Whose business is it that the electric wires are down, the scaffolding has collapsed, and the manhole is open?
(Baonghean.vn) - On October 13, a tragic accident occurred in Vinh Long: 6 students from a school in Chau Thanh district were electrocuted by a falling electric wire in front of the school gate, 2 of them died.
On October 13, a tragic accident occurred in Vinh Long: 6 students at a school in Chau Thanh district were electrocuted by a fallen electric wire in front of the school gate, 2 of them died. Many people shared the news on their personal pages with lines expressing their sympathy. How can we not feel sympathy when we are also human, and many of us are parents with school-age children who face all kinds of risks!
While mourning such tragic accidents, how many of us wonder why such accidents happen so often in our country? Do we just blame everything on natural phenomena like thunderstorms, lightning, and live our lives innocently until such tragic and “ridiculous” accidents befall us?
How many people wonder if they are innocent when such accidents happen to their fellow human beings? Have we developed a habit of compromising and turning a blind eye to the chaos and irresponsibility around us? Every day we see with our own eyes the risks that lead to such tragic accidents. We see construction sites with scaffolding sloppily and loosely placed right above busy residential roads, cranes moving overhead, capable of dropping heavy objects on anyone, at any time. In front of such scenes, we even shudder at the thought of the worst possibility, but then when we pass through them, reach a safe area, we breathe a sigh of relief because nothing happens to us. We are too busy, too indifferent, too insensitive to think about whether the next person passing through that place will be at risk or not. Our concern, if any, is not great enough to prompt us to report to the authorities, or at least to demand a necessary warning about the risk. In the same way, every day we participate in traffic with container trucks that are considered "killers" of the road, with people transporting bulky materials, even carrying an iron bar as long as the length of the road on a dilapidated motorbike. Whether we have the right to intervene or not, we just say, "It's a blessing that it didn't hit me!" And each person goes their own way, without thinking about the need to take urgent measures to end the situation, or to call the traffic police immediately so that they can eliminate the risk of an accident as soon as possible.
No, we are not in the habit of doing that. How many of us have passed by an open manhole, thinking about the risk of someone being swept down the manhole in a heavy rain? The issue of an open manhole cover is considered a small matter, not anyone’s business, so every year in our country there are unimaginable tragic deaths: deaths from being swept down the manhole!
Before the electric wire in front of the school gate in Vinh Long broke and fell on 6 innocent students, did anyone wonder if it was reasonable for the bundle of electric wires to exist right above a school gate where there are many people coming and going? Did anyone think of reporting to the authorities or insisting on the electricity agency to conduct regular inspections to eliminate the risk of accidents, ensuring the safety of the students of that school as well as others?
Looking around us with countless potential dangers from daily life, we can realize how selfish, indifferent, and unconscious we have become, contributing to alarming situations such as chaotic traffic, widespread dirty food, serious river and lake pollution, the use of herbicides as a farming practice... or turning a blind eye to it, instead of unanimously creating a change from the majority's consciousness through education or legal intervention.
Two years ago, at An Bang beach in Hoi An, a young man taught me a memorable lesson about social awareness and community awareness. It was a stuffy afternoon, even though it was by the sea. On a beach that had been turned into a chain of restaurants serving refreshments, an elderly man (probably a local) calmly sat upwind, smoking. He was puffing out smoke with a satisfied look when a young man approached him and said to him in a gentle but powerful voice: “You can’t sit upwind smoking like this. Look at how many people, both children and the elderly, will have to smell your cigarette smoke!” The man who was smoking stopped, looked bewildered for a few seconds, then, as if feeling embarrassed, he put out his cigarette on the sand and stood up to leave. As an observer and also a beneficiary, I admired the young man and felt embarrassed for myself. After that experience, I have had enough courage several times to practice the lesson that the young man taught me on the beach, because I think that if we contribute to reducing the number of people with lung cancer, it is better than all of us donating billions to help one person with terminal lung cancer to cure the disease.
I do not want to use this article to label anyone as “at fault”, but I believe that if our society had more people like the young man I mentioned above, then tragic accidents like the one at the school gate in Vinh Long would certainly be greatly reduced.