Children ready nets for cranes in today's drop

Rain forecast fails to dampen spirits

By Wassayos Ngamkham

Today's rain forecast for the deep South has not dampened the spirit of thousands of school children in Sai Buri district, Pattani who have prepared nets to catch paper cranes to be dropped from the sky.

Thousands of students of Daroonsart Wittaya School gathered at the school yard yesterday morning to prepare a net to catch the paper birds.

Early this week, hundreds of students made smaller nets which were sewn together to make a huge net for today's air-drop.

About 50 armed forces planes will drop more than 100 million paper birds over Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and parts of Songkhla.

Most students said they hoped to catch Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's paper crane.

``I want the prime minister's bird the most. I want a scholarship,'' said a 13-year-old Farida Kaso, a Mathayom 1 student. Mr Thaksin has offered a scholarship for a child and a job for an unemployed adult who collects the paper crane he folded and signed.

Fasila Marohseh, 13, said the net prepared by the students could catch about 3,000 paper birds _ and hopefully the prime minister's bird.

Saifuloh Abdulloh, 14, said he would ask his mother if he could use her kalamang, a washing bowl, to catch the birds.

``Above all, I can't really wait to see what's written on those birds,'' he said.

Aredee Muna, a Mathayom 2 student, has a contingency plan if he does not get the prime minister's bird.

``I'll collect the birds and exchange them for a bicycle,'' he said.

In Yala, people can exchange 50,000 paper cranes for a bicycle. The exchange policy is in place to encourage people to help in the clean-up after the birds have been dropped.

For 5,000 birds you can get an electric fan, and 2,000 birds a box of instant noodles.

In Pattani, the local fishermen's association has also joined in the catch. Fishermen have provided a 100-metre long fishing net which will be cast over Pattani river.

About 100 fishing boats will lay nets to catch the birds before they fall into the sea.

Governor Chirdpan na Songkhla said 20 birds can be exchanged for one box of milk. Local agencies had been asked to collect the birds and use them to decorate buildings. Some will also decorate the peace tree in front of Pattani provincial hall.

In Narathiwat, the exchange policy varies from one community to another, said governor Pracha Terat.

``The activities aren't fixed. It's just for fun and motivates people to help in the clean-up,'' he said.

The Songkhla-based weather office has warned of possible scattered rain in the deep South today.

Santad Panbanpaew, of Pattani weather office, said the Songkhla office predicts rain from now until the middle of this month.

``It's cloudy and windy but it's unlikely to affect the aircraft,'' he said.