The news cycle will soon wane – humans live, humans die. Children are born and children die.
More than 50,000 children have already been killed in Gaza since October 2023. Stunning number isn't it?
But in time, we will all latch on to the next hot topic. Do we need a Proportional Representative electoral system? When will the July Charter be published? Did we win or lose the tariff war? How was the ending to the latest TV show?
This isn't exactly wrong. We all must move on. It will be impossible to pretend like we won't.
But that's our luxury as an independent people. The same luxury cannot be extended to those in power, be they the government, the political parties, the CAAB or even the air force.
Even in Monday's emotional press conference, when Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said such a tragedy was unimaginable, the question must be why was that so? This was a disaster waiting to happen it seems.
So then, how many children must die before the authorities realise it is the decades of endless hand wringing, unchecked corruption, inefficiency and greed that have led to making the cities of Bangladesh the death traps they have become?
How many bodies have to be burned before the powers that be realise that the constant bickering, lust for power, and desire to dominate, come at the cost of human lives? The constant need to distract also only leads to grief for our people.
The Milestone College plane crash has left 31 dead so far. People with charred bodies dot hospital grounds. And by people, we mean children.
Families cry for their children. Some children are missing. Some will never return.
A brave pilot has lost his life, his patriotism in full display, choosing to die for the children by waiting to eject at the last minute.
As for the kids, their only mistake was going to school.
Everyone else, those we can hold accountable, will now switch gears to the age old method: the logic.
Where else would the flight training take place if not Dhaka? Accidents happen, everything was done to prevent it. The last government will be blamed. The CAAB will wash its hands of the affair. Agencies and bodies will investigate themselves and declare themselves innocent.
At the end, everyone will try to absolve themselves of anything and pass the buck.
It's all technical errors, best efforts to prevent tragedies gone wrong and much more.
Politicians will have a field day slating each other. The tragedy and those to come will all be reduced to photo opportunities and PR spins.
Conspiracies and propaganda will be hammered on till everyone is left utterly confused. Heroes will rise and fall within weeks. Villains will be made overnight.
But who will take action? What actionable steps will be made visible? And when a mistake is corrected, who will ask why it wasn't corrected before? Why wasn't the tragedy foreseen? Which regulations allowed for the travesty? Who made the regulations? Who never thought of revising the regulations?
Will anyone ever ask why the Bangladesh Air Force F-7 BGI, which has been in four crashes in Bangladesh already, is still taking to our skies? Who was entrusted with this? Why wasn't it stopped?
How was the school constructed in the place it was in? Who approved it? Who applied the pressure? Who signed off on it? What has RAJUK been doing all these years?
Did no one at all see this coming?
At this point, we must take stock of a number of things, but keeping one question in mind: What other incompetencies must be solved to prevent the next preventable death?
Those in power shouldn't then just tuck themselves in bed tonight or the day after. They should instead think about the tiffin boxes packed which were left untouched. They should think about the homeworks not submitted. They should think about the iron which will never see the same uniform again.
Those in power should think of the children. Those responsible should then be ashamed of themselves.
And they must be held accountable. This wasn't an accident. This was incompetence at the highest levels which has been going on for decades, regardless of who was in power.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely of the author's. Dhaka Stream does not endorse it.
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