Immediately after the collapse, Urzúa’s leadership qualities arose as he sent men to investigate the collapse and assess the danger they were in. After figuring out their situation, he initiated a meeting among the men to work out a plan of action. They would share and ration their food supply, which consisted of a small piece of tuna each day. One group of men were placed in charge to organize and ration it, while another group was placed in charge of taking care of the trucks and other operational machinery. The group of trapped miners became a fully-functioning organization for survival.
It is not easy to remain united when confronted with the situation the miners lived under. Rumors of at least three divided groups are slowly starting to come to light. It must have required a lot of emotional intelligence and faith to have kept Urzúa composed enough to lead his miners. I can imagine many men slowly losing faith, fighting starvation and dehydration, while others struggling to place their own interests above the groups’. Fights, mutiny, and rebellion are usually not characterized with operating organizations, but for Urzúa and his 32 other coworkers, it was a possible reality. When asked how he was capable of keeping the men united and organized, he simply stated, "You just have to speak the truth and believe in democracy… everything was voted on.” Allowing every miner to have an equal vote and opinion kept the men assembled till the end of their ordeal.
Janet Echeverry
It is a very amazing story that catches attention from the world. Those 33 miners become heroes. I agree with Janet that Urzúa has done a great job. It also reminds me of the new video that I saw from the News on TV. The camera that was send to the mine captured they were playing games together. People were laughing and talking together. They looked ok, at least not upset. They were underground for nearly 70 days with little food supply. How can they manage their stress? It is not an easy task too. They kept optimistic and did not let go of their hope. I think the support from each other plays a very important role at their survival story too. They prayed together to get some spiritual support. They try to find something to do together to be distracted from the disaster.
ReplyDeleteYu Mei Wu
While I am sure there are more to come, here is interview with one of the other miners Mario Sepulveda (the one that was giving rocks to everyone when he rose to the surface). What I find most interesting is his comment "Luis was the foreman and so when we worked we naturally deferred to him but when the working day finished we were Los 33. We practised democracy. Each person had a vote and if 17 men voted one way, that made the decision. We tried to stay as normal as we could under the circumstances and to watch out for each other."
ReplyDeleteThe truth is that while Luis was the "leader" it required the cooperation and skills of others to truly survive the ordeal. Each miner had a role to play. Mario is the "joker". He took on the leadership role of keeping everyone's spirit up even while his own was faultering. Its says a lot for teamwork and the importance of communication and cooperation.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321230/Chilean-miners-World-exclusive-interview-Mario-Sepulveda.html#ixzz12oTwLujC
Amanda
An incredible story of survival..and leadership. This shows that anyone can become a leader if a situation requires so. Even in this desolate location, one man chose to look over the rest of the miners and made a decision to lead them out of those terrible circumstances. I also liked the idea how the notion of "democracy" managed to survive even in an underground cave. Some of our politicians should feel inspired....
ReplyDeleteGabriela J.