Daily Times

Sir: While many in Pakistan have been enthralled by the upcoming elections, Reham Khan’s book, and the Avenfield case, there was another incident about 3500 kilometres to our east in Thailand that was capturing the headlines around the world.

On 23 June a group of 12 members of a local football team, all boys between the ages of 11 and 17, as well as their 25 year old coach, entered a cave complex called Tham Luang, with the plan to have a birthday party inside. These caves are visited by countless people around the year without any mishaps, however, it was flooding season and soon the water within the caves started to rise. Soon their passage back was blocked, and the team found themselves stuck about 3.2 kms inside the cave. For nine days, the boys and their coach sat in the complete darkness; with only the meagre snacks they had bought for the birthday party to sustain them. They had no sense of time, they were extremely cold, and had only the water dripping off the surface of the caves to survive on.

The search for the lost team began the day after their disappearance. Their bikes, and shoes were found at the mouth of the cave, and further investigation revealed that many parts of the cave were inaccessible due to the heavy flooding.

Diving and Special Forces personnel from the UK, US and Australia were summoned to help Thai rescuers with the operation. After nine days of trying, the team was finally found, a little shaken up but mostly in good health. All had suffered some weight loss, with the coach enduring the worst effects, as he had refused to eat any food throughout his stay.

Even after being found, rescue workers had to then formulate a plan that would allow them to get the team to safety. This was complicated by the narrow tunnels, the excessive flooding and the fact that none of the children knew how to swim. It took a further six days before the water level in the caves receded enough for the rescue operation to begin. By Sunday, 4 July, the first four boys were rescued, with four following the next day, and the remaining four, along with their coach coming out on 10 July.

This was an incredible achievement that was a testament to what human beings can accomplish if they set aside their difference and work together as a team. One rescue operative lost his life during the operation, while another was informed of his father’s death back home, yet not one was willing to give up on the helpless boys and their coach.

World leaders congratulated the efforts of the rescue teams, and several prominent football clubs from around the world, including FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Benfica etc invited the boys and their coach to visit their stadiums as soon as they had time to recover from their ordeal. Perhaps people in our country can also learn to set aside our difference, and work towards the common goal of ‘rescuing’ Pakistan; then perhaps we too might be successful in achieving our objectives in the end.

AHMAD ASRAR

Quetta

Published in Daily Times, July 12^th 2018.