Chairat Sanusan, 39: Thai laborer had 'great times' on avocado farm

Murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7

Chairat “Pu” Sanusan, 39, an agricultural laborer from the Udon Thani province in northeastern Thailand, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7.

Chairat is one of six Thai workers slain when Hamas attacked their living quarters on the kibbutz that day, along with Mon Jantharasena and Jackky Sophakul.

A survivor from Kissufim, Kittipong Chaiyako, told Reuters that “the fighting was happening right in front of me. As Hamas came, the Israeli soldiers fired more rounds at them. I witnessed it all, the smoke billowing from the vehicles while the spent ammunition ricocheted against our camp.”

Kittipong said that “the faces of six of my friends who were killed in the attack have never left my heart. I can’t even describe the loss… We ate together, we joked around together, we worked together and had great times. Then this happened, I can’t wrap my head around it.”

Chairat’s body was flown back to Thailand for burial on October 19. His cremation ceremony was held on October 23 in his home village of Non Sung in the Nam Som District.

He is survived by his wife, Auanchit, and his six siblings.

According to a local Thai news site, his wife lit nine incense sticks when her husband’s body arrived back home and called out his name “in a trembling voice.”

Auanchit told another news site that the couple had been married for six years, but only lived together for 3.5 of them since he had been working for more than two years on the avocado farm in Kissufim.

She said every month he would send home 30,000 baht to cover expenses and to pay off their debts, both on their car and to the bank for the loan to cover his travel to Israel, which was still not paid off when he was killed.

In January 2024, Auanchit wrote on Facebook: “I miss you all the time. There’s never a day that I don’t miss you.” Marking the anniversary of his death, she wrote: “Miss you so much.”

His brother, Watchapon, shared on Facebook a video of the memorial to all those killed in Kissufim on October 7, writing: “Watching this made me cry. I miss you.”