Members of an Australian lacrosse team quarantined in South Korea have made a video appeal for their freedom before they lose the chance to play in an international tournament.
The under-21 squad was quarantined last Saturday after a 19-year-old Victorian player was diagnosed with swine flu.
The sick teen was moved to a hospital about two hours away from Seoul. Fifteen of his teammates and 10 team staff remain quarantined in backpacker-style accommodation about 30 kilometres from the capital.
Eighteen-year-old Hayden Lee, from East Brighton, filmed the boredom of the players, who have not been able to go outside for five days, and posted the clip on YouTube.
To the sound of Queen's I Want To Break Free, one player beats his helmeted head against a wall, another jumps out a window, and another lies motionless as if literally dead bored.
Most appear wearing their uniforms while watching television or using computers on mattresses on the floor.
In an email to The Age, Hayden called on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to intervene to get the team out in time to compete in the tournament.
"We still all have no symptoms and today we missed the first game of the tournament," he wrote early today.
Um, okay, while it must, dude, totally suck to be quarantined in a foreign country, I'm sure there are better ways to handle it. Here's the video, by the way:
4 comments:
This morning I saw a Korea Times "most read" story that said a Korean woman doctor has tested positive for H1N1 and is "under observation" -- which I took to mean not quarantined. The article (no longer among the "most read") has since been changed and now says nothing about her being under observation or quarantine. However, info has been added to the piece about the Australians (or else I just missed it when I skimmed it earlier), including statements that they were merely "asked" to undergo quarantine and also that they have withdrawn from their tournament. Hmm.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/06/117_46949.html
I'm sure the PM of Australia will intervene on their behalf. Sports is more important than curbing pandemics. Besides, they're special, so the virus will behave differently around them.
What would you have them do, Brian?
I think there's better ways to handle it than a team member public requesting the PM become involved... but this is just the naive answer to a journalists question.
What's wrong with the video? At least it is an inventive way to get everyone involved. I didn't notice anyone disrespecting Korea or damaging anything.
These guys are just 19 and they wanna play sport and they are stuck in quarantine. Fair play to them for making the best of it.
I agree with Ryan. I think the request to Kevin Rudd is a bit over the top but since Australia's so obsessed with sport, there's a fair chance Rudd would agree to do it! I think the video's a clever, creative way to pass the time and show their legitimate frustration at the red tape holding them back from getting on the field. None of the quarantined boys are showing symptoms, they've been there a week, let 'em out on the field for Christ sake.
Good on 'em!
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