Embarassed or Ungrateful?

The British cave divers who helped to rescue a group of Thai schoolboys from flooded caves were recently shown being congratulated outside 10 Downing Street by the Prime Minister. I was surprised that no representative of the Thai government was involved. Perhaps Thailand's military rulers were embarrassed by the involvement of foreigners.

The Thai lads have now been concealed from public view in a monastery. I wonder how they will fare there. A Vietnamese refugee, an orphan who was brought up in a Buddhist monastery, told me that when he and his contemporaries were supposed to be meditating, they were supervised by young monks armed with canes to discipline anyone whose meditation seemed insufficiently tranquil. I hope the young footballers are better treated.