Rescue of the Chilean Miners – A Symbol of Hope

And so the final miner and the brave rescuers are above ground again after the most incredible rescue operation many of us have ever seen. In fact, the whole story was covered by the 24-hours news journalists with a stream of superlatives – the longest time underground, the deepest rescue shaft, the largest number of men, the first, the youngest, the oldest, the last…

The rescue craft was called Phoenix – a symbol of hope and rebirth. What power that magical name has and what magic it brought about. The whole area resounded with cheers and tears and chanting "CHI CHI CHI LE LE LE" as every man was reborn to life from the dark and symbolic womb of the earth.

But much as I want to wax lyrical, and despite the acres of newsprint and torrent of commentary, in this case words have to defer to pictures.

Just as the horrific and heartbreaking images from 9/11 were seared into mass consciousness, replayed over and over again until they became the archetype for terror, so I hope the images of those incredible men, symbolising the triumph of courage over fear, light over darkness, good over bad will become a positive and enduring message of hope for all of us in a world addicted to bad news.