At first glance, few people would ever expect 51-year-old taxi driver Subin Samart to be as happy as he is today. Subin's story made waves on social media late last year when a photo of him was posted by one of his sympathetic passengers, accompanied by his story of rejection from various jobs and passengers due to his disfigured face, the result of a childhood accident when he was five years old. This attention has earned him the support of various organisations, most recently GrabTaxi, which late last year approached Subin to recruit him as a driver.
A native of Thailand's Roi Et province, Subin suffered a severe childhood injury when another boy in his neighbourhood accidentally swung at him with a lead pipe, shattering his cheekbones and leaving him with a swollen, disfigured face.
"My family couldn't afford the costs of treatment at major hospitals, so we were forced to rely on local medicines and herbs to treat my face," Subin told Life.
While effective at treating the outward injuries, the local medicines of Subin's hometown did nothing to reset the bones in his face or treat internal injuries, causing large portions of his face to swell up over time as his body naturally grew, with the protruding growths reaching down as far as his chest at one point.
Subin's injuries also forced him to quit school after the fourth grade, as he felt his presence in the classroom was holding back his friends, who would often get into trouble for making fun of him. He figured that by removing himself, his friends would be able to really focus on school without having to deal with the punishments for picking on him.
"The other children at school would call me names like 'ghost-face', which would earn them a trip to the school's disciplinary teachers, which only made their opinions of me even worse," he recalled.
As an adult, Subin's condition continued to rob him of opportunities, as he was rejected from numerous jobs when he first moved to Bangkok for work. Even when he landed a job as a taxi driver almost 20 years ago, his injuries continued to make finding a living more challenging than it had to be.
"I would have passengers who would take one look at me and refuse to get in the car," he said.
"I've even had passengers who got in my car without first seeing my face, only to tell me to pull over and drop them off, so they could call another taxi. I'd always ask them why they had to be afraid of me, when I never meant them any harm. It was only thanks to the kindness of the people around me, and especially that of the royal family, that has kept me positive today."
According to Subin, the contusions on his face slightly hinder his eyesight in his right eye, where they have grown upwards, covering the lower part of his eye.
"My vision is a little blurry in my right eye, especially when it is sunny outside," said Subin.
"I can't wear glasses either, so I've had to make do with my condition, resting whenever the irritation gets too severe."
These physical limitations can sometimes have major impacts on Subin financially, as he must continue to pay off his taxi while also providing for his family in Roi Et.
"Sometimes, the symptoms become so bad I can't drive," he said.
"Every month, I generally have about 30,000 baht's worth of expenses, including the payment on my taxi as well as the monthly stipend I send home to my family. On especially bad months, I don't even have the money to pay for my taxi."
Subin's luck began to take a turn for the better when he was invited to be the focus of the Thai TV show Rueng Jing Parn Jor (Thai Real Channel), a programme focused on shining a spotlight on various social issues or less-fortunate individuals.
"The people on the show tried to get me admitted to Chulalongkorn Hospital for surgery," he said.
"At first, the doctors refused to treat me as they thought the surgery was too risky, and that there was a good chance that I wouldn't make it through. It wasn't until the third visit to the hospital that they agreed to treat me."
The sudden change in the doctors' hearts came about thanks to the intervention of His Majesty the King himself, who accepted him as a patient under his royal patronage.
"I just broke down and cried when I heard the news," said the taxi driver. "To think that I would receive such kindness from HM the King himself; it was simply overwhelming. They transferred me to another doctor, who promised me I would be treated."
Since then, Subin has undergone three rounds of surgery, which reduced much of the growths on his face. The surgeries proved to be timely, as one of the growths was putting pressure on an optic nerve, which would have blinded him had he not received the surgery.
"I even received a personal visit from HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn herself," Subin said proudly, smiling as wide as his condition allowed. "Even now, I struggle to wrap my head around how fortunate I've been, to receive such kindness and encouragement from the Princess, as well as all the members of the media who have taken an interest in my story since then."
Subin, whose limited education has only allowed him to passably read and write, had no idea that his story was going to be shared on the internet when his passengers asked to take a picture of him with his taxi, and was surprised to receive hundreds of supportive phone calls from strangers who have learned of his life.
"The day after my story was posted online, I received hundreds of phone calls all day long from strangers who wanted to give me words of support and encouragement after having heard my story," he said.
"Some of them even called in from abroad. To this day, I still can't figure out how they knew my number."
Even though the continuing outpouring of support has yet to translate into better financial prospects for himself, Subin continues to be thankful for all the help he has received in all of his actions everyday.
"I feel grateful to everyone who has allowed me to earn a living, to all my passengers, my doctors, the royal family, even the strangers who have called in or stopped me on the street to give me encouragement," he added. "I am infinitely grateful for all the generosity they have shown me. I promise to be a good man as repayment for this kindness."
