The three boys and the coach of the Wild Boar team, which was trapped in the Tham Luang cave in Thailand, were this week granted Thai citizenship on Wednesday.
The three boys, though they were born in Thailand, were stateless. This meant that they were not able to travel outside of Chiang Rai, where they lived.
The team and their coach had gone inside the caves after finishing their football practice. The sudden heavy rain resulted in a flood and the boys were trapped in the cave for several weeks. They survived by drinking water that dripped from the walls of the cave. They were found by scuba divers who had been searching for them for several days. The team's rescue became an international event with help pouring in from all quarters.
The boys became internationally famous and were even invited to the watch the FIFA World Cup final. But doctors were of the opinion that the team should spend the week after their rescue in the hospital under observation. Also, the fact that some of the team members and the coach did not have any identification papers or a passport put a stop to their international travel dreams.
But on Wednesday, the three boys and the coach were handed national ID cards by the Mae Sai district chief Somsak Khanakham in a ceremony. The boys given citizenship had all applied for it before the cave incident, and all had the required documentation for the change in status, said Somsak, making clear that the 'Wild Boar incident' did not have anything to do with the development. Another Wild Boar team member who had not been part of the team that got trapped in the cave was also granted citizenship.