I can’t get this out of my mind.
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| A Slum quarter in Freetown |
The last
time I wrote, it was immediately after the latest “natural” disaster that had
befallen Sierra Leone, in which untold numbers lost their lives. Up to this
day, the precise casualty figure has not been determined.
The first
lesson we learn from the tragedy is that when things go wrong it is the poor who
cop it. They not only just die; they also lose identity as well. There is
nobody to account for them or advocate on their behalf. As their corporal
remains are washed away or consumed by fire, their humanity itself is not only
diminished but is frequently erased entirely. Another recent example of this kind
of erasure is the Grenfell Tower fire in London last June. In that disaster too,
many victims remain unnamed and uncounted.
And,
as if to manage our guilt-ridden conscience for our failure to recognize lives
lost or diminished, we quickly assume a posture of blaming the victims for what
has befallen them. I cannot absolve myself from this failing, as a reading of
my last posting amply demonstrates. Since that posting, however, I have had time
to reflect on the predicament of those who live in the precarious margins, not
out of choice, but of necessity. However, I cannot extend this admission of mea culpa to what I feel for the rich
man sitting in his villa perched on the same hillside as the slum dweller whose
abode was a shack in the same neighbourhood. That rich man had, and has, at his
disposal, choices, including the benefit of expert advice that should have informed
him of the foolishness of building where he did. Rather, it would appear, he ignored
good, sensible engineering and environmental advice and went ahead and did what
he did. He may have been a denier of facts, who might have interpreted attempts
at dissuading him from doing something stupid as an instance of “fake news” and
who, at the end of the day, probably congratulated himself on succeeding to manouvre
his way around those pesky rules and regulations that inconvenience ordinary
mortals. Similar to avoiding paying tax, as some openly brag.
But
what about the poor? When I wrote last, I dumped all those affected into a single
basket of deplorables. Yes, the poor’s lack of foresight is to be deprecated.
But how did they get to where they did? Sierra Leone has seen a number of
upheavals, the most severe and enduring of which was the 10-year civil war that
ended more than a decade ago. That war displaced tens of thousands, the
majority of whom ended up in and around the capital, Freetown, seeking safety.
And there they have remained, eking out a life of sorts, but building
communities nevertheless. While doing so, they did things to the environment
that unwittingly put their own existence and wellbeing at risk. What is certain
is that those living hanging by the mountainside or in the path of an unstable
land mass, or along a coastal strip, are bound to become victims again. And
again, and again... Until and unless something is done.
We
demand that poor people living in these hazardous locations be moved elsewhere
by whatever means, including by force, if necessary. However, an enterprise such
as that is bound to fail if the new destinations provide no opportunities for
productive employment and community-building. But we don’t pause to ask the important
questions as to where the resources to pay the rent and maintenance will come
from. Money will be required to pay for life in the new homes. Money for rent,
money for maintenance, money for utilities (if the environment is to be
protected). It would be lovely if this money could fall from the sky. But we
all know that there is no money tree, especially in a country where it is
estimated that over 70% of people have to live on less than a dollar a day.
Like someone
said: “It’s the economy, my friend”.
Tell Fren Tru
