BAAN POM-SA-RON, Thailand, Nov 24 (IPS) - Children at the largest school in this village close to the Thai-Cambodian border have a new regimen to follow besides books and sports. They have drills, practising evacuation, in case their school comes under an artillery attack.

The destination of such flight is visible across Pom-Sa-Ron Widhaya. Spread around the corners of the school’s playing field and behind the only building where 600 students study are 14 bunkers. Each is built with cement, fortified with sandbags and earth and can hold 30 students comfortably.

The bunkers at the school are among the clearest signs of unease that has swept across this area as relations between Thailand and its eastern neighbour Cambodia worsen. Thai authorities have built 340 bunkers in two schools and several villages in three sub-districts in Sri Saket, the province where Baan Pom-Sa-Ron sits. The bunkers, which have been built over the past three months, cost 40 million baht (1.2 million U.S. dollars)

"They were just finished last week," says Warunrat Chitruchiphong, the school’s English teacher, of the bunkers. "It is a way to protect the students in case there is a conflict."

"Evacuation drills have begun. We want to train the students how to take shelter," she adds. "We have had few practises, first by getting the students to leave classes and assemble outside."

This shift in the rhythm of a school day has begun to shape conversation in the classrooms. "Students talk about what they have to do if there is an attack," says Supawadee Chaladyam, a 17-year-old who dreams of a career in nursing. "I have gone to the bunkers with my classmates when we have free time."

Parents welcome the protective net spread across this area by the government. "This area has seen tension before because of border problems. People had to move out of their villages," says Wichet Buakew, who has a son and a daughter at the school. "It is good that the government has built these bunkers for the children."

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49385