OPINION

Coach not to blame

Re: "Coaching lesson", (PostBag, July 11).

It's exceedingly rare that I disagree with Khun Burin Kantabutra's measured and sensible comments and advice, but in this instance I have to differ.

We should not be too quick to lay blame on the coach of the Wild Boars for the team being trapped in the Tham Luang cave. There is still considerable confusion about whether or not the Department of National Parks had actually "closed" the cave to visitors early this year, as this is the statement of only one DNP staffer that still needs proper confirmation. The known "evidence" at this point is limited to the posted signs that clearly indicate the cave to be closed only starting from July. As the team entered the cave June 23, it is imprudent to jump too quickly to the blame game.

It is also beyond normal expectations for the coach to have been aware of the oncoming extraordinarily heavy rain that hit the area only after the boys entered the cave.

Yes; caving can be dangerous. Yes; youth leaders must be judicious in looking after charges. But, let's not coddle kids too much or try to completely protect them from every possible risk or danger in life. Part of the job of youth leaders is to prepare young people for the challenges they will face throughout their lives. When we get to the point where youth are shielded from all possible threats and hazards, the world will become hopelessly boring and we will stop evolving our knowledge and skills. Without some adventure and exploration, young people will have quite miserable and dreary lives. I'm not saying youth leaders should take unnecessary risks, but let's not blame them for exposing kids to the wonders of nature and life, even if it sometimes involves a bit of risk.

Those 12 boys do not have the privilege of going to the futsal, the ice skating rinks or the game rooms at their local department stores!

They play in and enjoy nature! If they had known the water was going to rise earlier this year surely they wouldn't have gone in! And without their coach what do you think they'd have done? He kept them together without going insane!

Please don't wreck the coach's career. He has suffered great mental pressure!

The success of the rescue of the 13 cave-trapped footballers will live on in minds and may be a legend that people will speak about for many years to come. Heroes living and dead will be remembered for sure and we have to respect them for how they expended great efforts to bail out those victims from their cave captivity. There are now plans to build a museum and perhaps make a film about the successful rescue mission.

One further step we must mull, and for sure take, is to hone the same multinational cooperation and initiatives to evolve environmental preservation and sustenance of wildlife systems. The cave saga confronted us with the real and heart-wrenching danger of 13 lives entrenched in danger. The result of concerted efforts proved to be really heroic. Global climate change and environmental degradation is something more mammoth, requiring us to hold together and fight to save our common home, Planet Earth.

What could have ended in tragedy, ended successfully, with the eyes of the whole world looking on, holding its breath with anticipation. "Thainess" is not just a cultural thing. It was demonstrated in the coming together of a collective, national "union" of everyone. It was with the encouragement of the entire nation that those experienced few in the royal Thai Navy, with the aid of world cave diving experts, that the rescue of 13 young people was achieved. Yes, the world will remember this rescue with historic reference and, perhaps a reverence as well. However, it is also a time to leave these youngsters alone, to ponder their experiences and lead their own lives. During periods of the Spanish Inquisition both in Spain, Mexico and Latin America, there were those who flocked to public burnings to get their excitement. The same occurred throughout the Protestant Reformation in England. There are opportunists in Thailand who will squeeze the cave rescue situation for all its worth, as long as a baht could be gleaned from it all. In the name of "Thainess", these creeps should be gotten rid of, or at least ignored.

Next instalment in the Wild Boars saga: Movie studios must be champing at the bit to obtain film rights to this real-life drama as soon as possible, disregarding the family traumas recently experienced (BP, July 13). But who will benefit from the box office proceeds? One sincerely hopes that the family of the brave lost Seal will be the first beneficiary.

I think we all breathed a sigh of relief at the news that the last of those trapped inside the Tham Luang cave was safely brought out. Our thanks should go to all those involved in this daring rescue, which will surely make its way into the history books.

But our thanks only need to go to those involved in the rescue operation (especially all the divers, including Saman Gunan, the Thai diver who unfortunately lost his life during the rescue mission), not to some imaginary being as some are now claiming.

I refer to those people like Rajendra Aneja ("Lessons from the cave", PostBag, July 6), and others who claim that "The combined prayers of all Thais have saved these children".

I believe only the rescuers saved the boys and the coach. They might have had some luck on their side in that the rain that fell during the rescue operation could have been a lot worse and could have completely flooded the cave. But the very idea that some imaginary being heard all the prayers and decided to intervene to help save them is senseless.

When a major incident or accident occurs and people pray, and lives are saved, the response is always "our prayers were answered!". But when lives are lost, despite the prayers, the response from those that prayed, when challenged, is always the same -- "he (god, or whatever you want to call him) had his reasons and we should not question his judgement". Nonsense.

There is no god. Of course, I can't prove that there is no god, or that prayers do not work. But no one in the history of all of mankind has ever been able to prove that God does exist, or prove that prayers work.

If you claim that something exists then it is up to you to prove it, not the other way round. I could use that argument to claim that Santa Claus, the magic Tooth Fairy, and the bogeyman all exist.

To those that say that people have a right to have a religion or a belief system, yes of course they do. But with freedom of religion comes freedom from religion. If you must have a religion then I suggest it should be a private matter. If you want to delude yourself about the existence of an imaginary being then you are free to do so, but please do not publicly claim that your prayers saved lives.

Unless of course, you can back up that claim.

No one on earth can prevent natural disasters, like the one hitting Japan at the moment. The disaster has caused 200 deaths and even more when the situation calms down, and I hope their suffering will be eased by the sacred Lord.

To borrow a line from a famous English playwright, the July 6 article, "Thai geopolitical balancing", by Thitinan Pongsudhirak is "much ado about nothing".

The scholar bases his critical comments on a recent imbalanced article by Time magazine which contains many misleading points about the government's policies. Had he been present at the lengthy exclusive interview granted to Time by Prime Minister Prayut, Dr Thitinan would have realised that the prime minister was very careful not to take sides when discussing relations between Thailand and the major powers. As a matter of fact, the prime minister clearly stated that as a small nation, Thailand sought to maintain friendly and balanced relations with all our major allies.

In discussing economic ties, he was simply stating the facts regarding which countries are our top trading partners. And in talking about Thailand's historical ties with our close friends, the prime minister was just saying, in a matter-of-fact manner, that relations with China had existed for thousands of years, while our contacts with the US spanned 200 years. The latter is a remarkable milestone, given that the US had existed as a nation for 242 years. It is a landmark event that Thailand and the US are very proud of and are currently celebrating this year.

Dr Thitinan got it right in his opening sentence: "Thailand is demonstrably famous for its foreign policy balancing." The rest of the piece is unfortunately based on misunderstanding of the facts.

Re: "Phoenix: facts first", (PostBag, July 11).

From what I could see from the vests, not one single vest fulfilled the requirement of the international regulation for safety on sea known as Solas. Merchant or passenger transporting ships have to have lifejackets approved and certified by international regulations. These vests are not "swimming help", they cannot move up and cover the face and must turn people from a face-down position to a face-up position.

Thailand signed the Solas regulation and has a duty to control that all ships have the correct safety equipment for more than the maximum persons on board.

Re: "Titanic illusion", (PostBag, July 12).

Nobody authoritatively claimed the Titanic was unsinkable before it foundered, although the claim did appear in an engineering magazine prior to the maiden voyage.

The myth mushroomed after the disaster culminating in the 1997 movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, where we heard that "God alone could not sink this ship".

The International Energy Agency operates under a mandate to provide energy security and promote clean sustainable energy among its member nations.

Norway, a member nation, provides incentives which result in electric vehicles being less expensive than conventional cars.

Thailand, not a member, will continue to maintain a lethargic and protectionist approach which will ensure no electric vehicles will be seen on Thai roads for a long time to come. What is the paradox here? Norway is an oil producer, Thailand an oil importer.

Perhaps Industry Minister Uttama Savanayana forgot Thailand pays a huge penalty for its energy (mostly to state-owned PTT) and would benefit enormously from a progressive comprehensive energy policy that included subsidising electric vehicles?

Re: "Obscene comparison", (PostBag, July 7).

Contrary to Eric Bahrt's statement, I have not equated forcing a young girl to wear the hijab at school to the barbarity of female genital mutilation (FGM).

I have observed, however, that those who preach tolerance for the hijab unfortunately end up also being tolerant of FGM.

Tolerance can be a very slippery slope. What is the moral or cultural norm to start saying no when you have already said yes to unsavoury things before?

As Mr Bahrt must be aware, it is known that almost all Muslim girls in southern Thailand are victims of FMG. So, let us do nothing about that. Rather, let us ensure that they also have to wear the hijab at school.

It is a factual if admittedly shocking description of what is happening. Response to the child marriage scandal seems to have been rather tepid and embarrassed. Why?

Finally, it is quite ludicrous to state that a little girl chooses to wear the hijab to express her religious freedom, if this is Mr Bahrt's opinion. It is not harmless either. It signifies that she is already considered as a sexual object and trains her into submission.

India reports over 2000 girls (not women) under the age of 12 years old have been seriously sexually assaulted (rape) in 2016.

It just goes to show that the pathetic attempts by lawmakers (liberal politicians and judges) in 2013 to, shall we say toughen up the punishments, was worthless with regards to its outcome.

You want to stop a man committing this type of crime; quite simple publicly castrate him.

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