NONG BUA LAMPHU – Sonthaya Akkrasri, 30, nicknamed Mos, was one of the two Thai workers recently confirmed dead by Israeli authorities. He had been held hostage by Hamas since October 7, 2023.
He came from Village No. 3, Ban Phrao Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nong Bua Lamphu Province, which is one of the ten provinces with the highest poverty rates in Thailand.
Mrs. Amorn Akkrasri, 50 years old, mother of Mr. Sonthaya or Mos, said that yesterday (16 May) around 3.10 pm, while she was herding buffaloes with her husband, Mr. Niphon Akkrasri, 52 years old, she received a call with many numbers and a plus sign.
At first, she was happy because she believed it was good news from Israel and that her son had been found. But at that moment, she heard a consular official say, “We regret to inform you.”.
“I was so shocked that I collapsed on the floor and could no longer speak. They said they had found a body and confirmed that it was my son, Mr. Sonthaya Akkrasri. I waved my husband over to tell him the news and he cried and repeated that it felt like we had sent our son to his death. Why did they have to kill our son?” Said Mrs. Amorn.
The couple then called their other son, who works in Taiwan, to inform him. The neighbors heard the news from the authorities.
Mr. Niphon said that he had once dreamed of his son. In the dream, his son came to their home dressed in white and said that he was only visiting and would soon be leaving. In the dream, the father asked why he had to leave and the son said he was going back to visit friends who had not yet left. When he woke up and told his wife, she said it was probably because he missed their son so much. At this point they still believed their son was safe and even after 7 months they hoped he would return.
While the couple were being interviewed by reporters, a nephew called from Bangkok to ask about the news. Both cried again, overwhelmed with grief.
Ms. Amorn said that before Songkran, around 9-10 April, soldiers came to her house and asked for her son’s pictures. She only had pictures on her cell phone and handed them over because she thought the Israeli authorities needed them to search for her son. She never thought he would die.
Her son was married and had a daughter named Kaimook. After separating from his wife, he went to Israel to work for about a year. His 8-year-old daughter lives with her mother but visits her grandparents almost every day. She loves her father very much and called him every day before school until they lost contact. “Every time she sees a plane, Kaimook tells her grandmother that her father has come back,” says Ms. Amorn.
Mrs. Amorn adds that she does not yet have the courage to tell her granddaughter. She will wait until Mr. Sonthaya’s body arrives home.
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