Soapbox: Collective malaise By Salah Eissa We know that the tragedy in Dweiqa was avoidable. Geologists have been warning that the Moqattam plateau was unsafe in this particular part, and yet no action was taken. The inhabitants were left to their own devices. They were even joined by new neighbours, desperate for affordable housing, regardless of the risk. It is a sign of collective malaise when the writing is on the wall but no one reads it. It is a sign of collective malaise when the alarm is sounded but no one listens. The Housing Ministry had a project planned to move the inhabitants, but didn't finish it on time. Yet once disaster struck the project was finalised within a week. What does this tell you? An ounce of responsibility could have saved lives, but we didn't have it. An ounce of accountability could have ensured more timely action by the government, but we didn't have that either. What we have in abundance is forgetfulness and fatalism. Indeed, a taste of accountability could go a long way, but that often sounds like asking for too much. Culprits get away with anything in this country. Disasters are treated as destiny, human errors as acts of fate. How often do you see negligent people facing trial in this country? How often do you see disciplinary action taken in time? How often do you see warnings heeded? Most of the time, we act as if there are invisible forces that would protect us. Perhaps the geologists were just guessing wrong. Perhaps we'll get away with it this time. Perhaps everything will be sorted out without us having to move a finger. Wishful thinking is becoming a national trait, and negligence a way of life. We cannot go on this way. We have to change. This fatalism, borne of centuries of tilling the land and gazing at the stars, has outlived its usefulness. We have to start listening to reason, or we're doomed. This week's Soapbox speaker is editor-in-chief of Al-Qahira weekly newspaper.
