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February 07, 2008
Exploiting a tragedy ....
Some of you may have picked up on a report of a tragic fire which occurred in Ludwigshafen, Germany, on Monday. The fire occurred in a 19th Century building near the centre of town and nine people died while sixty were injured but rescued by the fire fighters. As the investigation teams assembled yesterday two things happened which, frankly, illustrate why politicians should stay away from disaster scenes and the media should be charged with inciting disorder.
First, the Turkish press got hold of a claim that the Feuerwehr had taken over forty minutes (That's right 40 minutes!) to respond. That was picked up by Turkish Language papers in Germany and blazed across their headlines and claims of racism and arson attacks are now the order of the day. The truth of the response is somewhat different. In fact the first Feuerwehr attendance was with 90 SECONDS of the call and the full attendance, professional and volunteer, was there within 4 MINUTES. But did the media check their facts? Of course not - the forty minute response sells more papers doesn't it? So they ran with that. The result was that a mob of youths spitting, shrieking insults and throwing things turned up at the scene and the hordes of reporters bombarded the Chief Fire Officer with so many hostile questions they reduced him to tears defending his men and his service. Eventually he told them to "get st*ffed" in more diplomatic langauage and was escorted away by a police colleague. The fire service then withdrew their support for the investigationas their men were "at risk" if they remained. Already an off duty fireman has been set on in a pub and beaten up and no doubt more will follow.
But, bearing in mind that the building is unsafe and the investigation is, at this stage, being conducted from suspended cages dropped into the building from above, cranes and turntable ladders allowing investigators to see into rooms and a host of other creative methods to search and find the evidence, the politicians got into the act. Turkey's Vice President and the Bundeskanzlerin, Angela Merkel are to visit today for a photo opportunity. Yesterday, all work was suspended for almost four hours while various politicans from both the Landtag and Turkey posed for their pictures with distressed Turkish Guest Workers in front of the building, laid wreaths and did all the vote catching things that are so blatantly false to any thinking person.
According to the press reports the building had fifty two registered residents, but that these had invited a large number of friends to watch the Rose Monday parades from the upper floors. It is a single staircase building, the staircase being open from the basement right up to the top floors. In effect, that makes it a chimney, so any fire starting in that space will do as this one appears to have done, run very quickly up the stairs and attack the upper floors first. The Monk has learned that the electrical installation in the surviving parts of the structure and in the basement, such as can be seen by the investigators at present, is "non-standard" - in other words, it has been extended, amended and added to without regard to safety regulations ....
That said, the invetigation team includes Germany's Bundeskriminalamt and they are considering the evidence of all options. The Press has been quick to scream "arson" and "racism" which is unfortunate, because now, no matter what the outcome the seeds of mistrust in the investigations outcome have been planted. Should they find, as well they might, that it is a tragic accident, the Turkish community will now refuse to believe that. Worse, the Feuerwehr in Ludwigshafen, which pulled off a fantasic number of rescues, hampered by the Carnival march and crowds, has now been branded by an irresponsible press as under performing and "murderous" to quote one reporter.
It never fails to sicken the Monk when he encounters such blatant exploitation of tragedy by politicians, both apparent and hidden behind the facades of journalism or "Community Leader" to push their own agendas. A tragedy has occurred here and whatever the outcome of the investigation the Monk knows it will have been conducted professionally and its conclusions will be an accurate representation of the facts. What the politicians of all flavours do with those facts is another matter.
Pray, my brothers and sisters, for those affected by the tragedy, the dead, the injured, the genuinely bereaved - and the investigators and emergency services now being vilified by an immoral media.
Posted by The Gray Monk at February 7, 2008 07:33 AM
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Comments
That is just horrible. My prayers are there...
Posted by: vw bug at February 7, 2008 11:17 AM