Thai citizens who live in Southern California are keeping a close eye on the events in Bangkok, where at least six protesters and a news photographer have been killed in the crackdown on the so-called "red shirts."
Many of the locals have ties to their homeland, and they fear it will do more than hurt the image of Thailand as a peaceful place.
Massage therapist Gaam told NBCLA that she feels sad about what is happening in Thailand.
"It's never happened like this before," she said at Thai Sabai Massage in Thai Town.
This is the section of East Hollywood where thousands of residents and hundreds of businesses with connections to Thailand are located.
Gaam and others have been following events abroad on Thai TV. The protests have been going on for weeks, but on Tuesday night, the government decided to crack down on them. Protest leaders gave themselves up to police, but more militant factions rioted and set fire to a number of important buildings -- including the stock exchange and the second largest mall in Asia.
"I couldn't sleep a wink last night," said Nong, a grocery clerk.
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However, she believes the government did the right thing in sending in the army to break up the protest. She and others said they are concerned about what the chaos in Bangkok will do to the tourism industry -- a main source of jobs and income in their homeland.
Bangkok was placed under a curfew Wednesday, but there are reports that the violence is continuing. Nong's colleague Toy Satha had tears in her eyes when she told us, "we hope everything be better."
