Miners’ odyssey

The photographers are fighting, they want the best position to take their photos, and they are pushing each other. The cameramen are smoking or talking with their producers. The journalists are doing their preparations, and they are calling to their agencies. Policemen are formed and checking their equipments, the lieutenants are talking with his officers. The television channels are ready to start the satellite broadcast. It is strange, because we try to find the red carpet on the floor, but we can not find it. This time, it is not an Oscar award or the Golden Globe. This time they are miners with their typical helmet and their typical customs. They were buried about two months in the San José mine.

We know that this situation was horrible to everybody, and it was a nightmare for the miner’s relatives. These people were buried under the soil a lot of time, so I understand they need it to talk with their families, wives, sons and daughters, but what is it happening with them?

The “Esperanza Camp” was full of journalist of every continent. They were from the BBC of England, NBC and CNN of the United Stated, RAI of Italy, TVE of Spain Television, and a lot of international television. I read BBC paid a lot of money to have one of the best places to put their cameras. In fact, they were transmitting live through it International channel. Local agencies estimated that more of two thousand journalists were accredited during that week. The Newspaper, Radios and channels need it to get the best or the most exclusive information not only to inform their TV audiences, but they need to have big news, and it was not important how to get this prize. They only need it to keep their high rating, because information is business. Public television is a utopia, it is just business, and they must sale advertising and merchandising. I think mass media do not have real interested in the miners.

The mass media has never respected people’s rights or private lives, so they only want to sell news. For example: one miner is legally married, but he has a lover, so the media did not have respect for the miner private life. Nobody asked him if he was interested in all people to know about his close friendship. Last time people knew that those situations did not their business, but now journalists do not have any problems to show everything about miners’ private lives.

Now miners are still exhilarated but we can see the collateral consequences. It is very probable that miners have several psychological problems. Some miners were examined, because they were very sad, and they did not understand why. It has a simple explanation. They were simple workers of an unknown mine, and in a couple of months they were celebrities.

I agree with helping miners, but they do not need to only an interview or money. They require a psychological treatment.