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The coach and three of the 12 surviving boys from a flooded cave this week are officially stateless, but could get accelerated Thai citizenship as a result of their 17-day ordeal.
Parents and friends have described Ekkapol Chantawong, 25, a kind and humble young man, pbadionate about sports and dreams of becoming a citizen of the country of his birth.
Authorities in Bangkok confirmed that Ekkapol and three of the trapped boys were "not Thai". citizens ", but the officials promised to provide them with legal badistance and say that, if there are no complications, all will have Thai nationality within six months.
As a member of the Tai Lue minority, rights groups say that Ekkapol should have waited until 10 years to gain citizenship, in a process that involves proving his Thai lineage and that is considered so laborious that many members of minority groups simply give up.
The Tai Lue are just one of many ethnic groups that for generations have crossed regions and borders in the remote hills between China, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. They are among some 500,000 people living in Thailand who are officially stateless.
Ekkapol, a former Buddhist monk, received many congratulations as he cared for the boys after they were trapped by the floods during a visit to the Tham Luang Caves on the 23rd. June
Also on Friday, members of the boys' families told reporters that the team had only planned to spend "about an hour" in the caves before returning home on their bicycles.
Korncam, father of the captain of the "Wild Boars" team, aged 13, said: "He told me that as soon as they finished training, They went to play at the cave, they thought they would only last one hour, while they were inside the cave, it was raining, the water was flowing and everyone was going. "
Banpot also recounted what his son had told him about the team's hour in the cave. They spent nine days surviving only with the snacks they brought and the water flowing from the ceiling, until two British volunteer divers found the group. "They sat quietly doing nothing because it was dark," Banpot said. "When they were hungry, Coach Ek used a flashlight to shine on the stalactites above."
Ekkapol expressed remorse for taking the boys to the cave after a football match, despite warnings that They can be dangerous during the monsoon season. , writing in a letter to parents of boys that he only wanted to take "the best care" from the team of "Wild Boars"
"Ek is a kind and humble man," said one of his relatives, Charoenpol. Rattanaweerachon, 52 "He loves sports, cycling and football from a young age, he loves nature."
On his statelessness, Charoenpol told Reuters: "He would like to become a Thai citizen."
Boys are not the only ones to be recognized by the Thai authorities as a result of the Drama rescue operation in the caves, which touched the audience around the world.
on Thai Channel Channel 3, all foreign volunteers The country's Ministry of the Interior will award awards to prestigious Thailand Elite cards.
Cards grant the holder an unlimited visa-free trip to the kingdom for five years, and can cost up to a million baht (£ According to Thai media, rescuers who have not left the country after their successful mission were also invited to a free visit of Chiang Rai and Bangkok before their departure.
They were invited to return to Thailand for a week of paid vacation at any time, at any time of their life in the next five years.
The attention given to Thailand by the history of Chiang Rai cave has not disappeared the authorities, and plans are moving to transform the cave complex itself in museum and tourist destination.
But for Santiphong Moonphong, president of a charity working to provide legal status to Thai minorities, the issue of statelessness of boys [1965902] He told the Thai newspaper The Nation that he hoped that the boys' situation would bring the problems of stateless people to greater public attention and inspire the government to act on the issue. 19659023]
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