when ships fail

Another ferry, another natural disaster. Man-made but natural. This being part of the great non-developing lands, where the safety of one or the few is all that matters, it is inevitably natural for incidents like these to keep befalling incidentals like us, time after time.

There may or may not be safety procedures. The ship may or may not be licensed to sail. The captain may or may not be qualified, or pressured, or guilty. One thing is clear, the state, like your favourite software provider, lets you use any avilable service at your own risk. If it works for you, then fine. If not, then hardluck. The state does not assume any joint or several liability. No employee of the state shall resign therefore, as there is no dereliction of duty. The duty of the employees of the state, high and low, lies evidently elsewhere.

Ominously enough, the same factors cited as probable causes: overloading, structural failure, tilt and bad captaining, are the very ones giving rise to this sinking feeling that the country has no better cruising chance than that of the capsized ship. (Speaking of tilt, have you noticed that all those representing the sovereign reach of the state at the press conference were exclusively from one end of the sectarian divide?).

Our thoughts are with the grieving families. May their loved ones rest in peace, and may they find some solace.