COPIAPO, Chile – The Chilean miners began their unfamiliar new lives as national heroes Thursday and got a taste of what awaits them outside the hospital doors — a deluge of TV producers, writers and even soccer teams all desperate for a piece of their story.
A day after their epic rescue, still wearing the oddly fashionable sunglasses that protected them from the bright light when they were hoisted from 2,000 feet underground, the men posed in hospital bathrobes for a group photo with President Sebastian Pinera.
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Unity helped the men, known as “los 33,” survive for 69 days underground, including more than two weeks when no one knew whether they were alive.
But the moment they walk out the hospital doors, they’ll go beyond the reach of a government operation that has cared for, fed and protected them in a carefully coordinated campaign to ensure each of them would be in top condition.
“Now they’re going to have to find their equilibrium and take care of themselves,” said the hospital chaplain, the Rev. Luis Lopez.
LIFE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
They got a preview Thursday of what lies ahead. On their first full day of fresh air, the miners were probably the 33 most in-demand people on the planet:
• A Greek mining company wants to bring them to the sunny Aegean islands, competing with rainy Chiloe in Chile’s southern archipelago, whose tourism bureau wants them to stay for a week.
• Soccer teams in Madrid, Manchester and Buenos Aires want them in their stadiums.
• Bolivia’s president wants them at his palace.
• TV host Don Francisco wants them all on his popular “Sabado Gigante” show in Miami.
• Hearing that miner Edison Pena jogged regularly in the tunnels below the collapsed rock, the New York City marathon invited him to participate in next month’s race.
• What about a reality show? Some other kind of TV work? Why not, said television writer-producer and Oscar nominee Lionel Chetwynd, who said he expected projects were being pitched around Hollywood within hours of the rescue.
“Television is a quick-response medium,” he said, joking: “In fact, I think I’ll call my agent when we get off the phone.”
WELCOME HOME
Meanwhile, the families and friends of the men of the San Jose mine were organizing welcome-home parties, street celebrations, big dinners and even a few weddings, while trying at the same time to hold off the onslaught of demands from the media to learn more about how they survived.
The government promised six months of psychological treatment and help with medical needs. It made sure each has a bank account only he can operate, and coached them on dealing with the media.
The rescue team even asked Guinness World Records to honor all 33 with the record for longest time trapped underground, rather than the last miner out, Luis Urzua. Guinness spokeswoman Jamie Panas said the organization was studying the question.
At least one of the men kept a diary of life down below. Victor Segovia, a 48-year-old electrician and father of five, scribbled down so many details during their time underground that he had to ask the crews to send down more pencils and paper. He was the 15th miner pulled out.
Psychiatrists and other experts predict their lives will be anything but normal now that they’re free. Previously unimaginable riches awaited them after years, in some cases whole careers, going into mines for about $1,600 a month.
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