For almost two months, Maneerat Kote-Bandit had felt on edge, nervous that the tensions simmering on the Thai-Cambodian border might escalate. Everyone in her village, close to the disputed border, had been told to prepare emergency bags in case fighting erupted. “We kept following the news, staying alert and asking: is this the day?”
Still, when the boom of heavy artillery and gunfire echoed through her village on Thursday morning, she was shaken with panic. It was between 8am and 9am when the blasts started. Shortly after, a message was played on a loudspeaker across the village, urging people to get ready to flee.
