Disabled police paint over pain

Disabled police paint over pain

Skills training aims to give officers wounded in the deep South a second chance

Smiling and laughing wearing a hospital gown, Pol Lt Wutthinan Chan-on decorates a T-shirt with the quotation: "A journey of a ten thousand li [Chinese measure of distance] begins with a single step."

For the officer, who lost his left leg in the southern unrest, the message represents his determination to return to work in Yala, once he has been fitted with an artificial leg.

Police and soldiers wounded on duty receive instruction in T-shirt painting, a short course jointly held by the Skills Development Department and the Army Housewives Club at Phramongkutklao Hospital. Apichart Jinakul

Pol Lt Wutthinan, known as "Ning", is among the police and soldiers injured on duty in the deep South receiving T-shirt painting training in Bangkok at Phramongkutklao Hospital, provided by the Skill Development Department and the Army Housewives Club.

Working in a special operations unit of Kotabaru police station in Yala, Pol Lt Wutthinan sustained serious shrapnel wounds to his left leg and left arm in a bomb attack on May 10, 2011. He underwent 10 operations to treat his wounds, but his left leg was amputated after becoming infected.

The 29-year-old officer said he wants to return to his career as a police officer because he is duty-bound to maintain peace and order in the restive southern province.

Painting T-shirts helped him to relax, he said, and he would transfer this knowledge to children in southern border villages.

Peace will be restored in the deep South if people from all walks of life come together to stop the violence, he said.

Everyone must do their utmost duty and state officials must not apply double standards while performing their duties, he added.

"All people are equally important. Restoring peace in the region is not easy, but it is not impossible. Peace will return only if everyone cooperates and is determined to achieve the same goal," he said.

He stressed that authorities must provide justice to residents to restore their faith in law enforcement.

Phramongkutklao Hospital has contact with 205 disabled commissioned military officers and 150 disabled war veterans.

A total of 20 disabled officers were involved in this first round of T-shirt painting training.

The T-shirt painting training is aimed at improving the quality of life for wounded soldiers and police.

Skill Development Department chief Nakhon Silpa-archa said the training would equip soldiers with skills to make a living.

Various other training courses such as welding, painting and watch and computer repairs would also be provided.

T-shirt painting was in high demand by hospital patients, said Mr Nakhon, during his visit to the training session.

Pol Maj Gen Suradet Jaruchinda, head of Phramongkutklao Hospital's command office, said the authorities would look after wounded and disabled soldiers.

They are entitled to monthly salaries and allowances and several rehabilitation projects are also available, he said.

Jobs selling government lottery tickets would be made available for some of the patients.

Private Suriya Khamcharoen, 24, a native of Bung Kan province in the Northeast, was also present at the T-shirt painting training session.

He sustained serious wounds after stepping on landmines along the Thai-Cambodian border in Kantharalak district of Si Sa Ket province opposite the Preah Vihear temple on May 30 last year. He lost his left leg and broke his left leg.

"Losing my leg while on duty is better than losing it in another incident," said Pvt Suriya. He said he was not sad about what had happened to him.

He wrote his nickname "Max" in English above a cartoon on a white T-shirt.

Though he had lost his leg, he was keeping his spirits alive, he said.

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