Hers is neither a story of a pretty canary in a cage, nor a Cinderella-like fairy tale of a girl who will soon get rich and find love.
Hers is a teary memory of 12 days in prison, struggling for economic and ideological attainment.
At 22, Chonticha Jangrew's rite of passage is here and now. She is the only female in the group known "the 14 students" who were arrested, charged, jailed and released for their protest on the first anniversary of the coup.
History sometimes has a familiar face. Some observers likened "the 14 students" as the catalyst in the challenge against today's junta to the "13 students" who marched against the dictatorship of Field Marshall Thanom Kittikachorn in 1973, demanding a new constitution and bringing about the "October 14 Event", when more than 100 protesters were massacred by the army and police.
Some may be very nostalgic and see the skinny, bespectacled Chonticha as the plump, also bespectacled Saowanee Limmanond, a fiery female student leader during the Oct 1973 uprising.
But such comparisons do not give Chonticha, better known among friends and family as Luk Kade, goosebumps. She simply said she and her friends never wanted to be heroes. They did what felt right and embraced unavoidable tasks that fell upon them since other conventional activists had been curbed.
"We don't know if what we have been doing or are now doing is too little or too much. We see ourselves as the affected individuals from the derailed democratisation of the country. Our activities are limited by our own student status and economic situations at home," said Chonticha.
Though not all "the 14 students" are students — three graduated a few years ago and two, including Chonticha, were soon to graduate — their treatment and imprisonment following the protests on May 22 and June 26 raised outcries around the world. Their New Democracy Movement has also drawn criticism from others in society who buy the regime's reform push, and who see them either as a nuisance or negative influence.
Still, their voice has been heard. On May 22, they staged a silent sit-in at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre which ended in a scuffle. On June 24, the day that marked the 1932 revolution, they staged another protest and two days later they were rounded up and put in jail by a late-night court order.
Pressure from domestic and international organisations partly resulted in their release after 12 days, but they still faced charges. The case is with the police and no one knows when it will be sent to the prosecutor.
Chonticha recalled how she went through the ordeal pre- and post-imprisonment.
"We were very angry and overwhelmed on the evening of May 22. The military had power for a year already. We just asked for 15 minutes but they couldn't tolerate that," said Chonticha, a history student at Srinakharinwirot University, Prasarnmit Campus.
"So we felt determined we would sit there facing whichever circumstances. Not that we were not afraid, but we felt tired of entering the same loop where people had to stay silent." She was seen sobbing, but was not terrified.
"We're familiar with some plainclothes officers. After all, it already touched nerves after the coup last year as we saw our friends being summoned one after another and certain scholars and activists had to go into exile," said Chonticha.
The day after Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha staged Thailand's 18th coup, Chonticha alongside the chubby, sunglasses- wearing student known only as "Champ" and other friends were eating sandwiches and reading 1984 in public as a gesture of protest. All of them were arrested and forced to sign a paper pledging to refrain from political rallies.
Going back months preceding the 2014 coup, Chonticha was among the Srinakharinwirot University students who organised a candle-lighting event to show solidarity with those asserting their views on basic rights of the people in light of the tumultuous anti-election furore and calls for military intervention.
Going up against the establishment and even being involved in scuffles may sound like an action movie — or a romantic ideological struggle — but in real life, it's not fun at all. Making peace with her own family was another tough issue. Chonticha's father is a military policeman and her mother is a housewife. Her father is strict and they got into a fight when she became a liberal activist. Though, when she was put in jail, her parents morally supported her despite the fear of backlash.
In order to save her family from being harassed and monitored, she and her activist boyfriend from Kasetsart University thought of getting married to shift the focus from her family. However, on June 8, a court summons arrived and the marriage certificate was registered on June 19.
"He's a true friend. He's willing to embrace any risk in the months and years to come. In fact, he was also arrested together with me at the sandwich protest," said Chonticha about her husband. After she left home, she didn't meet her family until she was arrested on June 26, along with the 13 other students, at Suan Ngern Meena, a centre owned by scholar and firebrand Sulak Sivaraksa. Police had been following them since the June 24 protests at Democracy Monument and made a move two days later.
"For us, we needed to stay sane and remind ourselves that we had the right to live our lives normally. During our stay at Suan Ngern Meena, we played ping-pong, danced and sang. We had crossed over the swamp of fear, so when they decided to come and arrest us, I didn't cry. We allowed them to take us away," said Chonticha.
That night, the military court refused bail. At dawn, they were transported to Bangkok Remand Prison.
Despite strong moral support, Chonticha was taken aback by the world behind bars. None of the detainees were put into the initial reception zone before dawn, which is supposed to be customary practice. Because of a weakness in one limb, Chinticha was brought to the nursing ward inside the women's prison. But that limited her movement to just one floor. The first two days in prison were lonesome as it was the weekend, and no one could visit her. Again she cried.
"It was the lowest moment," she admitted. On the Monday her mother, lawyers and other friends visited her, but food and daily essentials could only be delivered three days later.
"Inmates are actually humane, some wardens, as well. If they did not share daily essentials with me, I would have had no soap or shampoo or food. So when I got my stuff from friends and family, I shared it with them," said Chonticha.
There was a moment of rare joy — or maybe a bitter one. One day in the prison, activist friend Pornthip Munkong, aka Golf, was smiling and waving at her while passing. Pornthip, 26, was sentenced to 30 months in jail on a lese majeste charge for staging the play The Wolf Bride at Thammasat University in October 2013.
Chonticha tried to pass along a message to Pornthip, though a piece of paper and a pen is a rare asset for inmates. Chonticha managed to write a note of support to her, but other inmates advised her not to send it and she tearfully tore it up.
Her 12 days in jail was a tough test, but the ordeal didn't stop there. On July 8, the day of her release, the prison's driver, nurses and wardens were given a strange order. They were to send Chonticha to her house in Pathum Thani, despite her request to be released in front of the prison to join the other male students in her group.
"It's like a silly tug-of-war. The order for release came around 5am. I was so worried if my family knew about it, and I tried to reach my husband's phone," she recalled. "He was waiting in front of the prison already [but my driver drove away]. So he got a taxi to follow us. I tried to ask the prison car to stop, and they did at a petrol station but refused to release me to my husband, and they didn't allow my husband to get into the car."
She managed to get out near her house, where she met her husband and they returned to the prison to join the other freed students at midday.
With two impending lawsuits, part-time employment, a health problem — she has Thalassemia — and her master's degree being suspended for a year, Chonticha is determined to carry on the fight with the New Democracy Movement.
"I don't know if our stance will spark any effort to stand up against the authorities. We just think that if there is an accumulated will to delegitimise the military judiciary process, that will be an achievement in itself," said Chonticha.
"Society should delete the old image of innocent students joining forces to fight dictators — like the Oct 14, 1973, model. It should not be just the scholars, the intellectuals, or the students who monopolise righteousness or wisdom. We, the people, are equal, we learn our lesson every day. We have to be courageous and wise," said Chonticha.
