On June 23, coach Ekkapol Chantawong led his football team of 12 deep into a cave. The boys became trapped in the Thai cave after rain flood waters blocked the exit routes. The coach and the boys, ranging in ages from 11 to 16, were in the cave for nine days before they were found.
It took another harrowing nine days to complete the rescue mission. Through 2 1/2 miles of tunnels, 0.6 miles of which was underwater, the team was taken back to the surface. It was one of the biggest, longest, most intense rescue missions ever. Eventually, all 12 boys and their coach were rescued alive.
Coach Ekkapol emerged the most malnourished of the group. He gave much of his scarce portion of the food to the boys. While many hail the coach as a hero, others state that he is the only one to blame for the terrible incident.
This was not the first time coach Ekkapol had narrowly escaped death. When he was just 10 years old, his tragic story began. A terrible disease swept through his village in northern Thailand, killing his entire family and sparing only him. As an orphan, he was taken in by relatives until he reached the age of 12. It was then that he was sent to a monastery. Relatives claim that at that time, he was “sad and lonely.”
There he learned the traditional ways of the monks such as meditation and living simply with only the bare necessities. The skills learned there were crucial during the horrific 9-day ordeal. He helped the boys to conserve energy and to keep their spirits up by teaching them the art of meditation. He also taught them to drink the water of the cave walls rather than the unsafe flood water.
Three years ago, he left the monastery to care for his ailing grandmother. He was still living with her when the incident happened. He divided his time between taking care of her and putting together the Moo Pa team. He found his true calling and passion when he began working with the boys.
He took care of the boys like they were his own family. He held them to a strict training schedule and created a rewards system for their hard work and efforts.
Many of the parents of the boys and close friends of EkKopal spoke out in his defense. Knowing the kind-hearted man, they worried about his state-of-mind when the entire ordeal was over. Many of them responded on Twitter.
Ekkopal scrawled a note to the parents of the boys, pleading with them to not blame themselves and apologizing for the entire ordeal. The note won the hearts of the community and many around the world.
The UN refugee agency says that Thailand is home to around 480,000 stateless people, among the many, were three of the boys and their coach.
The founder of the Wild Boars club Nopparat Khanthavong told AFP.
“To get nationality is the biggest hope for the boys… in the past these boys have problems travelling to play matches outside of Chiang Rai,” he added, because of travel restrictions that accompany their lack of status. “He is stateless. No nationality. No country.”
Was the ordeal that almost cost the team their lives caused by poor judgment, irresponsibility, or simply a mistake? The authorities have yet to determine their official verdict, but one fact remains obvious.
Ekkopal devoted his entire life to helping those boys before the boys got trapped in that Thai cave. He would have gladly given his life for their own to see that they all made it out alive. He loves those boys with all of his heart, and nothing will ever change that. The world would be a better place if there were more men whose hearts were as dedicated as that of one coach with nothing to give but his love. And so he did.
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