Issue 7: Winter 2026
Editor: Peera Songkünnatham
Cover art: Adrian Beyer
Agenda: Walk a mile in the shoes of outsiders in the Malay peninsula
Inspired by the work of several kindred spirits from Malaysia, some of whom the editor met through the Democracy Discourse Series program organized by De La Salle University, the Philippines, Orang Luar is an attempt to forge a possible tradition of internationalism from below that may help us find creative ways to act outside the demobilization into political parties that very much characterizes the present moment in the mid-2020s for both the Thai ratsadon and the Malaysian rakyat.
Rolling out!
Written by Zikri Rahman
Translated into Thai by Hara Shintaro
Translated into English by Amir Hamzah Mohd Rizal
Illustrated by Adrian Beyer
Patani in Three Vignettes
Pattani Tiga Babak dalam Tiga Judul Kecil
ปตานี สามองก์ในสามเรื่องเล็กๆ
“In this case, identity is no longer a noun, instead it is forced to be a verb. The struggle to become a Malay Muslim in Southern Thailand is one thing. To immediately be a Malay Muslim in Malaysia is another. Where, then, rests the ‘outsider’, and where the ‘insider’, when we consider these two realities?”
Written by Sorayut Aiemueayut
Translated into Malay by Hara Shintaro
Translated into English by Peera Songkünnatham
English translation proofread by Najib Ibn Ahmad
Illustrated by Adrian Beyer
Orae Lua | Outsider
ออแฆลูวา | คนนอก
Orae Lua | Orang Luar
“ ‘We’re both outsiders,’ Bae Ni said matter-of-factly.
“It’s been more than twenty years since Bae Ni moved to this kampong as a son-in-law.”
Written by A. Phonlachand
Translated by Peera Songkünnatham
Illustrated by Adrian Beyer
Entanglements of Bahasa Melayu in Phasa Thai
ความเกี่ยวข้องของภาสามลายูไนภาสาไทย
“Spoken language, like all things, is better off as a result of intermixing. If our Thai language lacked the mixture of other languages, then its flavor and texture would scarcely leave an impression.”
Written by Boonlua Debyasuvarn
Translated by Peera Songkünnatham
Illustrated by Adrian Beyer
Is the Thai Language in Step with the Times?
ภาษาไทยเป็นภาษาที่ทันกาลหรือไม่
“Speaking at this conference was, I’d say, hard in a way and easy in a way. The hard part was that the Thai person, if they were not careful with words, could be accused of one-upmanship against others whose countries had just become independent.”
Past Issues
Issue 1: Mothers
Issue 2: Con-sti-ti-ti-ti-ti-tew-tion
Issue 3: Madman, Madwoman, Madhuman
Issue 4: How Obscene!?
Issue 5: Yours Truly, Ratsadon
Issue 6: Just: A Daydream
About Sanam Ratsadon
Founded in 2021 by a group of volunteer translators, Sanam Ratsadon offers glimpses into Thai political history through stories that capture the resilience, creativity and voices of commoners.
As an online platform for Thai historical sources in English translation, we collect and promote the writings, art performances, and oral histories that shed light on the lived experience and the linked fate of ordinary people past and present. Each issue carries a theme.
Why Sanam Ratsadon?
Sanam Ratsadon means Commoners Field. We take this name from pro-democracy activists’ subversive renaming of Sanam Luang, an open-air, historical site located in the heart of old Bangkok. Conceived as a royal field [‘Luang’ literally means ‘royal’], the common people from the middle and lower classes had at various points in time used and enjoyed Sanam Luang for various purposes: as a public space to fly kites, picnic, spend leisure time, sleep, cruise and sell sex, and also to stage political rallies. In recent years, it was fenced up and reserved mainly for state and royal functions. In September 2020, protestors from various activist groups placed a democracy plaque in the field to reclaim it for the masses. That symbol of resistance disappeared overnight.
Sanam Ratsadon is a tribute to the generations who have fought for democracy in Thailand. This website showcases the contest for meanings in public spaces. It also tells and explores Thailand’s history as it questions and builds it from the points of view of commoners.
Sanam Ratsadon 