Travel and Personal

Kenya reflects on the building collapse

By Dweep Chanana ⋅ January 28, 2006 ⋅  Email this post ⋅ Post a comment

The building collapse of last week is history, relegated to the inside pages of the paper. The international rescue teams and their sniffer dogs - from Israel, USA, and the UK - have returned. A total of 14 people are confirmed dead, with many still missing. All that remains is to clear the rubble now.

The people haven’t forgotten though. Anger and dismay at the collapse, which the common man foresaw, runs rife - the building came up too fast, my friend complained. Consternation too, at the ease with which the rescue effort was declared finished. And particularly at the lack of preparedness of local authorities.

Friday’s edition of the Daily Nation had two full pages of opinion pieces. They highlighted the twin issues of corruption and lack of preparedness that brought the building to its knees. A few excerpts:

We don’t invest enough in preparing for disaster, leaving it to the Israelis to come to the rescue, and now the British and the Americans. When will the Kenya Government grow up and take responsibility for its actions - or inaction, for that matter?

Further underlyning the matter was Charles Wairia in Rescue efforts a study in incompetence:

I saw the picture of seven fire-fighters gawking at their colleague who was digging with the only shovel available.
Our police respond to all disasters the same way - keeping the people at bay while they take to the vantage points to watch and gape.

In Poland, today, there was a roof collapse. The fatalities are much higher than they were in Kenya, but the emergency response was better as well.

Nature reminds us that we are not that different. Disasters seem to bring out the best in us - even if for purely selfish motives. Hurricanes force the almighty USA to accept foreign aid. Earthquakes do the same for India and Pakistan. But those very disasters bring out our worst weaknesses as well. Why is it that Poland can help its people, but Kenya cannot?

I have no solution, except to repeat Lucy Oriang’:

Being poor is not a crime, and our people deesrve better than to be thrown to the dogs by a council they help to keep running.