Nong Bua Lamphu: Nong Bua Lamphu Social Development and Welfare Office visited the area to provide moral support and financial assistance to Thai workers who were taken hostage by Hamas. They confirmed that they were not tortured and were satisfied with their living conditions while they were detained, but they did not want to work abroad again. They thanked all parties who helped until they were released and returned home safely.
According to Thai News Agency, on February 10, reporters visited a house in Village 2, Ban Phrao Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nong Bua Lamphu Province, owned by Mr. Sathien, 36 years old, one of five Thai workers in Israel who were held hostage by Hamas for over a year before being released on January 30. Mr. Sathien had just arrived home in a Department of Labor vehicle from Bangkok to Nong Bua Lamphu Province. Today, officials from the Department of Social Development and Human Security, or the Nong Bua Lamphu Provincial Social Development and Human Security Office, visited to offer encouragement and gave the family 3,000 baht in financial assistance.
When reporters asked about his life while he was being held hostage, Mr. Sathien said that he was not tortured, was in good spirits, and had eaten all three meals. At first, he had no chance to receive any news from the outside world. He had to listen to what the people who were holding him had to say, because he did not have a mobile phone or a television.
Mr. Sathien said that before the situation escalated and he was taken hostage, he heard gunfire continuously until a group of men came to arrest him and his friends at work. When he returned home, he felt very happy and no longer worried. He slept well last night. As for his future plans, he will save money to buy land, build a house, and will probably not go to work abroad again. He thanked all parties who came to help until he was released and returned home safely.