The year 2018 was a year in which many heroes emerged. One incident engraved in our memory is of the volunteers who searched for and rescued the Wild Boars football team trapped in a cave in Chiang Rai in June.
The 12 Wild Boars players and their coach were stuck deep in flooded Tham Luang cave in Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district for up to 18 days. Thai Navy Seals, international cave diving experts and many other rescuers and experts from various fields joined the search and rescue effort in a highly risky operation that caught global attention.
It was a long and tough operation, marred by tragedy when former Navy Seal diver, lieutenant commander Saman Gunan, died on July 6 while attempting to resupply oxygen tanks in the cave.
People react as the 12 soccer players and their coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for their news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun Published caption The 12 soccer players and their coach who were rescued from a flooded cave arrive for their news conference in the northern province of Chiang Rai yesterday. REUTERS
The 12 boys, aged from 11 to 16, and their coach spent nine days in darkness until two skilled and tenacious British divers found them -- before an ensuing drawn-out rescue ending on July 10 when the last person left the cave.
Those divers, rescuers and volunteers refused to be beaten by the many obstacles they encountered.
The unexpected and welcome result of finding the boys and their coach unharmed but hungry in a remote cavern of the cave spurred an outpouring of national pride, possibly the greatest positive outpouring in the country in memory.
The search for the boys of Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district was a unique event. Even a week and a half into the operation, no one spoke of calamity. From the Royal Thai Navy Seals team to the average citizen and foreigner friend in the street, there was only unmitigated optimism and the certainty of success. When people saw the Seals' video with the two Englishmen connecting with the boys, there were tears of joy.
The determination to unite and help at a time of crisis is a tenet of humanity which has no nationality, faith and border restriction.
As a result, among several prominent choices, the Bangkok Post has chosen those heroes of the Thailand cave rescue as the paper's Person of the Year 2018.
Besides the cave rescue heroes, we have two more crucial choices which the newspaper would like to credit with a special mention as part of our award.
Panida Yotpanya
They are Panida "Bam" Yotpanya, 23, who exposed a nationwide scheme embezzling funds intended for the destitute, and Wichian Chinnawong, the Kanchanaburi wildlife park chief who arrested construction billionaire Premchai Karnasutra on poaching charges.
These individuals stand for small people in large organisations who dare to stand up for what is right without fearing the consequences, setting an example for others. Ms Panida rose to fame early this year when she and three other social science students from Maha Sarakham University were working as interns at the Khon Kaen centre for assisting the destitute.
She lodged a complaint with the National Council for Peace and Order after she and her friend were assigned to forge signatures of poor people eligible for state funds to ensure money was paid out fraudulently to officials. "It is forgery of signatures. It's illegal," she told the Bangkok Post.
"And if these papers are used in illegal activity, it's us who would end up in jail because we signed the papers."
Her decision to reveal irregularities, which might have led to her not graduating, shook up state agencies after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha issued an order to transfer top state officials at the Social Development and Human Security Ministry to inactive posts while an investigation into the state funds fraud which she helped expose was expanded nationwide.
"In this line of work, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to cheats or corruption and let the people be exploited," she said.
"If we don't do our job and let people be exploited, who else can they turn to?"
Mr Wichian, who runs the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, won public praise for his courage in arresting Mr Premchai, the president of Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), and three others in February this year.
Wichian Chinnawong
A small team of rangers led by Mr Wichian encountered a group of hunters camping in the wildlife sanctuary and cooking the remains of highly endangered animals which they had allegedly just hunted and shot.
Mr Wichian apprehended them and pursued charges that are now before the courts.
The arrested group attempted to offer a bribe in exchange for their release but officials refused to consider the offer.
Mr Wichian is also among nine individuals and institutions from across Asia recognised this year by the United Nations and three international agencies.
Wildlife trafficking was in the spotlight as winners from China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam accepted awards for disrupting international criminal networks that have laid waste to wildlife across multiple continents, the UN said.
"Humanity is the guardian of the natural world, and these winners are at the tip of the spear," said Dechen Tsering, the UN Environment Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
"Without their commitment to justice, our environmental laws and safeguards are a paper tiger.
"And though their work may often go unrecognised, it is their qualities of courage, dedication and integrity we need to see more of to preserve our planet."