Boys Rescued From Thai Cave Relive Experience in Replica Tunnel
Boys Rescued From Thai Cave Relive Experience in Replica Tunnel
Following the rescue of the 12 teenage footballers and their coach from a cave in Tham Luang, Bangkok Post has reported that the Ministry of Culture has curated an exhibition at Siam Paragon, one of the largest malls in Thailand’s capital, featuring details such as photographs and equipment from the rescue. Some interesting features from this exhibition included descriptions on the geographical features of the cave as well as tips for survival in such situations, as well as a section dedicated to the ex-seal Saman Gunan who lost his life during the mission.
The most fascinating part of this exhibition to me personally was a 10m replica of the cave tunnels, intended to give visitors a “hands-on experience” of what the boys and their coach went through, as visitors were instructed to make their way through the dark meandering tunnels with only a flashlight to help themselves.
Other news sites such as the Straits Times (Singapore), the Evening Standard (UK), the Guardian (UK) and Sky News (UK) also reported that the rescued boys were also invited to the exhibition as part of a series of public appearances and interviews to celebrate their rescue. These activities apparently go against psychiatric advisors’ wishes for the boys to be given 6 months of recovery to process and recuperate from their ordeal, as they were allegedly overridden by the wishes of the Thai military government for these festivities. These foreign news sites also highlight the fact that the boys were made to relive their traumatic experience by crawling through the replica tunnel, including “underwater robots, dive suits and the simulated sound of dripping water” in front of large crowds. I tried to find local Thahi sources that similarly commented on the fact that the rescued boys and their coach were asked to go through the replica tunnel at the exhibition, but interestingly they did not seem to focus on or even mention this fact in their publicity of the event. It is actually quite fascinating to look at the different focuses of the articles on a singular event from multiple different countries, and I am quite curious as to how each source intentionally shapes the narrative surrounding this ‘celebratory’ event in recognition of the rescue.
Links to Articles:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1528910/exhibition-chronicles-t…
https://news.sky.com/story/thailand-cave-boys-relive-ordeal-in-fake-tunn…
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/thai-cave-boys-relive-ordeal-in-re…
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/sep/01/thai-cave-rescue-bangkok-ma…
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/interactive-exhibition-on-thai…
Comments
This is really quite fascinating. I was interested to see how the Guardian seemed to fixate on the fact that a portrait of Elon Musk was included in the mural at the exhibit. It is amazing how tragedy can be recast as a moment of national triumph, and indeed how many different entities have tried to turn the boys’ ordeal into something that ties into other agendas.
Indeed I was honestly not sure how to feel seeing this tragedy/difficult ordeal reframed into something so celebratory. Sure, the fact that they were able to be rescued is amazing, but I am ambivalent towards the national desire to see the boys in the centre stage of such a celebration. It seems to me slightly insensitive (especially making them crawl through the replica!!!) and very self-serving rather than identifying what the boys really want/need in this period of recovery.
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