Thai music teacher Watthanachai Kamngam, 38, is painting colourful murals inside school bunkers to document and cope with ongoing fighting along the Thailand-Cambodia border. Renewed clashes along the roughly 800-kilometre frontier have displaced about 500,000 people and killed at least 20. Newly completed concrete bunkers offer shelter and community for residents, but many fear the conflict will continue.
Thai Teacher Paints Colourful Bunker Murals, Calling It 'Peace Amidst Chaos'
Thai music teacher Watthanachai Kamngam paints murals depicting the border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia in a bunker near his home in a Thai border province (Lillian SUWANRUMPHA)(Lillian SUWANRUMPHA/AFP/AFP)
On the grey concrete walls of bunkers at a rural Thai school, 38-year-old music teacher Watthanachai Kamngam calmly paints vivid scenes: helicopters, tanks, fluttering national flags and soldiers carrying the wounded. The bright murals stand in stark contrast to the sounds of artillery and explosions just beyond the school grounds.
Thailand and Cambodia have been locked in violent clashes this week along roughly an 800-kilometre (500-mile) border, a flare-up stemming from a decades-long territorial dispute over ancient temple sites. The renewed fighting has forced about half a million people on both sides to flee and has killed at least 20, with hundreds sheltering from near-constant bombardment in concrete bunkers.
"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 brush in July, when earlier border clashes erupted and lasted five days, leaving dozens dead. After ensuring his pupils were safe, he remained at the school and turned to painting as a way to process fear and trauma.
"Of course I'm frightened, but art helps bring my feelings back under control," he said.
Shelters Offer Comfort, But Tensions Remain
Approximately five kilometres from the frontier, the boom of artillery often reverberates so strongly that it shakes the windows of empty classrooms. Newly built concrete bunkers layered with blue-and-white sandbags have become a refuge for some residents. The shelters, completed in November, provide a sense of safety and a place for neighbours to gather.
Sommai Sisuk, 62, a farmer and lottery-ticket seller, sits near a small fire with neighbours, warming their hands and cooking sticky rice. "During the last fighting, we didn’t have any bunkers at all," he said. "Having this bunker here is life-changing. When the gunfire gets loud, we can all run inside together. It feels warm, safe, and comforting." Yet Sommai fears the violence will continue: "The fighting will drag on. Thailand won't give in, and Cambodia won't give in either."
Why This Matters
Watthanachai's murals are both a personal coping mechanism and a visual record of life under conflict — a reminder of how civilians adapt amid instability. The shelters provide immediate protection, but many locals remain pessimistic about a quick resolution to the border dispute.
