It’s sad that we die for less

WHEN tragedy strikes, even the coldest of hearts tend to soften. Well, at least to some extent. When news of the Zanzibar ferry disaster started making the circles, most people I know wanted to get more details.

People mostly wanted to know what really happened and if at all there were any individuals that they might have some sort of relations with who were on board at the time of the accident. The general fear was that many lives would have been lost in the disaster. 

Under such circumstances, everyone wanted to know if a neighbour, a friend’s friend, a distant cousin, an old college or school mate, an old flame or even a foe was a victim. And these were not misplaced fears for many reasons. 

While we are waiting for the findings of the special inquiry to establish the real cause of the accident, one reason for the accident that keeps being mentioned is overloading of both passengers and cargo. This makes one feel the task of the team conducting the inquiry is a mere formality, we all almost certainly know what would be the outcome. 

In fact, four people have already appeared in court charged with negligence following the disaster. Recently I happened to be watching a local television channel where one survivor was narrating what had happened before, during and after the accident.   

He so matter-of-factly stated that the accident might have been averted because there were all signs something was amiss before the ferry set sail. Passengers were complaining that the ferry was overloaded and that some passengers and cargo should be let off but to no avail. 

How and why the ferry was allowed to leave despite all the misgivings and reservations by the passengers one may never come to know for sure. But an intuitive guess is that this practice is commonplace. 

Boat operators don’t really give a hoot what the passengers have to say. But that isn’t strange because they know they can always get away with whatever decision that they make because authorities too do not have the time of day for a passenger’s opinion. 

Those charged with the responsibility of ensuring boats, ships and ferries are secure before setting sail seem to take their duties for granted and as a result operators think and act along the same lines. They are bent on maximizing profits and in the process passenger safety and security becomes secondary, if at all it is taken into consideration.  

While we were coming to terms with events at home, a mine flooded in Wales and killed four people. A few days after the accident, safety experts owned up to the occasion and promised that lessons will be learned from the investigation into the tragedy at a Swansea Valley mine.

The tragedy at Nungwi claimed the lives of over 200 people, according to official figures. But many believe more people perished in the disaster because there were no proper records showing how many passengers were actually on board at the time of the accident. Naturally, one can only be grateful that many lives were saved while still sympathizing with those who lost loved ones. 

But I happened to have had a chat with maritime security and logistics experts who are of the opinion that more lives could have been saved if at all we had in place rescue teams and speed boats on the ready. 

The experts opined that the number of survivors could have been more if the response was quicker because most survivors were found many hours after the accident happened while still alive. They had the will to survive and then there is always Divine Providence when the inexplicable happens. 

Having in place rescue teams with the necessary facilities and equipment may not necessarily avert accidents, but it will surely save lives. And that is what we want to hear from authorities, that they will learn lessons from the tragedy and take action. 

The experts said that there is a huge possibility that many accidents occur in deep seas, especially amongst fishermen, but they go unnoticed in the public eye because it does not claim the lives of many people at once. Plus it might as well pass off as an occupational hazard when a fisherman dies at sea. 

With rescue teams on the ready, many lives of unknown fishermen could be saved as well. After all, whose life is better than that of the next person? Why should others then perish just because they are less fortunate to travel in a dilapidated ferry that should have been grounded years ago?

Since operators of ferries and boats seem to care less about the comfort of passengers, perhaps authorities should ensure that that in itself does not end up claiming many lives. That would be  allowing one’s own kind to die for very little.