Starving and Bombed Children of Yemen Seek Entrapment in Flooded Thai Cave

By: Robert J. Burroughs
As the world watched and waited for the outcome of the great global effort – which included more than 100 cave divers from different countries, 1000 members of the Thai army and 10,000 others in different roles – to save a team of 12 young footballers and their coaches, Trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand for 17 days, 850,000 children were killed by adults in other parts of the world, many of whom simply starve to death in Yemen or other parts of Africa, Asia and Central / South America.
But other children were killed in ritual sacrifice. Many children were killed after being sexually trafficked, raped and tortured. Many were killed in wars (including in Yemen). Many were killed while living under military occupation. Many died as child soldiers or while working as slaves. Of violence in countless different forms ranging from violence (including sexual abuse) in the family home to the lives of poverty, homelessness and misery in rich industrialized countries or as refugees fleeing conflict zones.
Why has the world’s media spotlighted the story of the flooded Thai cave, and why many ordinary people respond with such interest – true emotional sharing – in this story? But not others just mentioned?
What does this tell us about human psychology and geopolitics?
Needless to say, a great deal.
During the Thai drama, major corporate media, such as the Washington Post and the BBC, routinely launched “breaking news” updates on the state of rescue efforts. At high points in the drama, reports on the issue were overshadowed by political stories and other everyday stories. At the same time, there was no news of “breaking news” about any of the many forms of violence against children that were (and still are) killing 50,000 children every day.
So why is the media attention in this local (Thai) local story about a group of 12 children trapped in a cave? And why it attracted a lot of support, including foreign Moroccan divers, engineers and paramedics, as well as technical billionaire Elon Musk, who flew there to investigate rescue options and help rescue efforts. They certainly do not live with their counterparts in saving children in a large number of other contexts, including providing simple, nutritious meals and clean water.

Well, in essence, the story was great for corporate media, just because it reported some of the poor results for those who were not immediately affected, and enabled the media to attract attention to themselves and the other (Western) heroes who got involved in the story while engaging in their usual practice In distracting us from what really matters. It was easy to sell the story simply because the media could use a wide range of safe emotional stimuli to attract people to the dramatic story without raising difficult questions at the same time about the state of the “horrible world” and its responsibility.
In simple language: such as sporting events and other forms of entertainment, saving the caves provided safe time and space for people to feel emotionally involved in (this case) a realistic drama (with feelings like fear and relief allowed to outlet) while carefully promoting their unconscious feelings of inability to act Anything about it and their acceptance of this. That is why it is important to highlight the efforts to rescue experts: the main message was that “there is nothing you can do.”
Of course, in this context, this was largely true. The problem is that corporate media coverage was not targeted in this context. The aim of all these other contexts not even discussed, let alone highlighted: the wide range of issues – including the many ongoing wars and unending military violence, the threat of nuclear war, climate disasters and countless threats to the biosphere as a result of such activities The destruction of rainforests, the refugee crisis and the military occupation, as well as the continuing violence against children in many contexts as discussed above – which require a great deal of attention, but the elite use their own media to intimidate and strengthen our sense of helplessness.
Another aspect of the story was the way it highlighted the “incidental” nature of the incident: no one was really responsible, so the bad luck coach who was just trying to give his young players an interesting trip, who reportedly did not blame one of the parents.
By focusing on the logistical details of the story (distance to the cave, some narrow passages, rescue possibilities, equipment, and the threat of monsoon rains), blaming blame, the media can reinforce its endless message and one is responsible for the state of the world.
Thus, no individual or organization is responsible for doing anything either. Again, this message is designed to deepen the sense of helplessness and to make people unwilling to act: to make them helpless observers rather than active participants in their destiny.
Of course, of course, in those contexts where it serves the interests of the elite to blame, it certainly does. From here, the elite might blame the Muslims, the Russians, the Palestinians, or the last (by context) goal of some problems.
However, in these contexts, the story of “blame” is framed to ensure that the elite have the maximum opportunity to work as they wish (often militarily) while (again) generating a sense of helplessness between us.
The tragedy of the Thai cave incident is that one of the men has died and that many of the boys spent 17 days in a situation that is no doubt that they are terrified and suffer from real physical deprivation. But the elite media cynically exploited the event to distract our attention from issues of vital importance, including ongoing violence against children in a large number of contexts, and to promote the illusion of “I am not responsible.”
In short, while the 12 children and their coach were rescued after 17 days trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand that required a sophisticated and costly international effort during the same period around the world, 850,000 children were killed by adults.
Even in Thailand during this 17-day period, regardless of those children who have been abused and killed as a result of sex trafficking and other violence, 119 children have drowned (seven at a time). It is clear that these children have been ignored because there is no profit in reporting their plight and helping to mobilize an international effort to save them.
Am I happy that 12 children and their coaches have been rescued in Thailand? of course me. I just hope that a similar effort will be made to save each of the 50,000 children we will kill today, tomorrow, and the next day and the next day.