Fatherhood Stories from the Chilean Mine

From Renae Smith, NFI's Special Assistant to the President:

The entire world is celebrating the amazing ongoing rescue of 33 miners in Chile who have been trapped underground since August 5. Listening to the news reports of the first miners brought to the surface nearly brought tears to my eyes this morning. I spent a summer in Chile during college, so that country has a special place in my heart and I am sharing in the joy over the safe rescue of these men.

It’s incredibly moving to watch the live news feed of the reunions of the miners and their families. Many of these men are fathers, with wives, children, and parents who have camped outside the mine for the past two months to be as close as possible to their loved ones. One miner became a first-time father when his wife gave birth to a baby girl on day 40 of the entrapment. He watched the birth by video and asked his wife to name their daughter Esperanza, which means “hope.”

My heart especially goes out to the children of these men. I can’t even imagine the emotional turmoil that they’ve been through, unsure of their fathers’ fates and anxiously hoping for their rescue. The BBC posted a diary kept by the adult children of one of the entrapped miners, describing their emotions, their communication with their dad, and their experiences as they wait at the camp. The videos and pictures of the rescue proceedings show touching images of a little boy on the brink of tears awaiting his father’s rescue, of another boy led by rescue workers to the capsule to be the first to greet his dad before he even stepped out, and of a child happily taking pictures of his father in the medical clinic a few hours after his rescue.

For these children, the painful waiting is finally over. But I can’t help but think of the thousands of children around the world who are still waiting for their fathers to come back – from military deployments, from incarceration, or from business trips. Sadly, for many children, dad doesn’t come back.

But today is a day for rejoicing with the 33 Chilean families whose fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers have been miraculously rescued. My thoughts and prayers are with them as the miners recover physically, mentally, and emotionally from their ordeal and adjust to a new life with their families.