One of our readers, Bruno Roussel, reached out to Coconuts with a touching open letter he’d penned to his Thai friends that discusses his grief on the passing of the king, as a foreigner. Roussel has lived in Bangkok for four years and is Head of the Games Department at SAE, Thailand.
Since this is a topic that’s being spoken of in our office as well, we thought we would share his letter with you:
On the passing of the King of Thailand — I feel like my best friend lost his father.
As a foreigner, it’s never truly suggested to talk about the King of Thailand, not due to laws, but due to our inability to comprehend how meaningful the King has been and will continue to be to the people of his nation. Our grief can never equate to their grief.
After careful personal thoughts, wondering if my words were worth echoing, I thought I should, for my Thai friends who grieve, tell them that they do not grieve alone.
The perfect metaphor came to me…I feel like my best friend lost his father.
I never truly knew the father of my best friend, but I smiled a sympathetic smile as I remembered the times my friend told me the tales of his father. He told me his father cared for all of them individually; he told me his father looked out for all of his sons and daughters even if it was very worrying for him to do so. His father didn’t stay in his office even if he could have, instead he would get in the dirt to play with him, to comfort him, to strengthen him, to mold him into who he wished him to be one day.
Once the father of my friend passed away, I delved into his family album and watched all of the stories of my friend come to life, his words toward his father were genuine, his love well-placed and the principle of his endeavors truthful. I realized that my friend didn’t exaggerate the deeds of his father. He simply stood proud that his father had been a great father regardless of how mischievous some of his people may have been.
I think, as a foreigner, we see Thailand in the same way as a common man would stare at the night sky. He does not know where to look, so he sees the moving stars and the chaos and cannot discern any unity…but if he lives long enough in that world and stares at the sky every day, he will find that one star that stays unflinching while the chaos of the universe spins around it.
That was the father of my best friend; he was the constant in their chaos, the unflinching Polaris of their hectic universe.
It may be impossible for me to grieve for his father, but I grieve for my best friend who has lost the father they so proudly talked about.
And that, a foreigner can truly understand.
– Bruno Roussel
Roussel also takes photographs of Thailand. Follow him on Instagram here.
A photo of the writer.
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