Ever since the news first broke of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria on February 6, which has claimed over 41,000 lives (and counting), I've been refreshing the news on a daily basis. But it struck me, horrifyingly, that beyond a desire for knowing the details, I keep coming back to one particular thing I look at: The number of deaths.
Even when I sat down to write about this, the very first thing I looked up was a list of the deadliest earthquakes of the 21st century - of course measured by the number of deaths. Attempting to reflect on this near-grotesque fascination for the number of casualties, I am struggling, questioning, and failing to come to grips with why it is that gross numbers fascinate so many of us.
We are of course drawn to the macabre -- there's plenty of scientific research backing our fascination for it. In an increasingly volatile and polarized world where hacking emotions is the name of the game for many, especially within the media, it is no wonder that outlets major and minor look to tweak their content in such a manner as to evoke the most passionate reactions.
And when it's a catastrophic earthquake claiming tens of thousands of lives, it's easy fodder to elicit emotions. Be that agony, dismay, anger, sympathy, gratitude -- as long as there's some…feeling.
Of course, any earthquake that shakes up the world (sorry, but humour is the best coping mechanism after all) will be talked about by those who have some concerns about Dhaka -- and rightfully so.
For years, we have been told that Dhaka is one of the most susceptible cities to a major earthquake, lying on major fault lines. Should we be exposed to a major earthquake, it would most likely result in devastation multiple times worse than that Turkey and Syria faced.
Turkey has already started questioning those responsible for construction in the country; when newly constructed apartments are turned to dust, questions are only natural. Over a hundred arrest warrants connected to building construction have already been issued, and numerous are already behind bars.
Of course, when tragedy strikes, the authorities are expected to do something, anything really - to display action. That they are doers and are “responding” to the people's outrage. Knee-jerk reactions and talking big about systemic failure, perhaps putting small-time actors behind bars while the major players roam free – such are the rules that are to be followed.
If we miraculously survived an earthquake of this magnitude, I have no doubt that it would be much the same. Finger-pointing, deflecting blame, a refusal to take responsibility. But it doesn't have to be this way.
We have known for way too long that we are susceptible to an earthquake and that if it hits us, it'll hit us hard. Yet, much like the folly of humans to assume infinite life, we continue to postpone what could be the inevitable.
Yes, we are planning far ahead into the future - Smart Bangladesh of 2041, the Delta Plan of 2100 - so it's not that we're only prisoners of the moment. But all the while we make these grand plans, the issues that plague this country and have always plagued this country continue to exist, no matter how much we sweep them under the rug and refuse to address them because they don't align with the glorious future we see for ourselves.
We continue to merely pay lip service to sustainability while Dhaka continues to be squeezed for the lack of breathing space (or breathable air but that's a whole different story). We refuse to address that we have a problem of unchecked urbanization, of growing inequity despite the push for an equitable nation.
All of these factors will rise to the surface from the crumbles of Dhaka should we get hit by an earthquake. We have seen it in the past, none more prominent than the Rana Plaza tragedy almost 10 years ago. Blame will be hurled. Columns written. Deaths counted. Thoughts and prayers offered. And perhaps, even some change - the RMG sector has had positive reforms since the tragedy and that is a fact. It only took the “deadliest non-deliberate structural failure accident in modern human history, the deadliest garment-factory disaster in history” for us to learn (some) lessons.
It shouldn't take an earthquake and the potential loss of hundreds of thousands of lives for us to get our act together. The people of Bangladesh deserve better. Earthquakes may be inevitable, and if we get hit, we get hit. Death and destruction too shall be inevitable.
But at least, when the rest of the world is tallying up the numbers, I'd rather we surprise them positively, and not be on the list for “deadliest earthquake in human history.”
AHM Mustafizur Rahman is Joint Editor, Editorial and Op-Ed at the Dhaka Tribune
