BANGKOK – It was Thursday for the 12 boys and their 25-year-old coach, who shared their drama of being stuck for almost three weeks in a flooded cave in northern Thailand during an exhibition. public in one of Bangkok's largest shopping centers.

The exhibition featuring members of the Wild Boars football team also shows a reproduction of the cave with simulated sounds of drops of water. The equipment used by rescuers and other souvenirs are on display.

Psychologists had advised boys, after their rescue in July, to have a six-month break after being forced to share their experience for their mental health. But the Thai military government, eager to share the glory of this good news, presented them for public appearances and interviews.

Other efforts to promote their history included the construction of a museum and anointment as the national hero of an ancient Thai marine SEAL who died while diving into the cave to deliver oxygen tanks.

An exception to this feeling of well-being has been a persistent quarrel between technology entrepreneur Elon Musk and British caving expert Vernon Unsworth, whose advice and experience has been deemed essential for the company. 39, rescue operation.

In an interview, Unsworth had criticized the fact that Musk had made considerable efforts to lend a bespoke mini-submarine to the relief operation, and Musk responded on Twitter with comments suggesting that the Briton was a pedophile.

The issue was relaunched last week, with Musk – questioned about the threat of a defamation lawsuit – doubling his charges, suggesting in emails to the BuzzFeed news site that Unsworth was a "rapist." "child" and was installed in northern Thailand a bride who was about 12 years old at the time. "He has not provided any evidence of his allegations.

Musk, whose seemingly unpredictable behavior on other topics has raised investor concern, also told BuzzFeed, in crude terms, that he hoped Unsworth would sue him.

In Bangkok, the deputy government spokesman, Weerachon Sukhondhapatipak, who organized several of the events with the boys, responded with concern to Musk's comments, stressing that Thailand was a destination for sex tourists.

"When there is this kind of perception, we should not ignore it, it reflects our image, which we must correct, and we will not blame him for saying," Oh, he said all these bad things. " , he said. "We should take this information and use it to make changes."

For boys, especially teenagers, Musk's controversy is not even a sight apart. They are carefully guided by a Thai government committee set up to control who has access to boys as they draw the attention of filmmakers and the media.

At least five of them at Thursday 's forum said more or less the same words: "my life is the same, but more people are approaching me".

The boys have already detailed much of their adventure at a press conference after being released from their sighting as a result of their rescue and during interviews with the US TV channel ABC.

At a round table moderated by Weerachon Thursday in the Siam Paragon mall, they mostly gave brief answers. Adul Sam-on admitted that the area in which they were in the cavern stank of urine – the issue of body excretions had been the subject of much speculation on social media.

The boys seemed to ignore the advice of the government to avoid talking about their ordeal.

Adul said he was surprised when he met officials such as American diplomats, but was not asked about what had happened in the cave. He said that someone told him later that there was a ban on people asking them questions about it.

His teammate, Ekarat Wongsukchan, is also amazed at why no one asked him about the events in the cave. "I started to doubt that I was also stuck in the cave," he said.

The boys and their coach were to participate Thursday in a government event called "United as One", a celebration with all those involved in the rescue operation on an outdoor field in Bangkok.