Where are the real heroes?

These days around 13th October 2010 will always be remembered as extraordinary days of heroism. People worldwide are glued to TVs and radios watching the breathtaking rescue of the miners who where trapped underground for 69 days after the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile collapsed. One by one the miners are brought to the surface of the earth, welcomed by their grateful and jubilant families and friends and the tireless team of rescue workers. Even the Presidents of Chile and Bolivia where present to greet the freed miners. In my opinion these people are real heroes; they survived being buried alive, not knowing whether they will ever see daylight again. As a team they did not loose hope and kept their high spirit.

Listening to the 13th October news at 19h00 on the NBC German radio and again later at 21h00 and 22h00 news on National radio, I could not believe my ears. Not one word about the incident. Obviously the staff in charge at the NBC News Desk did not consider it important enough to report on it. Or could there be other reasons, e.g. crumbling technical equipment, ignorant, badly informed and or lethargic staff? Are there other reasons omitting important information? Besides, this is by far not the fist time that NBC News ignored crucial global information.

NBC, please wake up, don't keep Namibians in the dark and deliver what is expected of a functioning National News provider. Your response will be appreciated and might shed some light on your performance.

Bertchen Kohrs, Windhoek (E-Mail: [email protected])