Miners are rescued……….now a town comes to terms with their loss
Early this morning, Australian time, Brant Webb and Todd Russell were finally rescued from the hole in the ground where they have been trapped for the past two weeks.
I watched the coverage on TV from early this morning with disbelief as the two men walked out of the mine elevator, embraced their families and headed, on foot to the two waiting ambulances. They looked surprisingly fit and well, given their ordeal.
I then watched interviews with rescuers, the mine manager, union representatives and towns people. I looked carefully at the faces of people as they enjoyed a well deserved beer in the pub, which had opened early for the celebrations. I noticed the strain on those faces. I saw big, strong men smiling, but there was an underlying saddness in the eyes of those men. They were deservedly rejoycing in their success, but the underlying saddness, that one of their mates didn’t make it out………is also written on those faces.
I can’t help but think of what lays ahead for this community. This afternoon they will attend the funeral of Larry Knight, the father of four and mate of the two rescued miners, who did not survive the accident. The community has been on a roller coaster ride over the past two weeks and I can’t help but think that the ride is far from over.
Post traumatic stress, uncertainty about the financial future of the town as the accident is investigated, the grief attached to the death of Larry Knight, the hole left after the huge media contingent shifts their focus from Beaconsfield, packs up and leaves the town and the knowledge that everyone in the town needs to make meaning of their experience and live on in the face of their trauma……………….all of this is now ahead of them.
The journey has just commenced for the people of Beaconsfield…………..we need to remember that they will all be suffering over the weeks, months and years to come, long after the world has forgotten.