Narissara Jantasang’s nine-year-old son was filled with excitement as he watched footage of Thai hostages being released from Gaza on Thursday. However, his joy turned to confusion when he saw his mother in tears. “He asked me: ‘What’s going on, Mom?’” Narissara recalls. “He realized his dad was not among those released.”
On that day, five of the remaining six Thai nationals held in Gaza were freed after 15 months in captivity, but Nattapong Pinta, 36, was not one of them. He is the last of the dozens of Thais kidnapped by Hamas from farms in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
“I feel hurt; why wasn’t it him?” Narissara expresses. “I don’t know where to find an answer. Nobody can answer. I asked the embassy; they can’t tell me.” That night, their son, Weerapat Pinta, went to bed without dinner. “I just dropped him at school. Everyone is sad right now. I don’t know what to say,” she shared.
“I told my son to stay strong – let’s wait for Dad. He asked, ‘How long?’ I said maybe next Saturday, there might be another release,” Narissara explains. She reassures her family with the same message, despite lacking information about future releases.
Nattapong moved to Israel for work in 2022, attracted by the higher wages. “He wanted to improve our family situation. Our son was very young, and we didn’t earn enough here,” Narissara, originally from Nakhon Phanom in northeastern Thailand, explains. Nattapong worked diligently, often taking overtime to send more money home.
Throughout Thursday, Narissara kept in contact with Nattapong’s family in Phrae province, northern Thailand, as they awaited updates. They had been informed the night before by Thai authorities about the hostage release. The family was devastated when Nattapong was not among those freed.
Israel is a popular destination for Thai migrant workers, with around 30,000 Thais employed there before the conflict, primarily in agriculture. Following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, the Israeli government reported that Thais constituted the largest group of foreign nationals who were dead or missing. In addition to the five released on Thursday, 23 others were freed earlier in 2023, while 46 Thais have been confirmed dead.
For other families in Thailand, Thursday brought immense relief. Wiwwaeo Sriaoun’s home in Udon Thani erupted in cheers when they saw images of her son, Watchara, finally released. “I now know for sure that he is coming home and that he is alive and safe,” Wiwwaeo said, shedding tears of joy upon seeing proof of his freedom. Watchara’s nine-year-old daughter was overjoyed, eagerly anticipating seeing her father’s face.
