Despite a ceasefire announced this week between Thailand and Cambodia, schools across Surin's border districts in Thailand remain firmly shut, even after the ceasefire restored an uneasy calm to the border.
The gates of the province's Ban Bak Chrang School are locked as weeds curl along the edges of the playground and stray dogs take over the grounds.
The day the rockets flew overhead will be one teacher Ploy Supisa will never forget. The way the ground shook, the cries of the children, the fear in their eyes will all be remembered.
"We are in the bunker. We can fit around 70 people in here but we never thought something like that would actually happen, like it did that day. The kids were shocked. They were crying. Their parents quickly came to collect them," said the teacher.
For students at these border schools, war preparedness isn't an occasional drill. It's part of the timetable. Bunkers -- thick, concrete slabs built on school grounds -- are as familiar as chalkboards.
When the dust settles, it's not just the community that needs rebuilding -- it will be the fragile rhythm of childhood itself.
"When something like this happens, it causes our children to feel frightened, terrified, and afraid, and they don't want to come to school. Because when they come to school, they're suspicious and worried that something like this will happen again in the future," said Pipatpon Kadam, a village headman.
Across the province, there are more than 250 schools, of which around 30 percent have closed indefinitely. But numbers barely capture the dislocation as the entire communities have been uprooted.
Surin's education officials are scrambling to provide alternatives -- mobile classrooms, distance learning, and emotional support.
"Teachers are also victims of the disaster. If we were to organize teaching in a situation where they're still not safe, it would not be effective. The key is that we have teachers who oversee the shelters. However, the teaching format might need to be adjusted and made more flexible because this situation has had an impact on teaching and learning," said Surin Provincial Education Officer Waraporn Boonjeam.
Scattered across evacuation centers, temple grounds, and makeshift shelters, the children of Surin are waiting for a return to normal that no one can promise.
On July 24, armed clashes erupted between Cambodian and Thai soldiers in border areas.
The two countries agreed on an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on Monday afternoon, taking effect at midnight on Monday.
Schools in Thai border area remain closed despite truce between Thailand, Cambodia
