A Bus Burns Up, but the System's Burnt

A bus carrying children from church in Magdalena Department turned into a flaming hell the other day, killing 31 kids and severely injuring about 20 others after its unlicensed driver poured gasoline onto the carburetor.

That driver is now in jail, as is the Presbetyrian minister who apparently hired the unlicensed driver along with the bus, whose registration and mechanical review documents were expired.

The minister, left, and bus driver, right, in police custody.

Of course, these two men should be prosecuted for this totally needless tragedy. But what about the authorities who allowed a disfunctional machine to stay on the road and continue transporting children? What about officials who turned a blind eye to this unlicensed driver, whose mechanical knowledge and ethics evidently left lots to be desired.

When a bus crashes, when a building collapses, when a discoteque burns, when a coal mine catches fire, fingers point at the final obvious villain: the careless driver, the construction company which used cheap materials, the mine owner who cut costs by leaving out safety measures.

But what about the officials who allowed the tragedies to happen by turning a blind eye to the legal violations - and will again, unless they are punished? How many other buses with expired papers and unlicensed drivers are carrying children around Colombia? I bet there are lots.

In rural regions, I suspect, the good old boys do each other favors by overlooking details such as drivers licenses and mechanical revision certificates. But nobody did these dead children or their families any favors.

Unless the underlying system changes, expect more tragedies - and more bus drivers taking the fall for a disfunctional system.

On a related note, I can't help commenting on the quote from one of the severely burned children, published in El Tiempo, saying that 'God loves me.' I feel for the victims and their families, I hope that God loves them and I'm happy that their faith gives them comfort at this terrible time. But, burning a child to the edge of death and killing his friends is a very strange way for a god to express his love. The faithful will say that the tragedy was the act of men (and probably women as well), and that God saved the survivors. But if God is everywhere, then where was He when the driver was about to pour the gasoline onto the carburetor, and why didn't God puncture the gasoline container? Where was God when police let this unlicensed driver stay on the road? How about when officials turned a blind eye to the delapidated old machine?

And, needless to say, if anybody should be under God's protective, watchful eye, it should be children on their way home from church.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Better Late than Never for Doña Juana Victims

Victims of the Doña Juana mine disaster wait to register for compensation outside the Placio de Justicia today.

On September 26, 1997 Bogotá's landfill, Doña Juana, exploded and collapsed, exposing toxic materials and pumping noxious fumes into the air. Some 1.2 tons of trash slid downhill, blocking the adjoining Tunjuelo River.

The Doña Juana landfill. 

Landfill neighbors and the hundreds of trash pickers who lived off of the dump sued, and late last year the Consejo de Bogotá finally awarded 227 million pesos to some 2,000 victims, for their medical problems, including respiratory problems, allergies, skin infections and vomiting. Many were also compensated for lost work time. (The stench spread widely across Bogotá.)

The landfill had been badly managed, allowing toxic gases and liquids to accumulate until the structure collapsed. The exposed material included chemicals and organic wastes from nearby leather tanning works, which rotted quickly after being exposed.

A long wait keeps getting longer. 

Today, 15 years after the disaster, dozens of people lined up outside the Justice Palace on Plaza Bolivar to register for compensation.

The landfill now seems to be better managed. Waste pickers are no longer allowed to work there. But

the landfill has a new problem - it's predicted to reach capacity this year, and the city has arranged no alternative. Meanwhile, City Hall's 'Basura Cero' (Zero Trash) slogan doesn't seem to have changed anything - 800 garbage trucks continue dumping their loads into Doña Juana every day.

And this website claims that neighbors are still bothered and sickened by the landfill.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

From Disaster - Generosity

Instead of self pity - generosity

A lot's been written about the maturity and fortitude with which the Japanese people have handled the triple earthquake/tidal wave/nuclear disaster which has battered the nation. There've always been plenty of reasons to admire the Japanese (as well as lots of ugly things in Japanese history): from a nation in ruins after World War II, with few natural resources except their people, they came back to create the world's second-largest economy. 

A few years from now, this mega-disaster will be a bad memory and Japan will come back better and stronger than ever (and, hopefully, nuclear power will too.)

Amidst all of these needs at home, the amazing Japanese people are still sticking to their foreign aid commitments. Even while Japan's own hospitals are overwhelmed, Japan just donated 700 million pesos in equipment - about US $380,000 - to four Colombian hospitals. 

Of course, Japan can still use help, and here's how: http://www.globalgiving.org/

More than money or equipment, people across the developing world ought to look toward Japan as a model for building a strong democracy and economy, without reliance on natural resources - which inevitably become exhausted.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours