Comment: They’re out. Now what? The future for Mu Pa football team members

By Tim Newton

 

 

by Tim Newton

 

They’re out. Now what for the 13 young men from Mae Sai?

 

They entered the Tham Luang caves on June 23 along with their 25 year old coach, Ekkapol on a benign post-practice trip to the nearby caves. The y’d been there before.

 

Except for their families, guardians and school friends, they were basically unknown to anyone outside the Mae Sai district, up in far Northern Thailand, close to the border with Myanmar.

 

They were just kids, 11-16 year old teenagers who had nothing much to worry about except their schooling, their love for football and what to eat next (it’s emerged that they love sweet basil pork – spicy!).

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/chiang-rai/comment-theyre-out-now-what-the-future-for-mu-pa-football-team-members

 

-- © Copyright The Thaiger 2018-07-12

....other people, cha ching...

Major fall outs between family members, 'friends', and hangers on, all wanting their piece of the pie.

A troll post has been removed

Hopefully they will heed the Chilean miner's warning,settle down and get on with their lives..

They're well-advised to get an agent to efficiently parlay their ordeal into millions (every dollar of which is deserved). And donate half of the amount to Saman's family.

I think their last concern should be money and fame. They survived thanks to the hard work and dedication of many people in a scale and magnitude of enormous proportions.

 

They should be selfless in their gratitude. If any money is to be made, it should be put in an educational trust fund for future Thai children in Mae Sai and for the family of the Thai diver's family who died.

1 minute ago, pookiki said:

I think their last concern should be money and fame...

Fame they've already got whether they want it or not. And they would be fools to give up this opportunity to transform their lives and that of their (mostly) poor families. The window to go about making well-earned money is now. To be cynical, the next Cinderella story is waiting around the corner.

Lot of statements being made here that are quite correct but unfortunately wishful thinking.

 

I hope for the best, but the Thailand I know and you know demands a different course of action.

Parents, siblings or other relatives will be desperate to make a killing off this with no regard to the welfare of the children, I hope I'm wrong.

How about giving the three stateless members and the coach Thai citizenship. 

 

More information here; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/world/asia/thailand-cave-soccer-stateless.html?nytmobile=0

They will continue to eat chicken and basil, and everything will eventually blow over.

7 minutes ago, Chang_paarp said:

How about giving the three stateless members and the coach Thai citizenship. 

 

More information here; https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/10/world/asia/thailand-cave-soccer-stateless.html?nytmobile=0

I only saw mention of the coach and one boy in the article. This is the first time I have seen any mention that any person in the cave was 'stateless'.  Is there more info anywhere?  Very, very interesting.

1 hour ago, pookiki said:

I think their last concern should be money and fame. They survived thanks to the hard work and dedication of many people in a scale and magnitude of enormous proportions.

 

They should be selfless in their gratitude. If any money is to be made, it should be put in an educational trust fund for future Thai children in Mae Sai and for the family of the Thai diver's family who died.

 

No benefits for the stateless children?

 

 

 

12 minutes ago, pookiki said:

I only saw mention of the coach and one boy in the article. This is the first time I have seen any mention that any person in the cave was 'stateless'.  Is there more info anywhere?  Very, very interesting.

I did see somewhere a link about this.

 

if my memory ok, im sure it was the young lad that speaks English quite well (and other 3-4 languages) who is stateless.

The article seemed to suggest some others are stateless but didnt go into details.

https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/thai-cave-rescue-draws-attention-to-countrys-stateless-children

5 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

No benefits for the stateless children?

 

 

 

In my opinion all stateless persons and children who have fled conflict and who are living in Thailand should have a path to Thai citizenship. Sure, the kids and the coach went through a terrible ordeal - but so have most stateless people fleeing conflict - especially from Myanmar. Thailand could also do a lot by becoming signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees.

Leave them alone ,  all this media attention is not good for them and can leave worse scars than 10 days inside a cave.  

 

They need to carry on with their normal lives. 

2 hours ago, pookiki said:

I only saw mention of the coach and one boy in the article. This is the first time I have seen any mention that any person in the cave was 'stateless'.  Is there more info anywhere?  Very, very interesting.

From the article;

 

Quote

Three of the trapped soccer players, as well as their coach, Ekkapol Chantawong, are stateless ethnic minorities, accustomed to slipping across the border to Myanmar one day and returning for a soccer game in Thailand the next.

 

2 hours ago, pookiki said:

I only saw mention of the coach and one boy in the article. This is the first time I have seen any mention that any person in the cave was 'stateless'.  Is there more info anywhere?  Very, very interesting.

In an interview with AFP this week, Nopparat Khanthavong, founder of the Wild Boars youth soccer team, said at least four of their group — including coach Ek and three of the young team members — could be classified as stateless.

 

  They could never play football against other teams because they were stateless. Hopeless? Let's hope for the best. 

 

Please see: https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/oxygen-levels-put-ticking-clock-rescue-efforts-officials/?utm_source=Coconuts+Media+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=186a4e6220-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_12_10_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c10d7999ee-186a4e6220-81430369

59 minutes ago, balo said:

Leave them alone ,  all this media attention is not good for them and can leave worse scars than 10 days inside a cave.  

 

They need to carry on with their normal lives. 

Stateless people do not have a normal life. Thailand ( some people) is so proud that the social security pays for the hospital bills.