OPINION

Set up trust for Boars

The Thai cave survivors are children whose entire life lies ahead of them.

 If someone is going to write a book or make a movie on them as is being reported, a part of the financial proceeds should go a trust, which should pay for the education and rehabilitation of the children and their heroic coach.

Three of the children and the coach are in fact stateless. They do not have Thai citizenship. The government should be generous and grant them citizenship, which will provide them mental relief and accelerate their recovery.

Moreover there should no victimisation of the young coach, for the cave excursion. The coach himself is a youngster at 25 years, an orphan and a former monk. He too has suffered enough and should be spared further stress. He did not even eat his little portion of food in the cave and gave it to the children to keep them strong. He also taught them meditation, which helped the children to survive a macabre ordeal.

The cave saga is akin to the Chilean miners' crisis in 2010. Despite a book and a movie, they received meagre remuneration.

Manchester United has done well to invite the children to Old Trafford. The Fifa president has also invited them to a function in London. Such visits accelerate rehabilitation. In an Indian Movie, Munna Bhai MBBS, the lead protagonist explains how celebrating life can boost recovery.

Re: "Rescued boys should help out society", (Opinion, July 15).

Wrong, Anucha Charoenpo. These kids should be left alone. It is not for you or anyone else to decide what they should do, what they should become, or how they want to spend the rest of their lives.

Bad enough they will soon be exploited by Hollywood and others for personal gain, and most likely they will never see a baht from it all. Let them alone. Let the future run its own course. Let them readjust to how they lived before "the event", let them finish school, and leave them alone to pursue their own thoughts and desires.

Re: "Trump slams May's Brexit plan", (BP, July 14).

Imagine what would happen if PM Theresa May traveled to the US and criticised a Trump policy position or initiative in a manner similar to Mr Trump's disparaging remarks in his interview with the Sun newspaper. One could envisage Mr Trump flying into a rage, cancelling meetings and unceremoniously uninviting Ms May from scheduled state functions.

Kudos to PM May for maintaining decorum and salvaging the best possible outcome from such a rude and disrespectful situation. Ms May's professionalism and diplomacy in the face of such boorish behaviour serves to enhance her stature in inverse proportion to the belittlement that Mr Trump bestowed upon himself.

Re: "Footie betters hit with legal action", (BP, July 14).

The report states legal action is being pursued against more than 15,000 suspects over World Cup football-related gambling.

I'm sure we can now all sleep more comfortably in the knowledge that our overworked police are tackling this massive crime wave and that the courts will be busy meting out justice for those found guilty of this deplorable crime.

Peter Atkinson in his letter, "Rescuers, not God key", (PostBag, July 14), notes that while there is no evidence there is no God, there is also no evidence that there is one. It comes down to faith.

Atheists have tremendous faith. They have faith in the view that the universe evolved out of nothing and that unconscious matter evolved into intelligence.

They talk about evolution and natural selection.

But why is there evolution and natural selection? Who or what caused it?

I'm afraid I don't have enough faith to be an atheist!

Contact: Bangkok Post Building 136 Na Ranong Road Klong Toey, Bangkok 10110 fax: +02 6164000 Email: postbag@bangkokpost.co.th

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