately had no effect. The orders stood and we saw out the rest of the year back at our ‘spiritual’ home at Assumption College in SriRacha. However, at least we tried and I’m proud of the fact we did, bringing part of the city to a standstill in the process.
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