The Week India - July 29, 2018

38 THE WEEK • JULY 29, 2018

THAILAND

CAVE RESCUE

Life outside

Th am Luang is sealed for the immediate

future, and the Wild Boars are out of

hospital. Here’s looking at the developments,

just before the spotlight dims

BY MATHEW T. GEORGE/CHIANG RAI

WHISPERS OF GRATITUDE

A woman prays during the

thanksgiving ceremony following

the cleanup operations at the

Tham Luang cave

During the ceremony at Th am

Luang, THE WEEK met Anan Lee,

whose daughters studied in the same

school as some of the rescued foot-

ballers. “I know some of these boys

personally,” he said. “Very helpful

kids. Last month, I saw someone

struggling to load a package on to a

motorbike. Two of these boys saw

it and immediately went to help.

Th ey were not called; they just have

good hearts.” Lee hoped three boys

After the cleanup operations at

Th am Luang, a two-part Buddhist

ceremony was held on July 16, Mon-

day—a rite to ensure a good afterlife

for the late Lt Commander Saman

Kunan, and a thanksgiving ritual for

the safe return of the 12 footballers

and coach Ekapol ‘Ek’ Chanthawong.

Th e ceremony started with a perfor-

mance by traditional Th ai dancers.

Th e ritual part was offi ciated by

Niphon Arnchai, a senior priest

adept in rituals of northern Th ailand.

Senior Buddhist monks from temples

in the area also attended.

Th e thousands of faithful who

attended brought wicker baskets of

votive off erings. Th e Mae Sai district

government, too, had presented

off erings ranging from pig heads to

snakehead fi sh, boiled eggs, crabs,

carved fruit, clothes and fl owers.

Former governor of Chiang Rai and

rescue commander Narongsak Osot-

tanakorn lit 13 tall candles and 13

incense sticks in thanksgiving.

Th am Luang and all caves in the

complex remain sealed, with boards

warning trespassers of penalties.

Local park offi cials said the com-

plex could be sealed for the rest of

the year. “As rains will continue into

August, restoration work would be

diffi cult then,” one of them said. “Af-

ter that, national parks department

will have to ensure that everything is

back to normal.”

ON JULY 14 AND 15, rivers of yellow

fl owed down the road that led to

Th am Luang. After the cave rescue

operation got over, King Maha Vaji-

ralongkorn had called on the people

to help clean the common area of the

cave complex; almost 4,000 people

signed up, a Mae Sai district offi cial

said. Entire families turned up, with

toddlers in tow.

Volunteers swept the public areas,

cleaned rest rooms and swabbed

fl oors and windows of the visitors’

centre and park offi ces. Wooden

pallets used to make paths through

the glutinous mud, and all the

garbage from the 18-day-old mini

town were loaded on to municipal

trucks. Handpicked teams went in to

clean the Buddhist temples, where

soldiers had slept during the rescue

operation.

All volunteers who signed up

had received yellow polo T-shirts,

yellow neckerchiefs (like Scout

scarves) with the royal cypher and

sky blue baseball hats. Th e yellow

was in honour of the birth day of the

king, and the blue in honour of the

queen mother, Queen Sirikit. In Th ai

culture, every day is represented by

a colour. Th ailand’s volunteer force

is massive. First-time volunteers are

assigned to a department and an ID

card is issued. Th e next time the call

goes out, the person just has to turn

up and present the card.