Narathiwat victim ‘won’t give up’ despite second insurgency-linked fire

“But I don’t know for how long I can do this,” said Waraporn Sirichai, the owner or the Super 4 Narathiwat Department Store.
Her store has been targetted by arsonists twice -– once on September 1, 2010, and again about midnight on Friday.
Warapron, who was at the store on Saturday morning to check what goods were left unscathed by the fire, said the latest arson attack caused damage worth about Bt100 million.
Waraporn is a local businesswoman who has been operating the store for over 30 years. She also has department stores in Pattani and Yala, and all of them have been hit by arson attacks.
She noted that the arsonists had not only damaged her business, they had affected the livelihoods of local people hired to work at her stores. As a result, she would like the government to come up with some measures to help her.
She said she decided to keep her business open for fear that, if she gives up, no businesspeople from outside the region would dare to come and invest.
“If local people cannot fight, who else will?” she said.