The last ten weeks have been normal days except for 33 hardworking men and their desperate relatives and friends who were caught on the wrong end of the earth – inside it. At the beginning a sense of hopelessness and despair was replaced by euphoria and joy shared by millions of people worldwide. The Chile miners rescue is a typical example of how humans driven by anything other than hope can push the boundaries of imagination and undertake things that were before known not to be possible. At the beginning, the story of the collapse of a gold and copper mine in Copiaco was just another sad story that is usually associated with miners’ families. Slightly over two weeks later, the signs of life from just below 700 meters in the earth brought a spark of hope and helped to engineer the biggest story of how technology and faith can create magnificent things. Nine weeks later, the brave suffering men emerged straight from hell and got a second chance to live freely and breathe the fresh air that we all so often take for granted. Chile is not an ordinary country. According to online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, Chile leads Latin American nations in human development, competitiveness, quality of life, political stability, income per capita, globalization, economic freedom, low perception of corruption and comparatively low poverty rates. Chileans are pretty good at what they do. It is therefore no surprise that the Chilean president, his mining minister and a host of government functionaries pitched camp at the crisis zone in Copiaco for almost the entire length of the rescue plan which is estimated to have cost about ten million US dollars. Also a notable fact is the way the miners organized themselves into a community underground. Luis Urzúa, recognizing the gravity of the situation and the difficulty of any rescue attempt, if a rescue was even possible, gathered his men in a secure room and organized the men and meagre resources for long-term survival. Experienced miners were sent out to assess the situation, men with important skills were given key roles, and numerous other measures were taken to ensure the survival of the men during a long-term entrapment. It was a microcosm of a society facing up to a challenge jointly. It also goes without saying that Chileans are feverishly religious people. Instead of worrying how it was technologically impossible to achieve the fit of rescuing the 33 miners, they kept praying and hoping, urging on the rescue team at Camp Hope to find ways of doing the undoable. They set up shrines, wrote letters and carried mementos to constantly remind everyone what a special job was required to be done. Chile’s president Sebastián Piñera stated, “When the first miner emerges safe and sound, I hope all the bells of all the churches of Chile ring out forcefully, with joy and hope. Faith has moved mountains.” The story of the 33 miners is an interesting and effusive mix of religion, politics, technology and the sheer ability of humans to hope and to survive harsh physical and psychological conditions. No wonder the story captured the hearts and minds of people worldwide, who had nothing specific to identify with Chile, or mining but all felt and identified with the scary experience that the miners were going through and would have sighed with relief when the last man was pulled out of the mine safely. Most of all, this story tells us that with faith and hope, anything is possible, anywhere, everywhere. I wish you a hopeful Sunday. kelviod@yahoo.com
