Prisoners join Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates of the Phuket Provincial Prison are taking part in the Vegetarian Festival this year. Although they will not be joining any marches, the 235 prisoners have donned white T-shirts donated by a local motorbike dealership and will be eating only vegetarian food, supplied by the Jui Tui Shrine. Winai Ruengjaruwattana, who is a member of the Shrine committee, and who initiated the program said, “Everyone who wants to take part in the festival should have the chance to do so. “Even if people are in the prison, it doesn’t mean their minds cannot be free. This program will help them to control themselves better, to be calm and to be happier.” At the opening ceremony for the program, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi said, “I think this program will help everyone to feel that they are part of the community. “During an important festival such as this [prisoners] should be able to join in. I hope they will use this opportunity to think again about what they have done in the past and to improve themselves so that they will be ready to fit into society when they are released.”
