It is September, and like it always does, it never ceases to dish out tragedy after another. 9/11, ....ok most of them actually happened in August if you ask me, but surely in a span of a few days, East Africa is hit by two tragedies of great proportions. Hundreds have lost their lives for things that are easily preventable. The overloaded ferry in Zanzibar, the pipeline flames in Lunga lunga road.....somehow human greed intertwined with weak enforcement agencies have contributed to the two tragedies.
I however ask myself, do we ever learn from these tragedies or is it a case of "since the tree fell on someone else not me, al continue hanging around lumberjacks as they clear the forests"..Sachangwan tragedy where several people lost their lives trying to scoop fuel from a tanker did not happen very long ago....and how many times have we been warned about overloading?...That's why I respect airlines. You wouldn't see someone standing in a plane even for a half hour flight just coz there is some space on the aisle and the plane can take the weight. Rules and regulations have their own purpose and whoever sat down and put some thought into them before making them mandatory had reason to do so. The engineers who estimate safety limits and give guidelines know why they give them...don't argue with them.
However I must admit it is quite sad, human life is very precious and it shouldn't be lost just like that. We also hear of heroic human beings as well on the other hand, like the fishermen who were out rescuing victims of the ferry disaster or the fellow who swam for four hours to reach the shore....the people who are donating blood and blankets for the fire victims, etc.
My hope is one day we would appreciate, understand and embrace the advise of professionals in whatever we do. Let the architects and structural engineers advise you on buildings, let the accountants do their jobs advising you on finance stuff, follow safety engineers advise on fire hazards and let the Electrical Engineer draw up the design for your house wiring,etc. One day we shall be at the point where we will value this advise. it is more expensive not taking it. As for now, the only thing left for us to give out is sincere condolences to those who were affected by the tragedies and a little prayer for the difficult times.
I however ask myself, do we ever learn from these tragedies or is it a case of "since the tree fell on someone else not me, al continue hanging around lumberjacks as they clear the forests"..Sachangwan tragedy where several people lost their lives trying to scoop fuel from a tanker did not happen very long ago....and how many times have we been warned about overloading?...That's why I respect airlines. You wouldn't see someone standing in a plane even for a half hour flight just coz there is some space on the aisle and the plane can take the weight. Rules and regulations have their own purpose and whoever sat down and put some thought into them before making them mandatory had reason to do so. The engineers who estimate safety limits and give guidelines know why they give them...don't argue with them.
However I must admit it is quite sad, human life is very precious and it shouldn't be lost just like that. We also hear of heroic human beings as well on the other hand, like the fishermen who were out rescuing victims of the ferry disaster or the fellow who swam for four hours to reach the shore....the people who are donating blood and blankets for the fire victims, etc.
My hope is one day we would appreciate, understand and embrace the advise of professionals in whatever we do. Let the architects and structural engineers advise you on buildings, let the accountants do their jobs advising you on finance stuff, follow safety engineers advise on fire hazards and let the Electrical Engineer draw up the design for your house wiring,etc. One day we shall be at the point where we will value this advise. it is more expensive not taking it. As for now, the only thing left for us to give out is sincere condolences to those who were affected by the tragedies and a little prayer for the difficult times.
