Whose fault is it when power lines break, scaffolding collapses, or manhole covers open?
(Baonghean.vn) - On October 13th, a tragic accident occurred in Vinh Long: Six students from a school in Chau Thanh district were electrocuted when an electrical wire fell from in front of the school gate, resulting in the deaths of two of them.
On October 13th, a tragic accident occurred in Vinh Long: six students from a school in Chau Thanh district were electrocuted when a power line fell from in front of the school gate. Two of them died. Many people shared the news on their personal pages, expressing their sorrow. And how could we not feel sorrow when we are all human beings, and many of us are parents with children of school age facing all sorts of risks!
While grieving over such tragic accidents, how many of us ask ourselves why such accidents happen so frequently in our country? We simply attribute everything to natural phenomena like thunderstorms and lightning, and live carefree lives until such tragic and absurd accidents befall us?
How many people wonder if they are blameless when such accidents happen to their fellow human beings? Have we become accustomed to compromising and turning a blind eye to the chaos and irresponsibility around us? Every day we witness the dangers leading to these tragic accidents firsthand. We see construction sites with scaffolding haphazardly erected above busy public roads, cranes moving overhead, capable of dropping heavy objects on anyone at any time. Faced with these scenes, we even shudder at the thought of the worst-case scenario, but then, when we pass by and reach a safe area, we breathe a sigh of relief because nothing happened to us. We are too busy, too indifferent, too insensitive to consider whether the next person passing by might suffer the same fate. Our concern, if any, is not strong enough to prompt us to report to the authorities, or at least to raise the alarm and request a necessary warning about the risks. Similarly, every day we share the road with container trucks, considered "road killers," and people transporting bulky materials, even carrying a steel bar as long as the road itself on a dilapidated motorbike. Whether we have the right to intervene or not, we shrug it off, thinking, "It's a blessing if it doesn't hit me!" And everyone goes their own way, without considering the need for urgent measures to stop this situation, or the need to immediately call the traffic police so they can eliminate the potential accident as quickly as possible.
No, we don't have a habit of doing that. How many of us have walked past an open manhole, thinking about the risk of someone being swept into it during a heavy rain? An open manhole is considered a trivial matter, nobody's problem, yet every year in our country, unimaginable tragic deaths occur: deaths from being swept into sewers!
Before the power line in front of the school gate in Vinh Long snapped and fell, injuring six innocent students, did anyone question whether the presence of these power lines directly above a school gate with high traffic was reasonable? Did anyone consider reporting the incident to the authorities or insisting that the power company conduct regular inspections to eliminate the risk of accidents and ensure the safety of the school's students and others?
Looking around at the countless potential dangers in our daily lives, we can realize how selfish, indifferent, and unconscious we have become, contributing to alarming realities such as chaotic traffic, widespread contaminated food, severe river and lake pollution, and the habitual use of herbicides in farming… or turning a blind eye instead of working together to create a change in the collective consciousness through education or legal intervention.
Two years ago at An Bang beach in Hoi An, I was taught a memorable lesson about social awareness and community spirit by a young man. It was a stifling afternoon, even though we were by the beach. On a breezy beach that had been transformed into a row of restaurants serving refreshments, an elderly man (presumably a local) calmly sat facing the wind, smoking. He was exhaling smoke with apparent pleasure when a young man approached him and said in a gentle but forceful voice, "You can't sit facing the wind like that smoking. Look how many people, children and the elderly, will have to breathe your smoke!" The man stopped smoking, looked bewildered for a few seconds, then, as if embarrassed, he stubbed out his cigarette in the sand and got up to leave. As an observer and also a beneficiary, I admired the young man and felt ashamed of myself. After that experience, I've had enough courage several times to put into practice the lesson that young man taught me on the beach, because I think that contributing to reducing one lung cancer case is better than everyone raising billions of dollars to help a terminally ill lung cancer patient get treatment.
I don't want to label anyone "at fault" through this article, but I believe that if our society had more people like the young man I mentioned above, tragic accidents like the one at the gate of a school in Vinh Long would certainly decrease significantly.
