If one has a chance to pass by Rajdamnoen avenue, I am certain that everyone will probably notice Mahakarn Fortress, a prominent fortress located nearby Phan Fah Pier. Besides the obvious physical characteristics of the fortress, not many people really realize that behind this historical fortress, there lies a story of dwellers, who fight to remain the existence of their community.

In a year 2003, I have had a chance to visit the community behind the Mahakarn fortress. It was the time that Governor Samak Sundaravej ordered the community behind the Mahakarn fortress to be demolished within one month. The issue raised some discrepancies between the dwellers and officers, and caused many criticisms from scholars.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has a plan to create a 'visual space' and improve a city plan of Rattanakosin Island, the historical heart of Bangkok. With that being said, the BMA thus claims to demolish 21 communities within the Island. However, the BMA itself does not have a proper measurement to moderate any problems that may follow. As a consequence, violence and disputes occurred. These communities are just examples of many communities in Bangkok that are experiencing such action.

Looking back at the government's policy, the one that aims to eradicate poverty, I remember hearing the announcement made by the government to get rid of the problem within the year 2006. Under the idea of the Prime Minister that poverty is caused by the lack of wealth, the government thus invested a vast amount of money into the poor in order to solve the problem.

Nonetheless, the government's policy is contradicting with its ongoing action. The eviction of many communities in Bangkok area clearly implies that the government has no real intention in solving the issues of poverty. May it be that the poor in these communities are not the government's voting bases, the problem of the poor, who live in Bangkok is, therefore, not an issue for the government. The enormous investment to revamp Rattanakosin Island as a tourist attraction seems to be an ambitious project -- investing a lot of money without knowing the outcome. Instead of solving the existing problems, the government is creating a new one. 

The eviction of the communities is just a consequent of the problem. The true cause lies in the secretive involvement of influential capitalists in the decision making process (for a sake of claiming a stake of Rattanakosin Island). No one knows of the potential benefit or who loses and gains from such action, but certainly, this benefit must be so high that the government can ignore the harms caused to its own populations. Or to make the matters worse, this action may be a government's plan to eradicate the poor ? starting from the demolition of the communities in Rattanakosin Island and slowly expands to other areas, and finally there will not be poor people in this country.

It is time for us to get involved in the decision-making process, to determine our future and aware of any policies concerning our joy and sorrow. Lastly, the government itself should be more serious in solving the problems.