For the second time, another school in Haiti-this time in the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince- COLLAPSED, injuring 5. Last week, 90 people-mostly children- got buried and died when the school collapsed on them. According to NY Times' report on the first incident:
Neighbors said they suspected that the building had been poorly reconstructed after it partially collapsed eight years ago, said Jinny Germain, a French teacher at the school.Ms. Germain said people who had lived just down the hill abandoned their land out of fear that the building would tumble onto them. She said the school’s owner had tried to buy up the vacated properties.The school’s third story was still under construction, and Claire Rudie Parent, Pétionville’s mayor, said she suspected that a structural defect had caused the collapse, not recent rains.Francene Moreau, the area police commissioner, said the preacher who runs the school could face criminal charges.
Since this month our theme is Structural Violence, I want to know what you guys think about how the issue of structural violence might have, or have not, played to his horrible incident. You can do that by posting a comment. You don't need a gmail account to comment , so just go ahead and scribble your thoughts!
If you want to read more about this incident click on the picture.
Testing...free comment....testing
ReplyDeleteDustin Mayfield says:
ReplyDeleteIf the fall was due to the structural defect and not the rains, then this certainly could be due to 'structural violence.' This could be due to a lack of engineering knowledge, enforcement of policy regarding building structures, financial support to complete construction, compassion for those put in jeopardy by the fall, and/or many other causes. Notice who the police suspected. What connections do the police have to the power elite in this area? What connections does the preacher have to the power elite?
anyway, when I think of structural violence, I think of Mexico. So anyone interested in ending structural violence in the modern era should check this out!!!
I hope someone checks this out and feels inspired.
www.mefeedia.com/entry/rhythms-of-zapata-encore-edition-33-08-august-13-2008/10978132/