THAMMASAT CAMPUS, RATTANAKOSIN – While the imminent return of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is seen by many as a step backwards for the nation, others see it as a forward step towards necessary change at a grassroots level. But for Porakit “Ben” Pormnit, it’s a windfall of opportunity – in the department of love, not politics.
The 21-year old political science major is hoping that the return of street protests brings his love life back to what he calls “the Golden Age” of 2006, when he engaged in a whirlwind seven-month relationship with now ex-girlfriend Jitlada “Jin” Charoenmitsak, a 3rd year communications student at Ramkamhaeng University.
“Jin and I met because of Thaksin,” reminisced Ben at his campus coffee shop over a mug of café au lait, referring to their first encounter on May 19th, 2006 at Sanam Luang. “We were both in line at the kiosk for VCDs, and just started talking.”
According to Ben, there was only one copy left of Sondhi’s anti-Thaksin speeches, and despite being in front of her in line, he let her have it. “It was a magical moment,” he recalls, after which they walked together to find good seats near the stage to watch the satirical anti-Thaksin Chinese opera.
With their affections swelling like the ranks of protesters and People’s Alliance for Democracy members, Ben and Jin started seeing each other on a regular basis, never missing a protest and even bringing along friends to be part of the movement “to take our country back.”
Late dinners at Old Town street stalls and long romantic strolls along the merchandise stalls quickly blossomed into a serious relationship complete with matching yellow headbands, and a shared “Thaksin Ok-Bai!” page on social networking site Hi-5.com.
The relationship reached a fever pitch during the September 2006 coup, when tanks rolled down the streets of Bangkok and all TV stations were taken offline. “Jin and I called each other frantically from across town,” Ben recalls. “She kept saying ‘It’s happening!’ and we just dropped everything to try to get to each other.”
In a sweeping, elongated sequence of events, the couple took multiple buses, tuk-tuks, and public trains to finally reunite at 9:55PM at the Rama V statue in a weeping, ecstatic embrace amidst the chaos of a usurped government. “We had tears in our eyes,” Ben says. “We declared our love for each other and then we ran through the streets.” The momentous night ended at Ben’s dorm room, where they watched the CNS announcements on TV and “consummated our love.”
After the coup, however, the couple’s relationship began to deteriorate. With the lack of street protests as dating occasions, they began to see each other less, and according to Ben, even started to argue about the CNS. “I thought they were going about it all wrong, and taking too long,” says Ben. “Jin was much more supportive of them.” The disagreement came to a head during the April 2007 referendum on the new constitution, which Jin supported but Ben found to be “totally anti-democratic.” They broke up in August after a heated argument over lunch at S&P, wherein Ben accused Jin of totalitarianist double-standards.
“I said some hurtful things,” admits Ben. “I called her a blind royalist, and she just exploded and dumped her Coke all over my shirt, saying that I should be wearing shit instead of yellow. We didn’t speak for three weeks.” Eventually the ex-couple were able to talk on friendly terms, but the fire had clearly faded. “We had nothing to talk about,” explained Ben. For six months they didn’t communicate at all.
Then came the recent parliamentary election victory by the PPP and the appointment of Samak Sundaravej as Prime Minister, an event that made Ben angry in a way he hadn’t felt since the Thaksin regime. “Just as an afterthought, I included her on an email forward of the transcript of Pig-Head’s interview with CNN,” Ben recalls. “And immediately she emailed me back with this long diatribe about fascism and repression. And it, well, kind of brought back some great memories. Suddenly I remembered that beautiful girl marching on Rajdamnoen, fist up in the air.”
With the impending return of Thaksin announced on the hi-thaksin.com website, the possibility of renewed romance seems more auspicious than ever for Ben. “Once I heard that, I was all like ‘my god I have to tell Jin!’ but she texted me before I could even dial her number,” he said. “There’s a group of students that plan to protest at the airport on Thursday, and Jin and I have already agreed to meet there. I hope he shows up. He needs to stand trial for the sake of truth.”
“Plus,” he added, “I haven’t had sex since August.”
