The mining deaths that (nearly) spoiled the fairy tale

Refusing to be immortalised in painting: Francis Bacon's 'Three Studies of Isabel Rawsthorne' shows the sitter as a shifting, pulsating mass of raw flesh. Bacon is depicting life, only if at the same time exposing the threat to it.

The Chilean miner story gripped cafes, offices and homes around the world with a story spun to reflect the hope and resilience of mankind. It would not be overblown to say that there was a type of media 'euphoria' surrounding the event and immediate aftermath with 'live coverage' and exclusive first interviews with the survivors.

But let us consider the less extensively reported incident of the mining incident in New Zealand where 29 miners died. Was it perhaps less significant because there was four less of them? Or maybe because as a 'media story' it just didn't have any legs at all?

If the media were so moral enough to cover the story in Chile which reflected compassion and unity, why did it do so to a lesser extent in New Zealand? Everybody recognizes the need to respect privacy in times of vulnerability and sensitivity but this is somewhat skewed by the fact that the 'amazing celebration' of survival supposedly merits the need to satisfy our own curiosity about these men who are 'models of solidarity' through continuous news stories, while the families affected in New Zealand have not faced the same incursion into their private lives. They certainly have not stood looking mesmerized in the middle of an 80,000 crowd at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, thousands of miles away from home.

Mortality is something journalism does not deal with all too well; nor does it want to depict the inner life of tormented, wounded man - as Bacon so poignantly does. As with any narrative being consumed by mass society, the story has to be simplified and easy to understand; the initial despair can be forgotten by the dominating euphoria that follows an incident such as this.

Speaking of the masses, let us have one final thought for the many unreported, anonymous deaths related to heavy industry incidents. For example, do we know any of the names of those who died during the BP oil disaster? More significantly, China's infamously dangerous coalmines are getting 'safer' with just over 3,000 deaths a year compared to a peak of close to 7,000 in 2002 - what does this say about the perception of the Chinese individual. Perhaps they are just a few of many sunflower seeds which are all seemingly identical.

See relevant links:
Bloomberg: NZ mining incident and the industry in general
The Economist: China's dangerous mines
Chile miners: Rescued foreman Luis Urzúa's first interview
A fellow blogger's take on the Chilean mine story
Wikipedia entry: Francis Bacon