Detained.....Part I

I’ll never forget the voice of the captain as he said “please remain calm, but we’ve just got word that there’s been a military coup in Thailand.   Please report to your consulate or embassy as soon as you’re able after arrival”.   Strange how those words sounded – almost surreal.  Was I dreaming?  I remember pinching myself to see if I was asleep or if I had imagined the announcement.  With less than an hour before our scheduled landing at Bangkok’s international airport it was with a sense of naivety that I had no real concern for my safety…..   This is what I had signed up for - non-stop adventure I thought to myself.   As we made our final approaches to the airport I noticed that the runway was crammed with military vehicles, including a line of tanks facing the runway.   Touching down we were now heading away from the terminal - where were we going?   What on earth had I gotten myself into I thought as the bus came to a halt?

TW circa 1986

The plane had parked some distance from the terminal, as were all of the planes that were landing.  With the captain’s voice still reverberating in my head we deplaned onto buses, soldiers ringed the tarmac as we came down the steps and walked toward the bus.  More soldiers in full battle dress on the bus, automatic weapons at the ready and with rather surly dispositions I thought to myself as I observed them.

In those days, I had long hair (hey it was the 80’s) and after living in Darwin I really only had shorts and t-shirts to wear along with my thongs (thongs in Australia are what North Americans call “flip flops”).  And given the climate and the locale I blended in nicely……or so I thought.

In the years leading up to my trip there had been a lot of press about the crackdown on drug couriers across South East Asia.  Even today the majority of Asian countries have extremely strict laws and penalties associated with drug trafficking.  In Australia the most famous was the capture of Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers in Malaysia in 1983.  Prior to me leaving Australia they had been front page news, particularly since they had both been convicted and sentenced to death.

I remember the terminal as a complete and utter mad house as we were ushered in by the military from our bus.  Hundreds of people like me all looking for their bags, just wanting this to be over with. Strangely it felt like a scene from Casablanca, where everyone was trying to get somewhere else….   I tried talking to myself to try and remain calm, but there was hysteria in the air – everyone was spooked.  The soldiers were very aggressive and were demanding to see passports and travel papers for many of those around me.  I tried to focus on getting to the front of the line and getting the hell out of there.

And just like that I was being grabbed from behind and manhandled away from the line, I tried to shake whoever was grabbing me, but to no avail – just more hands encircled me.  My mind was racing as the soldiers pulled and pushed me away from the customs hall, I remember asking what was going on, but no one spoke – just more pushing and shouts in Thai by an ever more aggressive group.  

Thai military on the streets of
Bangkok shortly after a coup

A few minutes later I was roughly pushed into a small interrogation room – no bigger than 10x10, with a small card table and two chairs.  A soldier stood inside the room, weapon at the ready eyeing me in a decidedly nasty manner.  The fear was deep in my guts now, oh shit what was going on here…..   

All I can remember of the first few hours was the heat in the room, the overhead fan circling slowly and the soldier’s eyes burning into me.  I was more than sweating, I was soaked to the skin, and more from fear than anything else but the tension was palpable.  It didn’t take long for my thirst to get the better of me, and after repeated pleas for a drink I was allowed to approach the bucket and cup in the corner of the room…...

I could hear footsteps in the hall outside the door, next minute the door burst open and a senior officer strode in and told me to sit in the chair.  

His line of questioning went something like this……..”We know you are a drug courier (calm voice).  Who are you going to meet in Thailand? (in a progressively louder and more agitated voice)”   My response was “I have no idea what you’re talking about I’m a tourist here in Thailand”.  What made him even angrier was the fact that I was being vague about my plans in Thailand and with no booked onward flight I was a clearly suspicious, but as I said earlier this trip wasn’t about firm plans.   Clearly this didn’t go down well in this particular situation.  I then asked if I could see someone from the Australian consulate, this was refused but became a common request over the ensuing hours.   He informed me that Thailand was now under a state of martial law, and that all civil laws and liberties were suspended - I was being detained by the military suspected of being a western drug courier…….basically I had no rights which he made quite clear.

After about 30 minutes of this type of questioning he got up, and walked out of the room slamming the door behind him.  To say I was shit scarred was an understatement…….what now I thought.   A new soldier was now on guard duty in my room, no happier or more willing to talk than the last.

After what felt like an eternity he came back into the room and began as if he’d never seen me before with the same questions.  I was flabbergasted – didn’t he hear me the last time I thought to myself.  He tried the good cop, bad cop routine – asking me if I’d like something to eat and drink.   When I said yes, he’d say then tell me the truth and you can have whatever you want.  I felt a wave of relief, but when I answered with the same responses he shouted that I wouldn’t be getting anything unless I answered him more truthfully.  He’d then begin his single minded track of questions again – “who I was meeting in Thailand?” Accusing me of being a drug courier was like listening to a broken record…...  

My wallet and watch had been confiscated when I was initially detained so I had lost track of time and it got a bit hazy I must admit – the light remained on the entire time I squatted against the cold wall.  The guard changed a couple of times over the next few hours but for the most part time stood completely still…..as the fan whirred slowly overhead.  Each time a new guard came in I’d ask if I could have drink from the bucket, thankfully most times they nodded yes.  

My interrogator was getting pretty fed up with my by this stage and on the next visit after another tirade of questions and no satisfactory answers he pushed his chair back placed his right hand on his service revolver and took it out and placed it on the table before me.   The next words are still etched into my mind “do you know that lots of people disappear in times like this, yours will be no different”.   I was past the point of no-return now and with tears streaming down my cheeks I begged that I didn’t know anyone in Thailand and that all I was nothing more than a tourist.   He smiled, stood and then left once again.

God, was I going to die here in Thailand I thought?   He was absolutely right, not being too close to my family back in Australia I really hadn’t told anyone about where I was going or the timing of my trip to the various countries so I was totally alone.  No-one knew where I was or where I was supposed to be, all they knew was that I was going to be in Europe at some point and that I’d contact them once I arrived, but I was far from Europe and in deep shit.   Way out of my depth and no way to get help.  

On his next visit he started down the same old path of questioning….same response from me.   He took a sheet of paper from the folder he carried with him.   His eyes reviewing the freshly typed sheet, occasionally glancing over the page at me and with military precision he flipped the paper around and pushed it in front of me.   It was typed in Thai…….   He took out his pen and placed it deliberately on the sheet in front of me and said “now you sign”.  



Thai alphabet

I’m not signing this unless you tell me what it says I said.   No response except his steely gaze into my eyes, not even a blink, his face completely void of any emotion.  

“You will sign or you don’t leave”.

My mind was racing – did I hear him correctly?   If I don’t sign it I don’t leave, what does that mean?   Again he took out his revolver and placed it on the table in front of me to see.   Fear welling up in me, oh god I thought he’s going to kill me no matter what.   So with a shaky hand I reached for the pen, my sweat and tears dropping onto the typed pages slightly blurring some of the words…….what the hell did it matter anyway.  

Time stood still - does it matter if I sign it or not - or do I die here anyway?  

To be continued.......