Thailand cave rescue triggers hopes, fears, prayers among Thai-Americans in Sonoma County

Nikki Doble checks Facebook every day for updates on the 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach found alive but trapped on July 2 in a flooded cave, nine days after they went missing in northern Thailand.

Doble of Santa Rosa doesn’t know the boys of the Wild Boars soccer team personally, but she was born in Thailand and adopted by an American family as a baby. She has Thai friends who’ve kept her connected to the culture, along with a teacher friend in the country who posts Thai news on Facebook - more up-to-date than other sources, she said.

“It’s something you might see in a movie theater, but it’s a real life drama,” said Doble, 46. “For parents, it’s kind of like your worst nightmare.”

The dangerous mission to rescue the 12 Thai boys, ages 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old soccer coach about 2.5 miles into the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai has people around the globe anxiously looking for the latest information on their plight. Thai-Americans in the North Bay feel a special connection to the boys as they watch from afar, over lavish lunches of papaya salad and sticky rice, or in hushed living rooms around murmuring TV sets.

As of Monday evening, eight boys of the Wild Boars soccer team had been rescued from the cave, navigating the dark, narrow, flooded passageways with the help of experienced divers. The risks are numerous, and rescuers are racing against the clock with a monsoon expected to hit Chiang Rai on Wednesday.

At Wat Mahabuddhaphumi, a Buddhist temple on Stony Point Road in Santa Rosa, about 20 Thai Americans gathered for Sunday meditation, chants, prayer and food. The cave rescue story dominated conversations, said Buddhist monk Phramaha Buasai.

“Everyone was happy they came out,” said Buasai, who has been in the United States for about two decades.

They discussed the intricacies of the rescue operation in Thailand, about 14 hours ahead of California. Some of the boys can’t swim, and the dangerous passage has already claimed one life. Saman Kunan, a 38-year-old former Thai Navy SEAL, drowned Friday when he ran out of oxygen while placing oxygen tanks along the rescue route.

“It was really upsetting because he was trying to help them,” said Doble.

Warangkhana Ramirez, 31, co-owner of Cloverdale restaurant 101 Thai Way, gathered with fellow Thai-Americans on Sunday at the Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Redwood Valley, where many spoke of Kunan as a hero.

“We prayed, we chanted for him,” said Ramirez, who immigrated to California when she was 7 and gets updates on cave news from her father, who still lives in Thailand.

More developments in the story kept Thai-Americans glued to their phones and tablets. When they were all trapped, the boys were able to write messages of hope to their families, delivered by professional divers and posted online.

Lert Pongkietisak, a 70-year-old Thai-American in Santa Rosa, watches Thai news stations online for his regular updates.

“I feel so bad for the diver (who died),” he said. “It’s sad for the kids.”

Montri Chuenpreecha, 75, of Santa Rosa gets updates online and on TV every day. The cave rescue story has grabbed global attention because it involves kids, and kids are innocent, he said.

“I worry for the remaining boys,” he said.