Buddhist and Muslim Women Grieve Side by Side in �Widows Village�

January 30, 2006

Source: Gulfnews

Wire Service: Reuters

http://archive.gulfnews.com/world/Thailand/10015086.html

On January 30, 2006 Reuters reported, "In a remote rice paddy in Thailand's violence-torn south, a new village offers solace to dozens of women who lost their men to bombs and bullets. It is known as 'Widows' Village.'

Amid rows of new wooden homes, Muslims and Buddhists live side-by-side united in the grief wrought during a 2-year separatist insurgency that has killed more than 1,100 people.

Several widows said they were struggling to forget their pain and to get on with their new lives in a community that is guarded round-the-clock by dozens of troops.

'I feel safer here. I don't want go back,' said Somroutai, whose husband and brother were killed by unknown gunmen."