Summary

Religion and the Death of a Forest
By Gunnar Ray, Associated Press

Burriram, Northeast Thailand -- For the first time in Thailand's history,

a Buddhist monk sits behind the iron bars of a Bangkok prison.

Ajahn Piko, a leading activist and Buddhist monastic,

was arrested yesterday afternoon after leading local villagers

on a midnight rampage that resulted in the destruction of 40,000

immature eucalyptus trees. The rebel monk then set fire to a

half-a-million-dollar greenhouse. The government's replanting

of the nation's forest reserves with cash crops and removing

villagers from the land is leading to social unrest throughout

the country. In the name of protecting Sua Yai Forest--the last

green space in the province of Burriram--the monk has called

upon the nation to rise up against its government. Ajahn Piko

captured the curiosity of the populous two weeks earlier when

he and his village supporters ordained 1,000 native trees with

Buddhist robes. Widespread protests are in the works.

Gunnar Ray, features writer for the Bangkok Times, has pledged his support to the rebel monk of Burriram. That makes him an environmentalist. And therein lies his greatest challenge. Weeks earlier, the reporter wrote the obituary for an assassinated activist from the north. To free the imprisoned monk, Gunnar Ray calls upon a diverse cast of characters. Together they set out to derail the Forest Service's pledge to relocate five million villagers and replant their forest homes with paper-producing eucalyptus.

"Lek," the monk's beautiful niece, serves as his translator. Through her eyes, Gunnar is introduced to the neon-lit servitude that has, for decades, fueled Western images of Thailand. As they travel the countryside to generate support for the cause, Gunnar begins to understand the correlation between deforestation and prostitution in Thailand. The monsoon rainforests that once served as the medicine chest and food supplement to the rice farmers of the Northeast have become small islands in a sea of government agriculture.

To free the rebel monk Gunnar hatches a plan to capture the imagination of the populous. He mints 20,000 amulets with the face of the imprisoned Ajahn Piko and goes on a cross-country journey to have them blessed by Thailand’s “celebrity monks.” The journey takes Lek and Gunnar across the Laos border and into an unexpected adventure. To gain an audience with one of the most revered monks in Asia, he will have to hoodwink a Laotian village that has refused him passage.

With the distribution of amulets, Gunnar becomes a high profile activist. He returns to the Bangkok Times to find an unmarked package waiting. When he cuts the seal, his world is changed forever. A photo of the butchered body of a former activist with a picture of his own face falls onto the table. He is now forced to confront his deepest fears. He must choose how much he is willing to sacrifice for a people to whom he will always be a farang. The thought of leaving Thailand forces him to confront his love for Lek. Should he leave, her village would be forced to relocate. Lek could end up in a Bangkok brothel to help support her parents.

Time is running out for Ajahn Piko, Thailand's forests, and the villagers slated for relocation. The showdown comes when government releases the monk from prison.Throughout the story, Ajahn Piko has laid hints that a fiery and publicized death may be a last resort to save his forest and local villagers from relocation. His ultimate decision has a traumatic impact on Lek. She targets her uncle’s arch rival and unleashes a plan of revenge that the reader will not see coming.