I will always cherish and hold dear the ‘misconceptions’ and ‘stereotypes’ I have about miners. Not only that they are always in the vicinity of death but that every time they go ‘deep’ they are almost signing their death warrants. Nothing has proven my fears and ‘cowardice’ right than the recent Chilean mine rescue operation. Imagine being trapped underground for such a long time without food and water, and having to go for months without seeing a species of opposite sex. For me, this is the most torturous part of the story and cruelty of first grade, and should be a lesson to mining companies to start implementing gender equity in all spheres of their operations.
Without any prejudice, had women been there, these guys could have coped far much better and most probably they would have even requested for extension of stay despite the risk. I leave the rest for your imagination, but I am simply saying women could have helped deal with the trauma and emotional distress better.
But all in all, the trauma, the wait, and the anxiety paid off in the end. What started as a tragedy ended like a fairytale; with a very happy ending and television reality show that was beamed globally. This is true story of what fate and faith can do for us; they can indeed move mountains and dry the oceans. This is why I have not lost hope that one day I will be Pope. I honestly believe papacy is my destiny. The miners have now been transformed into mega-superstars with big companies fighting to give them million Pula endorsement deals or new careers in Hollywood. My son was so excited about these offers that I overheard him mumbling something like, “I wish this was my dad.” I have not taken the statement kindly as I have interpreted it to mean something between death-wish and death threat and come next week, I will be heading to Childline to open a case against him.
It seems a similar situation that we have just witnessed in Chile has just erupted and by the look of things we are about to witness another ‘rescue operation’ of some kind. But unlike the Chilean one, this time there is very little help and there are no television cameras to cover the ‘operation’. The story is, two of my friends who happen to be ‘miners in a way’ find themselves trapped in ‘mine’ of their own design. Word is that, they have been enjoying fruits of our toil with impunity and plunder to a point where they were venerated by their followers as ‘gods of mines and land.’ In the midst of dining and feasting, unfortunately arrogance, pride, and greed took the best part of their characters so much so that they cared less to cover their tracks. They were so drunk with impunity and pride that they did not see the ‘mine’ they were busy digging for themselves until it was too late.
They are now lingering out there in the cold and in the dark, waiting for someone to call up but all in vain. And those who have been there before will narrate to you vividly what a lonely, distressing and sickening place it can be, with nothing but all the time in the universe to repent all your sins. Those who have been there never forget to tell you stories about bedbugs, cockroaches, and rats the size of a cat that roam that area freely, and for some reason you have to reach a mutual agreement to co-exist. Well, the habitual offenders find it a cool place that they even call it ‘home’ but for a man who was born and bred in a glasshouse it is simply inhospitable and unbearable. But that is fate my friend, none of us can predict with certainty what the future holds for us, not even the greatest of all prophets.
Now with all ‘good’ friends they shared memorable times having disappeared into the thin air, and some having turned against them during the time of need, their rescue lies in two things; faith and hope. That is the hope for a miracle and the faith in that miracle. Otherwise, they will remain a ‘moral’ story to tell.
