IT is Tuesday as I write this and we have just heard the news all the boys and their coach have been successfully rescued from the cave in Thailand.
At this stage we don’t know their detailed condition but we know they are out of the cave and being treated in hospital and have been able to see their parents and families but only through glass as they are checked for infection and so on.
There was such jubilation when the boys and their coach were found alive and pretty well, but the complexities of their rescue must have left most of us watching this unfolding story with our hearts in our mouths.
It is comparable only to the Chilean miners’ rescue (the miners have actually sent a message of support to these kids, some of whom are only 11 years old).
Few can imagine the horror of this situation, both for the boys themselves and the families who waited.
What a rollercoaster ride it has been and still is as I write.
There was the joy and relief of knowing your kids are alive and then the despair of learning the grim options of trying to rescue them. It is beyond anything imaginable.
If it was either of my two, or, for that matter, the unofficially adopted trio of grandchildren, I would be insane with worry and grief.
We here in Britain will probably never remember the name of Saman Gunan – a highly trained diver and retired Navy Seal – who lost consciousness on his way out of the cave complex on Thursday.
This expert diver ran out of oxygen.
His death underscored the danger of moving from the chamber to mouth of the cave, and raised serious doubts about the safety of bringing the boys out through the cramped, flooded passageways.
Officials said his funeral would be sponsored by the king of Thailand – and so it should.
He that died is a hero; but every single one of those from every single nation who were there trying their best to save these children were heroes – including the British divers who found them first.
And so, by the way, are the children and their coach.
In the first place, they have survived. Secondly, they appear to be showing huge stoicism in the face of their dire situation.
How frightening it must be to not know what is going to happen next. How mind-numbing it must be to sit on a ledge with nowhere to go and nothing to do.
They, along with their rescuers, are nothing short of amazing. And, by the way, we need to specially mention the five Thai Navy seals who stayed with the kids for five days and nights.
I pray with everything in me that there are no more casualties. I urge that, at the end of this ordeal, the children and coach are not just reunited with loving, relieved families, but get all the psychological help they are going to need.
What is happening in Thailand puts so much into perspective.
I have not given one thought to Trump and his stupidity, Brexit and its mayhem or the shenanigans of our politicians or celebrities. They matter not one bit when people of many nations come together – not for profit or for gain.
They come together because 12 children and a football coach were in danger and needed to be saved.
Colour, creed and nationality were no longer relevant. Political persuasion was not even considered. The boys in the cave was frighteningly awful and yet it brought out the best in humanity.
I am not suggesting that this should be the cost of bringing people together. That was just a heartwarming side benefit to a horrifying situation.
Thank God they are safe.
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