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MAE SAI, Thailand – Adul Sam-on, age 14, has never been a foreigner at risk
At the age of 6, Adul had already fled a Myanmar territory known for guerrilla, opium cultivation and methamphetamine trafficking. His parents slipped into Thailand, hoping that a good education would give him a better life than his poor and illiterate family.
But his biggest escape came on Tuesday, when he and 11 other members of a football club The team, with his coach, was finally released from the Tham Luang cave in the north of Thailand after a test of more than two weeks.
For 10 days, Adul and his football team survived at the bottom of the cave as their food, flashlights and drinking water declined. By the time British divers found them on July 2, the Wild Boars and their coach seemed skeletal.
Adul, a stateless descendant of a Wa tribal branch, once known for his headhunting, played a crucial role in the rescue. acting as an interpreter for British divers.
Mastering English, Thai, Burmese, Mandarin and Wa, Adul politely communicated to British divers the greatest needs: food and clarity on how long they had been alive
When a teammate spoke English, "eat, eat, eat," Adul said that he had already covered that point. In images published by the Thai force SEAL Navy, he had a huge smile on his emaciated face.
On Tuesday, the border town of Mae Sai, where Adul lived in a church, was finally celebrated as wild boars. "The 18-day ordeal ended." During a three-day rescue mission, Adul and 12 other people were rescued from the cave by a team of dozens of divers, doctors and doctors. support staff
a nation that has endured four years of military rule and a growing rural-urban division
Mae Sai, where wild boars play football, seems an unlikely place for a resurgence of Thai pride Not far from where Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet in the Golden Triangle, Mae Sai is home to a population that has at times been skeptical of the Thai state and the state of Thailand. its institutions.
The Golden Triangle is a smuggling center. a sanctuary for members of various ethnic militias who have spent decades claiming the autonomy of a government in Myanmar that will regularly represses
Three of the players The trapped footballers, along with their coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, are stateless ethnic minorities, used to cross the border to Myanmar someday and return for a football match in Thailand the next day.
Their presence undermines a sense of Thai nationality that is girded by a triumvirate of institutions: the army, the monarchy and the Buddhist monastery.
After years of declining reputation due to a coup of the army in 2014 – a dozen successful putschs since the country abolished an absolute monarchy in 1932 – Thai militarism has been given the opportunity to shine its image.
SEAL divers from the Thai Navy became the faces of the rescue operation. Saman Gunan, 38, retired Thai SEAL diver, died during the effort to bring air tanks into the cave to help rescue. On Monday evening, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, head of the nation's junta, made his second visit to the cave site
"The military will score points here," said Rangsiman Rome, a leader student. for a restoration of democracy in Thailand, even as the army has repeatedly delayed elections and extended its power. "They get credit in this mission."
The Thai monarchy was also supported by the outpouring of support for the 13-member team entrapped.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who ascended the throne in 2016, engaged more actively with the public during the speleology crisis than any other time of his reign
Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, 13, wrote a card in German, wishing the successful rescue mission according to the Royal Household Bureau. Among the other gifts, the king contributed to the effort 2,000 raincoats.
With the English he was communicating with British divers on July 2nd, Adul was crucial to ensure the safety of wild boars. He is the best student of his clbad at Ban Wiang Phan School of Mae Sai. Her school career and athletic prowess have earned her free clbades and a daily lunch.
After crossing Thailand eight years ago, Adul's parents filed her at the Mae Sai Baptist Church, asking the pastor and his wife. Quality education was not available in the Wa Autonomous Region of Myanmar, where young boys risk being dredged in local guerrillas.
At the school of Ban Wiang Phan, where 20% of the students are stateless and half are The director, Punnawit Thepsurin, said that the uncertain status of the boy – he does not have any papers citizenship of any country – has helped to strengthen its strength. "Stateless children have a fighting spirit that makes them want to excel," he said. "Adul is the best of the best."
At least 440,000 stateless people live in Thailand, many of whom are victims of the long years of ethnic conflict in Myanmar, according to the UN refugee agency. Human rights groups say the actual number could reach 3 million – in a nation of nearly 70 million – even though the Thai government has refused to ratify the UN convention guaranteeing refugee rights .
Undocumented workers in Thailand may be at the mercy of human traffickers or unscrupulous employers. But wild boars have been a haven for stateless and Thai children. On weekends, the team often made outdoor trips to nearby jungles.
While a sign outside the Tham Luang Cave warns that monsoon showers can turn inward pbadages into mighty rivers within hours, the boys have already explored its caves. A rain forecast on June 23 did not deter the team from its adventure.
"They are at an age where they want to explore and learn new things," said Nopparat Khanthawong, the team's head coach, who has not joined Fateful Expedition. "It's natural for them to go to the cave."
Initially, there was speculation that Mr. Ekkapol, the 25-year-old coach who took the boys to Tham Luang's cave, was guilty of overseeing a poorly traveled trip . But local authorities quickly rejected this discussion
. The parents of the Wild Boars wrote letters to support Mr. Ekkapol. "Coach Ek," said Adul's parents in a note dictated to an intermediary, "thank you for taking care of the boys and helping them stay safe in the dark."
A stateless member of the Shan ethnic minority, Mr. Ekkapol has a long history of caring for children. After the death of his parents in Myanmar, while he was a young boy, he entered the Buddhist monastery in Thailand for nearly a decade, a common option for orphans without financial support.
One of the duties of Mr. Ekkapol says Patcharadanai Kittisophano, a monk from the temple of Phrathat Doi Wao, where the young coach is now working as a guardian.
The years of Ekkapol's spiritual formation have borne fruit in other ways. "In the cave, he taught boys how to meditate so that they could spend time without stress," said Patcharadanai. "It saved their lives."
While he was in the cave, Mr. Ekkapol sent a note to Navy divers to apologize to the boys' parents for misplacing the team.
"Ek had to blame himself," said Prayuth Jetiyanukarn, the abbot of the Prathat Doi Wao temple, while he was celebrating the news of the entire team's extraction from the cave. "He had to be aware and conquer his doubts so that he could be strong for the kids."
Mr. Nopparat, the head coach, said that Mr. Ekkapol was even hiding food and water in the cave to provide for the boys
"He'd rather die rather than to lose a single wild boar, "said Nopparat. "That's the kind of person he is."
As for Adul's parents, they advised the only one of their five children lucky enough to study in Thailand to be on his best behavior, even during the most traumatic moments. ] "After you got out of the cave," they told their son a note, "you have to say thank you to every officer."
Muktita Suhartono contributed to the report.
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