Support Pours In Online For Hat Yai Residents

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AFTERMATH

Support pours in online for Hat Yai residents

Supicha Rattana,

Somchai Samart

The Nation

HAT YAI: -- As support for businessmen and residents poured in via social networking websites, the Lee Garden Plaza Hotel's president Wanchai Leelasithorn yesterday promised that the site would go into operation soon.

The complex in Songkhla province’s Hat Yai city was hit by devastating blast on March 31.

"I will have the place restored as soon as possible so the culprits do not feel satisfied by watching us suffer. I will ensure the hotel and shopping plaza resume operations as soon as possible," the 70-year-old executive said.

Some measures can be taken to restore the confidence of tourists and investors.

He also urged all parties in Hat Yai to join forces and get through this together. Emphasising that his company executives, who are all members of his family, were focusing more on helping the victims instead of worrying about the damages, Wanchai said he had also set aside funds for the relatives of those killed. So far the company has given Bt150,000 to each of these families.

"I confirm that I still have the will to fight and will not be discouraged by what happened," he said.

Though the damages to the hotel are still visible and immense, the hotel's managing director Thidanant Leelasithorn said it was still home. However, she said, her family and the 400 employees still had a smile on their faces thanks to the messages of support they have been getting every day since the attack.

Among the many comforting words, the sentence "Hat Yai people, we will get through this crisis together ..." was printed onto a Tshirt and sent to the hotel by a kind person, she said, adding that the hotel then decided to replicate these Tshirts and have the staff wear them while clearing the scene.

"First only staff members wore the Tshirts, but now customers and Hat Yai residents are also asking for it. Since the demand has been growing, the hotel has been producing more for free distribution. We have produced thousands of them and the demand has not dropped. Now we see this sentence everywhere we go," she said.

Since this Tshirt can not be found anywhere else, it has become a magnet for people to visit Hat Yai, she said, adding that people were being very supportive of hotel staff and fellow residents.

Somchart Pimthanapoonporn, president of the Hat YaiSongkhla hotel association, said more than half of the hotel bookings have been cancelled, as the bombing seems to have scared off Malaysian tourists. However, messages of support via socialnetworking websites is encouraging people from other parts of the country to visit the city during the Songkran holidays, he added.

"I can't believe that social networking can be so powerful. We originally thought it would take a long time to recover, but along came positive signals of understanding and desire to encourage Hat Yai and that has put smiles on our faces," he added.

Meanwhile, Lo Thien Ming, the older brother of Malyasian tourist Lo Thien Hok who died from the attack, said that he did not believe that Hat Yai was a dangerous city because the blasts were the actions of a small group of illintentioned people. He said he loved Thailand and would return to Hat Yai in the future.

-- The Nation 2012-04-06

[Gone]

WOW !!!! What a GREAT positive story for them all. There are still good folk out there. I wish them all the best of luck.