It is inconceivable that such a relatively small community as the one of Pontardawe, north of Swansea could have experienced the double tragedy that it has this past week.
The heartbreaking death of young 5 year old Harry Patterson was bad enough. Police are investigating reports that he was playing outside his house on Tuesday evening when he is believed to have released the handbrake of his parents’ silver Seat car after climbing inside. As the Western Mail reports, he is thought to have leapt out in panic and hit his head as the car rolled back down a steep incline
If that horrific news from Alltwen, near Pontardawe wasn't bad enough, just a few miles down the road came the news yesterday of the trapped miners.
As I went to bed last night, the news was that divers have been sent into a flooded mine at Gleision Colliery near Cilybebyll, Pontardawe to rescue four miners trapped 90m underground. The men had been trapped by water since Thursday morning.
The news today has been gut-wrenchingly solemn. At this moment, 3 bodies have been found. The search for the 4th miner is still on-going and the fading hope is that he will be found alive.
My thoughts are with all of the families and friends of all of those touched by these tragedies this week. It is an incredibly sad and difficult time and one in which the community I'm sure will all pull together at this time of disbelief and grief.
Showing posts with label Disasters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disasters. Show all posts
Friday, 16 September 2011
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Where were you on September 11th 2001?
As a historian, I'd be interested to read your answer to the question posed in the title.
Why? Because it was 102 minutes that changed the World.
At 8.46am local time, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
At 10.28am local time, the North Tower collapsed.
Those 102 minutes signalled the beginning and the end of a chain of events that have gone down in infamy, and turned the world upside down.
In between, the south Tower had also been struck and had collapsed and the heart of the US Defense - The Pentagon - had also been infiltrated. A 4th plane was grounded by brave citizens before it arrived at its supposed target of the White House or Capitol Hill.
A Game-Changer
It was that epoch-making, era-defining day in history that heralded in a decade of fear as the Cold War that had ended a decade earlier was now replaced by the War on Terror. The attacks in Bali, Madrid and London were to follow and a whole new level of counter-terrorism legislation the world over would take centre stage.
The war in Afghanistan began barely a month later on October 7th 2001 and continues to this day. Likewise, the second Iraqi War begun on March 20th 2003 and is also still on-going. Thousands of allied and civilian lives lost, billions of pounds squandered. All in the name of security. All with its origins in that fateful blue September day.
Where was I?
September 11th 2001 was a seminal moment and day in history for my generation.
For older generations such as that of my mother, it can be asked 'Where were you when JFK was assassinated?' For those of this modern era, the question asked of us by our children and grandchildren will likely be 'Where were you on 9/11?'
It is scarcely believable that it has been a decade since those horrific pictures of 10 years ago. My memory of that day is still vivid - still etched in detail in my mind.
For us here in the UK, it was early afternoon. The timing of the first impact was 1.46pm BST. I recall sitting alone in my bedroom in the Preseli Hills of north Pembrokeshire at my computer, playing Championship Manager. It was coming to the end of the summer holidays and I was just weeks away from starting my second year in University. I had just turned 19.
By the computer was a TV and I was watching ITV at the time whilst playing on the computer. It was I'm sure, an episode of Crossroads which at about 2pm had gone to the mid-programme interval. But instead of returning to the second half, the transmission was broken by breaking news from ITN.
I vividly remember being taken aback at this break from normality and my immediate thought was 'The Queen Mother has died'. She had just turned 101 and it was only a matter of time and in that split second I recall thinking that that time had come. But no, she would outlive her own daughter Princess Margaret who died on 9th February 2002. Queen Elizabeth passed away on March 30th that same year.
The 21s Century's Pearl Harbour
Suddenly what transpired in front of me on that small TV was an awful accident in New York.
A plane had apparently flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was a bewildering sight and event to take in. Then came the second impact as the South Tower was hit. Again, such was my utter confusion, I couldn't consider is as anything else than just a horrific coincidence. I don't recall that second impact as clearly as the one that was to follow but that third impact is as clear as day in my mind. When the reports came in that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon, the gravity of the event suddenly struck me in all of its horrific reality.
This, was not an accident. This, was an orchestrated attack on the US mainland, not seen since the attack on Pearl Harbour during WWII.
The rest of the day became a blur from there on in as I no doubt found myself glued to watching the unfolding events.
It was a day of horror that, due to modern technology, was all captured live on camera as it happened. Looking back, it made the event so much more real in the minds of those of us watching it at the time. It wasn't being told that JFK had been assassinated, it was akin to actually seeing the act occur with your own eyes. Here we were, watching this inconceivable act unfold as it happened in real-time.
A New World - A Darker World
I just so happened to be watching a TV at the time that the news broke. Had that not have been the case, the scarring images of the initial impacts would not have lived on with me as they have. But a decade on, the recollection is still fresh in the mind.
It's a haunting feeling. A feeling of a loss of innocence. I had only just began to grow-up having left school to attend University the year before. Here was an added sense that the world in which I now lived was not the one of my childhood. It was a much darker, scarier world. Over the past 10 years, it has remained thus.
Where were you?
So where were you on September 11th 2001? As a piece of social and oral history, I'd be interested to hear your remembrances of this tragic day, 10 years on.
Why? Because it was 102 minutes that changed the World.
At 8.46am local time, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
At 10.28am local time, the North Tower collapsed.
Those 102 minutes signalled the beginning and the end of a chain of events that have gone down in infamy, and turned the world upside down.
In between, the south Tower had also been struck and had collapsed and the heart of the US Defense - The Pentagon - had also been infiltrated. A 4th plane was grounded by brave citizens before it arrived at its supposed target of the White House or Capitol Hill.
A Game-Changer
It was that epoch-making, era-defining day in history that heralded in a decade of fear as the Cold War that had ended a decade earlier was now replaced by the War on Terror. The attacks in Bali, Madrid and London were to follow and a whole new level of counter-terrorism legislation the world over would take centre stage.
The war in Afghanistan began barely a month later on October 7th 2001 and continues to this day. Likewise, the second Iraqi War begun on March 20th 2003 and is also still on-going. Thousands of allied and civilian lives lost, billions of pounds squandered. All in the name of security. All with its origins in that fateful blue September day.
Where was I?
September 11th 2001 was a seminal moment and day in history for my generation.
For older generations such as that of my mother, it can be asked 'Where were you when JFK was assassinated?' For those of this modern era, the question asked of us by our children and grandchildren will likely be 'Where were you on 9/11?'
It is scarcely believable that it has been a decade since those horrific pictures of 10 years ago. My memory of that day is still vivid - still etched in detail in my mind.
For us here in the UK, it was early afternoon. The timing of the first impact was 1.46pm BST. I recall sitting alone in my bedroom in the Preseli Hills of north Pembrokeshire at my computer, playing Championship Manager. It was coming to the end of the summer holidays and I was just weeks away from starting my second year in University. I had just turned 19.
By the computer was a TV and I was watching ITV at the time whilst playing on the computer. It was I'm sure, an episode of Crossroads which at about 2pm had gone to the mid-programme interval. But instead of returning to the second half, the transmission was broken by breaking news from ITN.
I vividly remember being taken aback at this break from normality and my immediate thought was 'The Queen Mother has died'. She had just turned 101 and it was only a matter of time and in that split second I recall thinking that that time had come. But no, she would outlive her own daughter Princess Margaret who died on 9th February 2002. Queen Elizabeth passed away on March 30th that same year.
The 21s Century's Pearl Harbour
Suddenly what transpired in front of me on that small TV was an awful accident in New York.
A plane had apparently flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was a bewildering sight and event to take in. Then came the second impact as the South Tower was hit. Again, such was my utter confusion, I couldn't consider is as anything else than just a horrific coincidence. I don't recall that second impact as clearly as the one that was to follow but that third impact is as clear as day in my mind. When the reports came in that a plane had crashed into the Pentagon, the gravity of the event suddenly struck me in all of its horrific reality.
This, was not an accident. This, was an orchestrated attack on the US mainland, not seen since the attack on Pearl Harbour during WWII.
The rest of the day became a blur from there on in as I no doubt found myself glued to watching the unfolding events.
It was a day of horror that, due to modern technology, was all captured live on camera as it happened. Looking back, it made the event so much more real in the minds of those of us watching it at the time. It wasn't being told that JFK had been assassinated, it was akin to actually seeing the act occur with your own eyes. Here we were, watching this inconceivable act unfold as it happened in real-time.
A New World - A Darker World
I just so happened to be watching a TV at the time that the news broke. Had that not have been the case, the scarring images of the initial impacts would not have lived on with me as they have. But a decade on, the recollection is still fresh in the mind.
It's a haunting feeling. A feeling of a loss of innocence. I had only just began to grow-up having left school to attend University the year before. Here was an added sense that the world in which I now lived was not the one of my childhood. It was a much darker, scarier world. Over the past 10 years, it has remained thus.
Where were you?
So where were you on September 11th 2001? As a piece of social and oral history, I'd be interested to hear your remembrances of this tragic day, 10 years on.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Anders Behring Breivik - In His Own Words
A translated transcript of the Norwegian killers motives as said by his lawyer can be found here and on the BBC wesbite here.
It's a sad state of affairs that any human being can be consumed with so much hatred that he is willing to orchestrate and carry out the murder of nearly 100 innocent people - his own people.
This of course is in a country with a relatively small population. I gather that the death toll accounts for 1 in 5000 of the Norwegian populace. To put that into context, I think that would be he equivalent of some 1,200 British people being targetted in this way which doesn't bare thinking about.
It's a sad world that makes people resort to such desperate and devastating measures.
It's a sad state of affairs that any human being can be consumed with so much hatred that he is willing to orchestrate and carry out the murder of nearly 100 innocent people - his own people.
This of course is in a country with a relatively small population. I gather that the death toll accounts for 1 in 5000 of the Norwegian populace. To put that into context, I think that would be he equivalent of some 1,200 British people being targetted in this way which doesn't bare thinking about.
It's a sad world that makes people resort to such desperate and devastating measures.
Saturday, 23 July 2011
The Face of Unimanageable Horror - Anders Behring Breivik
It was bad enough when I went to bed last night. At least 17 killed in total and many injured and unacounted for.
This morning, the news has spoken of an unimanageable hell.
As well as the 7 killed in the Oslo blast, at least 84 people, mainly young members of Norway's ruling Labour Party, have been killed in a murdering horror-spree on the island of Utoeya.
Arrested and it would appear the orchestrator of both events is Anders Behring Breivik who has a biography of shorts already on this BBC News website article.
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| Will The Sun apologise for this shoddy piece of fact-less journalism? |
Despite the claims by many and headlined in today's Sun newspaper that this was another home-grown Al-Qaeda led attack, it now looks as if this is in fact a home-grown assault in the same mold as Timothy McVeigh who killed 168 people at the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995. Far from being a Muslim extremist as presumed by many, it would seem that he was in fact a Christian fundamentalist with strong nationalist, right-wing views. If indeed it turns out that he was a lone participant in these horrific happenings, with no links to the international war on terror, then I would expect The Sun to apologise - but I wouldn't hold my breath. There are rumours that there was a second gun-man but these have not been confirmed.
The island paradise which was turned into a hell on Earth is a sight of pure evil.
The words Dunblane, Columbine and Virgina Tech are seered into the public consciousness. Utoeya has outstripped those 3 tragedies with a combined death toll of 61. Utoeya's death toll and the way it was orchestrated, on an island where there was no escape, and for a timescale of between 60-90 minutes, is incomprehensible.
The apparently local and politically-led motives that may have led to these shootings will make it even more difficult for Norwegians to comprehend.
The home of the Nobel Peace Prize has now been transformed into the home of the worst kind of horror. My thoughts are with everyone who has been touched by his human tragedy at this dark time.
Friday, 22 July 2011
An Oslo Tragedy
The news from Oslo tonight is truly horrific.
The numbers of dead is increasing by the hour and whilst the deaths of at least 7 in a probable car bomb attack in the city centre is bad enough, the shootings on a remote island at a Labour Party Youth Camp is shocking beyond comprehension. It has now been confirmed that at least 10 have been killed on the island with eye-witnesses mentioning the sight of 20-25 bodies. These unprecedented attacks on Norwegian soil look as if they are linked and this minimal total of 17 deaths will shock Norway to its core.
TV stations are connecting these actions to the global war on terror. Norway is indeed involved in Afghanistan but for a country that has been on the fringes of the war on terror, it would be a shocking development if this were the case. It may be a locally based group at work. It is too early to be sure and caution must be exercised at present until more is known.
I have been in Oslo myself as part of a Scandinavian holiday with friends back in 2007. It's a lovely city and as one of the homes of the Nobel Peace Prize (along with Stockholm), I took to it quickly.
This is a truly petrifying attack and reminds us that we live in a society where our safety can not be guaranteed. As one who has visited Scandinavia, this has really shocked me. The fact that children have been targeted makes it all the more incomprehensible.
 |
| The author perched above Oslo Harbour in 2007 |
TV stations are connecting these actions to the global war on terror. Norway is indeed involved in Afghanistan but for a country that has been on the fringes of the war on terror, it would be a shocking development if this were the case. It may be a locally based group at work. It is too early to be sure and caution must be exercised at present until more is known.
I have been in Oslo myself as part of a Scandinavian holiday with friends back in 2007. It's a lovely city and as one of the homes of the Nobel Peace Prize (along with Stockholm), I took to it quickly.
This is a truly petrifying attack and reminds us that we live in a society where our safety can not be guaranteed. As one who has visited Scandinavia, this has really shocked me. The fact that children have been targeted makes it all the more incomprehensible.
Thursday, 2 June 2011
Tragedy at Pembroke Oil Refinery
The news this evening is that 2 people have been killed in an explosion caused by a collision at the Chevron oil refinery near Pembroke in west Wales.
Details are sketchy at present and it is not sure whether it was two petrol tankers that collided with one another or otherwise at 6.30pm this evening but in addition to the unconfirmed fatalities, it is said that one man has been flown by air ambulance to Morriston Hospital in Swansea with burns injuries.
The site, which can refine 220,000 barrels of crude oil a day into petrol and other products, first came on stream in 1964. The refinery was initially owned by the Regent Oil Company, a large domestic marketer of Trinidad-produced oils. Regent was fully acquired by Texaco in 1956. Today the refinery is owned and branded by the Chevron Corporation, as a result of their acquisition of Texaco. Chevron put the refinery up for sale in late 2009, and have agreed the sale for £750M to Valero Energy Corporation
Relatives of friends of mine work at the plant and indeed my father's brother, my Uncle Desmond worked at the plant for many many years when it was owned by Texaco before he retired in the late 1990s. He passed away in 1999 and his retirement present from his colleagues at the Texaco plant, a large wooden mantlepiece clock with an engraved plaque now takes pride of place in my living room here in Cardigan. So this has come as quite a shock as one who knows of the area extremely well.
Indeed, I blogged here back in September of my many Pembrokeshire haunts and as I said then, one of those is the eery village of Rhoscrowther which sits in the shadow of this giant of 20th century energy production. I actually passed by the refinery only last summer on a random day-trip tour of the county with Matt King who needed ingratiating in many of our fine castles. I asked him to indulge my need to visit the village which my parents told me as a child had been cleared in the 1960s in preparation for the coming of the new refinery. All that remains now of what was an old medieval village is it's church and a few old pre-fab houses. Standing above it all, is this huge refinery. You really have to go there to realise just how much it overwhelmes the visual senses.
Tonight, it and everyone connected with it is in a state of shock as what looks to have been an awful accident has resulted in fatal consquences. My thoughts are with those families who are associated with this 1,400 strong operation at this deeply distressful time.
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Post Script
The news this morning is that 4 people have been killed with Dyfed-Powys Police saying that the explosion was in a 730 cubic metre storage tank, where maintenance was being carried out.
It's a horrific industrial accident and my thoughts are with everyone involved with the plant.
The site, which can refine 220,000 barrels of crude oil a day into petrol and other products, first came on stream in 1964. The refinery was initially owned by the Regent Oil Company, a large domestic marketer of Trinidad-produced oils. Regent was fully acquired by Texaco in 1956. Today the refinery is owned and branded by the Chevron Corporation, as a result of their acquisition of Texaco. Chevron put the refinery up for sale in late 2009, and have agreed the sale for £750M to Valero Energy Corporation
Relatives of friends of mine work at the plant and indeed my father's brother, my Uncle Desmond worked at the plant for many many years when it was owned by Texaco before he retired in the late 1990s. He passed away in 1999 and his retirement present from his colleagues at the Texaco plant, a large wooden mantlepiece clock with an engraved plaque now takes pride of place in my living room here in Cardigan. So this has come as quite a shock as one who knows of the area extremely well.
Indeed, I blogged here back in September of my many Pembrokeshire haunts and as I said then, one of those is the eery village of Rhoscrowther which sits in the shadow of this giant of 20th century energy production. I actually passed by the refinery only last summer on a random day-trip tour of the county with Matt King who needed ingratiating in many of our fine castles. I asked him to indulge my need to visit the village which my parents told me as a child had been cleared in the 1960s in preparation for the coming of the new refinery. All that remains now of what was an old medieval village is it's church and a few old pre-fab houses. Standing above it all, is this huge refinery. You really have to go there to realise just how much it overwhelmes the visual senses.
Tonight, it and everyone connected with it is in a state of shock as what looks to have been an awful accident has resulted in fatal consquences. My thoughts are with those families who are associated with this 1,400 strong operation at this deeply distressful time.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Post Script
The news this morning is that 4 people have been killed with Dyfed-Powys Police saying that the explosion was in a 730 cubic metre storage tank, where maintenance was being carried out.
It's a horrific industrial accident and my thoughts are with everyone involved with the plant.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Remembering the 96 - You'll Never Walk Alone
On April 15th 1989, 94 Liverpool fans were crushed to death at a football match. 2 more were to die of their wounds.
79 of the fatalities were aged 30 or younger. Two sisters, three pairs of brothers and a father and son were among the dead.
RIP to the 96
You'll Never Walk Alone
Sunday, 10 April 2011
One of the most frightening sights I have ever seen (Warning)
I'm a football fan and I pride myself on having a good, in-depth knowledge of Britain's national sport.
But I was taken aback last night when I happened to be looking through footballing clips and came across raw footage on youtube of the Bradford City fire at Valley Parade in May 1985.
It is, in terms of fatalities, the 3rd worst football stadium disaster in British history. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 claimed 96 lives whilst the Ibrox disaster in Scotland claimed 66 lives in 1971. Both of these were caused from a crush of supporters.
But Bradford in 1985 saw 56 footballing fans burn to death in a dated stadium that did not conform to modern fire safety standards. It is a heartbreaking story which, because of the nightmare that befell those who perished in Heysel only 3 weeks later and in Sheffield 4 years later, is often forgotten - even by myself. Because whilst I'm too young to remember the Bradford disaster at the time, I was taken aback on seeing this footage below as it understandably is never shown now and is therefore something that I have never seen myself until last night.
A Day of Celebration - A Day of Tragedy
It had started out so well. Bradford's captain Peter Jackson had been awarded the 3rd Division Championship Trophy before the match as his team won its first piece of silverware in 56 years as they guaranteed 2nd flight football for the first time since 1937.
The problem however, was that their Valley Parade ground was as old as the trophy-less long wait which they had just ended. The main stand was unaltered from the one that had been built in 1911 and was not up to modern standards.
So it came to pass that disaster struck. Celebrations turned to tragedy, as just minutes before half-time, a discarded match lit alight the rubbish that had built up under the old wooden stands and set it ablaze. The Council had alerted the club's management to the fact that rubbish that had accrued under the stands was a fire hazard and needed to be dealt with as did the structure of the stand itself. As it happened, with promotion bringing in extra money to the club, they had prepared for post-season improvements with plans to get rid of the old wooden seating and to install a new roof - the steel for which already arrived at the club by the fateful day, May 11th. The old Valley Parade only needed to last for a final 90 minutes before it would be brought into the 20th century. It failed to do so.
The small fire that began in the main stand, had within 4 minutes, swept right through the entirety of the stand and carnage followed. As soon as it struck the wooden roof, it swept along the top of the stand like a fireball.
As this footage shows in real-time, fans were being saved from the engulfing inferno by those who had already got out. But because a number of the exits at the back of the stand were locked, those who tried to escape that way became trapped in the fire.
Near the end of the footage, it showed a fan covered in flames and fellow supporters trying to smother him to extinguish those flames - he died later in hosiptal. He was one of 56 to die that day. 54 were Bradford fans and 2 were away fans from Lincoln.
When the new Valley Parade was built, two memorials to the dead were erected. In Lincoln, as a mark of respect for their loss, they fittingly re-named one of their new stands, in memory of Bill Stacey and Jim West. It is called The Stacey-West Stand.
Never Again
The footage filled me with horror. The speed at which the fire spread making it particularly frightening. The sheer panic seen in the actions of those escaping says it all - as the commentary put it, "This is a burning hell".
It's the knowing that these innocent victims had gone to watch a game of football and to celebrate in their team's long-awaited for achievement. The fact that so many of them never made it home that night is the greatest tragedy of all.
As the commentary adds: "This is human tragedy. Ten minutes ago we were looking at a football game - I now look at a sad and tragic site"
Here is a retrospective piece on the disaster made last year to comemorate the 25th anniversary of the disaster last May.
But I was taken aback last night when I happened to be looking through footballing clips and came across raw footage on youtube of the Bradford City fire at Valley Parade in May 1985.
It is, in terms of fatalities, the 3rd worst football stadium disaster in British history. The Hillsborough disaster in 1989 claimed 96 lives whilst the Ibrox disaster in Scotland claimed 66 lives in 1971. Both of these were caused from a crush of supporters.
But Bradford in 1985 saw 56 footballing fans burn to death in a dated stadium that did not conform to modern fire safety standards. It is a heartbreaking story which, because of the nightmare that befell those who perished in Heysel only 3 weeks later and in Sheffield 4 years later, is often forgotten - even by myself. Because whilst I'm too young to remember the Bradford disaster at the time, I was taken aback on seeing this footage below as it understandably is never shown now and is therefore something that I have never seen myself until last night.
A Day of Celebration - A Day of Tragedy
It had started out so well. Bradford's captain Peter Jackson had been awarded the 3rd Division Championship Trophy before the match as his team won its first piece of silverware in 56 years as they guaranteed 2nd flight football for the first time since 1937.
The problem however, was that their Valley Parade ground was as old as the trophy-less long wait which they had just ended. The main stand was unaltered from the one that had been built in 1911 and was not up to modern standards.
So it came to pass that disaster struck. Celebrations turned to tragedy, as just minutes before half-time, a discarded match lit alight the rubbish that had built up under the old wooden stands and set it ablaze. The Council had alerted the club's management to the fact that rubbish that had accrued under the stands was a fire hazard and needed to be dealt with as did the structure of the stand itself. As it happened, with promotion bringing in extra money to the club, they had prepared for post-season improvements with plans to get rid of the old wooden seating and to install a new roof - the steel for which already arrived at the club by the fateful day, May 11th. The old Valley Parade only needed to last for a final 90 minutes before it would be brought into the 20th century. It failed to do so.
The small fire that began in the main stand, had within 4 minutes, swept right through the entirety of the stand and carnage followed. As soon as it struck the wooden roof, it swept along the top of the stand like a fireball.
As this footage shows in real-time, fans were being saved from the engulfing inferno by those who had already got out. But because a number of the exits at the back of the stand were locked, those who tried to escape that way became trapped in the fire.
Near the end of the footage, it showed a fan covered in flames and fellow supporters trying to smother him to extinguish those flames - he died later in hosiptal. He was one of 56 to die that day. 54 were Bradford fans and 2 were away fans from Lincoln.
When the new Valley Parade was built, two memorials to the dead were erected. In Lincoln, as a mark of respect for their loss, they fittingly re-named one of their new stands, in memory of Bill Stacey and Jim West. It is called The Stacey-West Stand.
Never Again
The footage filled me with horror. The speed at which the fire spread making it particularly frightening. The sheer panic seen in the actions of those escaping says it all - as the commentary put it, "This is a burning hell".
It's the knowing that these innocent victims had gone to watch a game of football and to celebrate in their team's long-awaited for achievement. The fact that so many of them never made it home that night is the greatest tragedy of all.
As the commentary adds: "This is human tragedy. Ten minutes ago we were looking at a football game - I now look at a sad and tragic site"
Here is a retrospective piece on the disaster made last year to comemorate the 25th anniversary of the disaster last May.
RIP to the Bradford fire 56.
Not forgotten and hopefully, never again to be repeated.
Saturday, 12 March 2011
A Japanese Tragedy & My Nuclear Dilemma
The pictures from Japan these last 36 hours have been almost apocalyptic. The sheer force of nature has wreaked its tragic magic on the poor residents of the port city of Sendai in north eastern Japan and early indications indicate that over 10,000 people are likely to have been killed by the tsunami that enfulfed their lives after the mamouth 8.9 magnitude tremor struck off the coast.
This initial earthquake has been confirmed as the fifth strongest to occur anywhere in the world in the past 100 years. It is arguably a blessing in disguise that the death toll is not likely to be substantially greater. The recent earthquake and resulting tsunami in Sumatra in Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004 was of a similar magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter Scale and yet it resulted in the death of almost 250,000 people.
As it is, the Japanese authorities are fighting to limit the loss of death. Every minute is critical and the next 24 to 36 hours are the most important in their rescue operation.
The Nuclear Question
As well as the basic impact that this event has had on Japan's populace and on its infrastructure, there is the added question of its impact on the nuclear reactor near-by.
Only this morning, a large explosion occurred at the Fukushima-Daiichi - or Fukushima I - nuclear power plant in north-eastern Japan, close to the epicentre of Friday's earthquake. It has renewed the debate about nuclear energy and its safety.
I stand slightly apart from the majority of those in my party who are staunchly anti-nuclear energy. Indeed, in my earlier years I was also of that mind. I voted in one of my earlier Federal UK-wide conferences in an Energy debate, against a pro-nuclear ammendment. But over the years, I've become more pragmatic on the issue. We have an energy gap and we need to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and as nuclear is carbon neutral, it is at least an option that should be realistically thrown into the mix. In the meantime, we need to extend our basket of renewable alternatives which must be the future to release ourselves from our dependency on oil.
There are of course however, the safety fears.
Is it a generational thing? I'm too young to remember Chernobyl. I can't relate to the memory of seeing what befell the Ukrainian and Belarussian segments of the Soviet Union when that disaster struck on April 26th 1986. But the fears are there of course and the reality of a nuclear expolosion and its repercussions are alive to those who can remember such scenes and who live near a nuclear reactor.
Well, it must be noted that today's explosion in Japan doesn't seem to have led to the nuclear meltdown that it first seemed it might. Officials say the container housing the reactor was not damaged and radiation levels have now fallen. This of course is to be welcomed and hopefully the situation will now have stabalised.
But what of the UK? It's not that I enthusiastically want nuclear energy, but a matter of pragmatics. We need to reduce our dependency on oil and nuclear at least doesn't contribute to our carbon concerns.
But am I comfortable with the idea of nuclear energy? No I'm not. It's understandable therefore that the majority of my Liberal Democrat colleagues place themselves clearly in the anti-nuclear camp.
But I however will remain open minded on this question. Certainly, despite the awful events of the last 48 hours in Japan, more open minded on it than I was 10 years ago when I opposed the nuclear option without looking at the wider, pragmatic view of asking, well, what right now, is the alternative?
This initial earthquake has been confirmed as the fifth strongest to occur anywhere in the world in the past 100 years. It is arguably a blessing in disguise that the death toll is not likely to be substantially greater. The recent earthquake and resulting tsunami in Sumatra in Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004 was of a similar magnitude of 9.1 on the Richter Scale and yet it resulted in the death of almost 250,000 people.
As it is, the Japanese authorities are fighting to limit the loss of death. Every minute is critical and the next 24 to 36 hours are the most important in their rescue operation.
The Nuclear Question
As well as the basic impact that this event has had on Japan's populace and on its infrastructure, there is the added question of its impact on the nuclear reactor near-by.
I stand slightly apart from the majority of those in my party who are staunchly anti-nuclear energy. Indeed, in my earlier years I was also of that mind. I voted in one of my earlier Federal UK-wide conferences in an Energy debate, against a pro-nuclear ammendment. But over the years, I've become more pragmatic on the issue. We have an energy gap and we need to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and as nuclear is carbon neutral, it is at least an option that should be realistically thrown into the mix. In the meantime, we need to extend our basket of renewable alternatives which must be the future to release ourselves from our dependency on oil.
There are of course however, the safety fears.
Is it a generational thing? I'm too young to remember Chernobyl. I can't relate to the memory of seeing what befell the Ukrainian and Belarussian segments of the Soviet Union when that disaster struck on April 26th 1986. But the fears are there of course and the reality of a nuclear expolosion and its repercussions are alive to those who can remember such scenes and who live near a nuclear reactor.
Well, it must be noted that today's explosion in Japan doesn't seem to have led to the nuclear meltdown that it first seemed it might. Officials say the container housing the reactor was not damaged and radiation levels have now fallen. This of course is to be welcomed and hopefully the situation will now have stabalised. A Nuclear Future?
But it does raise new doubts. Of course it does. The fact that Japan decided in the 1970s to fill their energy gap with the building of nuclear power stations despite sitting astride 3 teutonic plates is one it really isn't for me to question. Was it wise? In the geographic circumstances, it is questionable.But what of the UK? It's not that I enthusiastically want nuclear energy, but a matter of pragmatics. We need to reduce our dependency on oil and nuclear at least doesn't contribute to our carbon concerns.
But am I comfortable with the idea of nuclear energy? No I'm not. It's understandable therefore that the majority of my Liberal Democrat colleagues place themselves clearly in the anti-nuclear camp.
But I however will remain open minded on this question. Certainly, despite the awful events of the last 48 hours in Japan, more open minded on it than I was 10 years ago when I opposed the nuclear option without looking at the wider, pragmatic view of asking, well, what right now, is the alternative?
Monday, 10 January 2011
The Arizona American Tragedy - Gun Control (and the lack of it)
The Arizona shootings have been a tragedy for America.
Not only have 6 innocent civilians been killed and a Congresswomen who was apparently the initial target of the attack been left in a critical condition in hospital, but one of those killed, 9 year old Christina Taylor Green was actually born on September 11th 2001. She had been featured in a book 'Fifty Faces of Hope' about some of the children born on that horrific day.
Political Extremism
The question exorcising many commentators around the world at the moment is 'why did this happen?'. Peter Black in hig blog here, commenting on an article in yesterday's The Observor, makes the point that the heightened tension in the US political arena, stoked by the rheotic of the Tea Party movement may have a role to play. But whilst I vehemently detest Sarah Palin, her extremist views and the way in which she inflames the tensions with her words, we can not presume that this in itself led to the incident on Saturday.
Yes, the political climate in the USA is now as bad, as polluted and as toxic as it probably ever has been but then we've had public shootings and massacres in the USA for years and years and years.
We must be careful, until we get the full facts, to not point accusing fingers, as much as the pit of our stomach would wish us to do so immediately.
The US Gun Lobby and a Sorry Story of 2nd Ammendment US Annihilation
The wider issue here comes back to the question of gun control and the strong belief held by many in the US of their right to bear arms as expressed in the 2nd ammendment to the US constitution as a part of the United States Bill of Rights.
As it reads: ."A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed".
Well, taking the emotion out of it and looking at the bare facts, there have been 104 incidents of school shootings in the USA. There have only been 37 such similar incidents in the rest of the entire world (presuming that this information is 100% accurate).
The only incident of which occurred here in the UK was in Dunblane in 1996 with a death toll of 18. The only incident that was worse in terms of deaths was the Virginia Tech Massacre in 2007 where 33 were killed. But whilst the UK total consisted of that one incident, the total deaths to have occured in the US from Virginia and the other 103 incidents amounts to over 225.
Can any sane American honestly tell me that their gun legislation isn't making it easier for those who are mentally imbalanced to go to such deadly lengths when compared to the UK for example where the toughening up in the legislation after Dunblane has surely impacted positively on the fact that there has been no sequel?
After the Columbine Massacre of 1999 left 13 dead, there were another 28 school based gun related incidents before the Virginia Tech killings in 2007. Since then there have been a further 32 incidents.
These are merely the school induced incidents that have involved firearms. The incident that occured in Arizona on Saturday was not in a school-based environment. The figures above are merely then, the tip of the American iceberg.
So the gun laws aren't having an effect? Well, they're certainly not helping.
The Hope from 9/11 Washed Away in the American Love of the Gun
So we come full circle.
On the worst day in America's history, 2,752 citizens were killed because of the crazed ideas of foreign nationals. The events of that day, for better or for worse, begot a war in Iraq and further military intervention in Afghanistan which has killed thousands of additional coalition forces personnel and innocent civilians on the ground.
Now, that bright light in the shape of Christina Taylor Green, has been extinguished. Was she an innocent by-stander in a politically motivated incident or the unfortunate recipient of a deranged man's moment of madness? We do not yet know.
What we do know is that the incident occurred, not this time in a school, but in another everyday environment and occurred with the use of a firearm.
More Darkness for the Future
I hold no hope that politicians in the US will stand-up to the gun lobby and make the changes that are required. Indeed, I doubt that a majority of Americans would be willing to sacrifice their 2nd ammendment rights for the sake of the greater good.
This all means that no matter what happens abroad in countries across the world at the hands of American foreign policy in years to come, US domestic policy will continue to doom hundreds and thousands more of its own citizens to a tragic, desolate, harrowing, and unecessary death.
Not only have 6 innocent civilians been killed and a Congresswomen who was apparently the initial target of the attack been left in a critical condition in hospital, but one of those killed, 9 year old Christina Taylor Green was actually born on September 11th 2001. She had been featured in a book 'Fifty Faces of Hope' about some of the children born on that horrific day.The question exorcising many commentators around the world at the moment is 'why did this happen?'. Peter Black in hig blog here, commenting on an article in yesterday's The Observor, makes the point that the heightened tension in the US political arena, stoked by the rheotic of the Tea Party movement may have a role to play. But whilst I vehemently detest Sarah Palin, her extremist views and the way in which she inflames the tensions with her words, we can not presume that this in itself led to the incident on Saturday.
Yes, the political climate in the USA is now as bad, as polluted and as toxic as it probably ever has been but then we've had public shootings and massacres in the USA for years and years and years.
We must be careful, until we get the full facts, to not point accusing fingers, as much as the pit of our stomach would wish us to do so immediately.
The US Gun Lobby and a Sorry Story of 2nd Ammendment US Annihilation
The wider issue here comes back to the question of gun control and the strong belief held by many in the US of their right to bear arms as expressed in the 2nd ammendment to the US constitution as a part of the United States Bill of Rights.
As it reads: ."A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed".
Well, taking the emotion out of it and looking at the bare facts, there have been 104 incidents of school shootings in the USA. There have only been 37 such similar incidents in the rest of the entire world (presuming that this information is 100% accurate).
Can any sane American honestly tell me that their gun legislation isn't making it easier for those who are mentally imbalanced to go to such deadly lengths when compared to the UK for example where the toughening up in the legislation after Dunblane has surely impacted positively on the fact that there has been no sequel?
After the Columbine Massacre of 1999 left 13 dead, there were another 28 school based gun related incidents before the Virginia Tech killings in 2007. Since then there have been a further 32 incidents.
These are merely the school induced incidents that have involved firearms. The incident that occured in Arizona on Saturday was not in a school-based environment. The figures above are merely then, the tip of the American iceberg.
So the gun laws aren't having an effect? Well, they're certainly not helping.
The Hope from 9/11 Washed Away in the American Love of the Gun
So we come full circle.
On the worst day in America's history, 2,752 citizens were killed because of the crazed ideas of foreign nationals. The events of that day, for better or for worse, begot a war in Iraq and further military intervention in Afghanistan which has killed thousands of additional coalition forces personnel and innocent civilians on the ground.Yet, on that dark day in September 2001, a ray of light shone through for the families that grew with the news of births. One such family on that day lived a continent away from the atrocities in New York and Washington, in Arizona.
Now, that bright light in the shape of Christina Taylor Green, has been extinguished. Was she an innocent by-stander in a politically motivated incident or the unfortunate recipient of a deranged man's moment of madness? We do not yet know.
What we do know is that the incident occurred, not this time in a school, but in another everyday environment and occurred with the use of a firearm.
More Darkness for the Future
I hold no hope that politicians in the US will stand-up to the gun lobby and make the changes that are required. Indeed, I doubt that a majority of Americans would be willing to sacrifice their 2nd ammendment rights for the sake of the greater good.
This all means that no matter what happens abroad in countries across the world at the hands of American foreign policy in years to come, US domestic policy will continue to doom hundreds and thousands more of its own citizens to a tragic, desolate, harrowing, and unecessary death.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
The Aberfan Perspective
I type this post at around 9.30am-10am.
At this time, 44 years ago today, Britain and Wales in particular, experienced one of the most heart-breaking disasters in living memory - the Aberfan Disaster. 144 people were killed. Of these, 5 were teachers and 116 were pupils aged between 7-10 which accounted for almost half of Pantglas Junior School.
I was not born at the time, but it is an event that scars the Welsh psyche - and mine. I have myself however, paid a visit to the Garden of Remembrance and it proved to be one of the most over-powering experiences of my life.
'A terrifying tale of bungling ineptitude'
This was one of the conclusions laid bare in the 1967 Davies Inquiry. For this was a cruel disaster. Not only shouldn't it have happened in the first place - it was a damning legacy of National Coal Board negligence as Davies rightly pointed out, but it was also a stroke of awful misfortune for those that lay beneath the Aberfan tip that fateful morning.
It was early morning and the children had only just arrived for school. It was also the last day before half-term. Events could so easily have conspired to have saved these lives. Just an hour earlier, or a day later, and these children would not have been at school at the time of the slide.
In total, some 150,000 cubic metres of water-saturated debris broke away and flowed down the hillside at high speed. Some 40,000 cubic metres of this slide went into the village in a slurry some 40 feet deep. The slide destroyed a farm and twenty terraced houses along Moy Road and slammed into the northern side of the Junior school.
Through the morning fog of that sunny morning 44 years ago, with visibility no more than some 50 metres, the children were leaving Assembly having just sang 'All Thing Bright and Beautiful'. They couldn't see what was coming, but they could hear it coming down the hillside towards them.
Gaynor Minett, a then 8-year old survivor of the tragedy said:
A Welsh Tragedy - A Personal Pilgrimage
At this time, 44 years ago today, Britain and Wales in particular, experienced one of the most heart-breaking disasters in living memory - the Aberfan Disaster. 144 people were killed. Of these, 5 were teachers and 116 were pupils aged between 7-10 which accounted for almost half of Pantglas Junior School.
I was not born at the time, but it is an event that scars the Welsh psyche - and mine. I have myself however, paid a visit to the Garden of Remembrance and it proved to be one of the most over-powering experiences of my life.
This was one of the conclusions laid bare in the 1967 Davies Inquiry. For this was a cruel disaster. Not only shouldn't it have happened in the first place - it was a damning legacy of National Coal Board negligence as Davies rightly pointed out, but it was also a stroke of awful misfortune for those that lay beneath the Aberfan tip that fateful morning.
It was early morning and the children had only just arrived for school. It was also the last day before half-term. Events could so easily have conspired to have saved these lives. Just an hour earlier, or a day later, and these children would not have been at school at the time of the slide.
In total, some 150,000 cubic metres of water-saturated debris broke away and flowed down the hillside at high speed. Some 40,000 cubic metres of this slide went into the village in a slurry some 40 feet deep. The slide destroyed a farm and twenty terraced houses along Moy Road and slammed into the northern side of the Junior school.
Through the morning fog of that sunny morning 44 years ago, with visibility no more than some 50 metres, the children were leaving Assembly having just sang 'All Thing Bright and Beautiful'. They couldn't see what was coming, but they could hear it coming down the hillside towards them.
Gaynor Minett, a then 8-year old survivor of the tragedy said:
"It was a tremendous rumbling sound and all the school went dead. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone just froze in their seats. I just managed to get up and I reached the end of my desk when the sound got louder and nearer, until I could see the black out of the window. I can't remember any more but I woke up to find that a horrible nightmare had just begun in front of my eyes."
Please read these 'Witness' statements from the BBC website. They're also very moving and heart-breaking.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/21/newsid_3194000/3194860.stm
Please read these 'Witness' statements from the BBC website. They're also very moving and heart-breaking.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/witness/october/21/newsid_3194000/3194860.stm
A Welsh Tragedy - A Personal Pilgrimage
It must have been 6 or 7 years ago now when, along with Anders Hanson, we happened to be going to-and-from Cardiff from Aberystwyth. We happened to be passing Merthyr on the A470 and with time to spare, asked Anders if he'd be willing to detour into Aberfan.
Because, as a Welsh child, this disaster has been indelibly marked in my mind. As a child of history but more importantly, as a child, this awful story resonated with me a young boy more than any other. For at the end of the day, as the proverb goes, 'There but for the grace of God go I'. I was a school child attending class and attending morning Assembly like any other in Wales. My school happened to be in Whitland, 20-25 years later but for these poor children and their familes, their's just happened to be Aberfan's Pantglas Junior School on the morning of October 21st 1966.
So it was with this morbid sense of 'belonging' almost, that I felt a responsibility to pay my respects at the Garden of Remembrance that now stands on the site of the old school. As mentioned above, it was one of the most harrowing and emotional moments of my life. Seeing the plaque as you enter, coldly state the facts of the number of deaths that had occurred on that site all those years before, sent a cold cold shiver down my spine. I'm pretty sure I shed a few quiet tears of grief.
I didn't go to the cemetary. I couldn't have coped with that. The Garden was enough.
The Aberfan Perspective
Because, and this is the thing, these children were innocent. They weren't 33 Chilean miners who voluntarily risked their lives by going down a mine. They were just happy-go-lucky young folk who were looking forwards to half-term. Far too many of them, never got their holidays.
This gives you perspective - real perspective. When the country cowers at the news that emanated from Parliament yesterday with the biggest public spending cuts seen since the 1970s, it's easy for us to get embroiled in the problems and challanges of today. But just looking back into history at some of the much greater challenges that our forefathers have had to contend with, puts 2010 into its rightful perspective.
We are very fortunate. As a human race, we more often than not learn from our mistakes - it's what we call 'progress'. It's why we've not had another 'Aberfan' in the ensuing 44 years.
It's a tragedy though and an indictment of the human race itself, that 'Aberfan' ever happened in the first place.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
A Chilean Fairytale
I stayed up until 5am this morning to watch the start of the Chilean mining rescue mission. I'm so glad that I did and even in my small way here in Cardigan, in years to come when the world looks back at what is one of its greatest achievements, I'll be able to say 'I was there'.
Forget the talk of tuition fees, October 12th 2010 will go down in history throughout the world, and in Chile in particular, as the day when a great tragedy was turned around to become a human triumph for 33 men and for mankind.
Chile's Finest Hour
I've been memerised my this developing story ever since that face was seen pressed up against the camera that had been sent down to find signs of life after the mine collapse on August 5th. After 17 days of expecting the worse, suddenly, there was jubiliation at the knowledge that the miners were still alive. Since then, there's been the slow but gradual progress towards getting them back to safety.
I wasn't going to miss the start of this rescue operation so I've been awake all night, watching the excellent live coverage on BBC News 24. Its been a humbling, moving, emotional, wonderful experience.
Because this really does touch us all. Yes, they're miners and this is what they do, but no-one has ever survived being effectively buried alive in this way for such a length of time. When the final miners come up tomorrow, they'll have been down there, over 600m below ground in an air-less cavern, for 70 days.
A 19th century Disaster in a 21st century world
What has made this disaster turned fairytale something unique from past experiences of hope over adversary, is the fact that technological advances have meant that we've been far more in touch with the minutiae of developments. We've been able, for example, to watch the miners in their 'new' homely surroundings, deep underground during their incarceration. We've been able to see the messages that have been sent down to them below from loved ones. We have watched as the President held aloft to the camera for his father to see, the new born baby born above ground to a miner, half a mile below it. We have watched as a quiet Chilean corner has suddenly become the centre of the media universe. Has the South American continent ever seen anything like this level of world-wide coverage since the days of the Falklands War in 1982 or the days of Eva Perón in the immediate post-war days of the late 40's and early 50's?
This has surely put Chile on the map for the best of reasons. Not since the days of General Pinochet has this nation found itself caught in the glare of public interest. Thankfully, as opposed to those dark days of the 70's and 80's, this time it's there for the right reasons.
Florencio Avalos - A Name for the Ages
The sight of the first rescued miner, Florencio Avalos, making it back to the surface at 4am this morning in that tiny, remarkable capsule, Phoenix 2, was incredible. It was not just the arrival back of the first of the miners, but it was the knowledge that this feat of engineering had worked to rescue one of the miners and therefore gave the families waiting in 'Camp Hope', the confidence that it would do the same for the remaining 32.
Florencio looked so calm and physically strong on his return after such an ordeal. An incredible sight. But what we all wanted to see, was the happy reunion between father and family. We weren't let down and I for one have to admit to sheding quite some tears at this moment of ecstasy, joy and relief.
10 saved, 23 to go
We're not finished yet of course. At the time ot typing, 10 of the miners have been winched to safety. There's still another 23 underground as well as the technical and medical support down there. But each one is being greeted at the surface like a conquering hero - and rightly so.
It will be difficult for them to cope with the sudden media celebrity that they have unwittingly found themselves thrust into. They never planned for this - but this is what they'll have to deal with. Each individual is a human story in his own right and I can see Hollywood types rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of turning this event into a feel-good action movie. After all, who could have made this up? This is far better than fiction.
Well done BBC
Speaking of the media, I must say that the BBC coverage last night has been particularly impressive. It's been informative but also compassionate. I was particularly impressed at the abilitiy of its two reporters, Matt Fri and Tim Wilcox to interview family members and local names of note in their native Spanish tongue. This was certainly much more impressive than the crass 'Miners Rescued - 0 of 33' scorecard that has been displayed on Sky News which has irked me greatly.
Mankind's Finest Hour?
This is a human story without parallel. This has been the story of triumph over adversary. The story of everyday miners who through no fault of their own will now become worldwide celebrities. A story of human engineering ingenuity to beat unbelievable odds. A story of patience, courage and hope. A story of mankind at its best.
It has been a sobering few hours. When you stand back and realise what has been achieved here, it really does take the breath away. I'm a historian, so I do tend to look at global events such as this with the wider perspective of history. I can honestly say that in years to come, mankind will look back at this rescue mission with great pride as one of it's defining moments.
We went to the moon, we built the pyramids, we witnessed the works of Shakespeare and Schubert's Ave Maria, we developed modern medicine and vaccinations, we climbed Everest, we learnt how to fly and we learned with science through the likes of Aristotle, Newton and Einstein of the nature of human existence.
I feel that we can now proudly add to that list of achievements the fact that we, mankind, also managed to rescue miners, after 69 days of incarceration, from a living Chilean hell.
Well done Chile - this has been your finest hour.
Forget the talk of tuition fees, October 12th 2010 will go down in history throughout the world, and in Chile in particular, as the day when a great tragedy was turned around to become a human triumph for 33 men and for mankind.
Chile's Finest Hour
I've been memerised my this developing story ever since that face was seen pressed up against the camera that had been sent down to find signs of life after the mine collapse on August 5th. After 17 days of expecting the worse, suddenly, there was jubiliation at the knowledge that the miners were still alive. Since then, there's been the slow but gradual progress towards getting them back to safety.
I wasn't going to miss the start of this rescue operation so I've been awake all night, watching the excellent live coverage on BBC News 24. Its been a humbling, moving, emotional, wonderful experience.
Because this really does touch us all. Yes, they're miners and this is what they do, but no-one has ever survived being effectively buried alive in this way for such a length of time. When the final miners come up tomorrow, they'll have been down there, over 600m below ground in an air-less cavern, for 70 days.
A 19th century Disaster in a 21st century world
What has made this disaster turned fairytale something unique from past experiences of hope over adversary, is the fact that technological advances have meant that we've been far more in touch with the minutiae of developments. We've been able, for example, to watch the miners in their 'new' homely surroundings, deep underground during their incarceration. We've been able to see the messages that have been sent down to them below from loved ones. We have watched as the President held aloft to the camera for his father to see, the new born baby born above ground to a miner, half a mile below it. We have watched as a quiet Chilean corner has suddenly become the centre of the media universe. Has the South American continent ever seen anything like this level of world-wide coverage since the days of the Falklands War in 1982 or the days of Eva Perón in the immediate post-war days of the late 40's and early 50's?
This has surely put Chile on the map for the best of reasons. Not since the days of General Pinochet has this nation found itself caught in the glare of public interest. Thankfully, as opposed to those dark days of the 70's and 80's, this time it's there for the right reasons.
Florencio Avalos - A Name for the Ages
The sight of the first rescued miner, Florencio Avalos, making it back to the surface at 4am this morning in that tiny, remarkable capsule, Phoenix 2, was incredible. It was not just the arrival back of the first of the miners, but it was the knowledge that this feat of engineering had worked to rescue one of the miners and therefore gave the families waiting in 'Camp Hope', the confidence that it would do the same for the remaining 32.
Florencio looked so calm and physically strong on his return after such an ordeal. An incredible sight. But what we all wanted to see, was the happy reunion between father and family. We weren't let down and I for one have to admit to sheding quite some tears at this moment of ecstasy, joy and relief.
10 saved, 23 to go
We're not finished yet of course. At the time ot typing, 10 of the miners have been winched to safety. There's still another 23 underground as well as the technical and medical support down there. But each one is being greeted at the surface like a conquering hero - and rightly so.
It will be difficult for them to cope with the sudden media celebrity that they have unwittingly found themselves thrust into. They never planned for this - but this is what they'll have to deal with. Each individual is a human story in his own right and I can see Hollywood types rubbing their hands in glee at the thought of turning this event into a feel-good action movie. After all, who could have made this up? This is far better than fiction.
Well done BBC
Speaking of the media, I must say that the BBC coverage last night has been particularly impressive. It's been informative but also compassionate. I was particularly impressed at the abilitiy of its two reporters, Matt Fri and Tim Wilcox to interview family members and local names of note in their native Spanish tongue. This was certainly much more impressive than the crass 'Miners Rescued - 0 of 33' scorecard that has been displayed on Sky News which has irked me greatly.
Mankind's Finest Hour?
This is a human story without parallel. This has been the story of triumph over adversary. The story of everyday miners who through no fault of their own will now become worldwide celebrities. A story of human engineering ingenuity to beat unbelievable odds. A story of patience, courage and hope. A story of mankind at its best.
It has been a sobering few hours. When you stand back and realise what has been achieved here, it really does take the breath away. I'm a historian, so I do tend to look at global events such as this with the wider perspective of history. I can honestly say that in years to come, mankind will look back at this rescue mission with great pride as one of it's defining moments.
We went to the moon, we built the pyramids, we witnessed the works of Shakespeare and Schubert's Ave Maria, we developed modern medicine and vaccinations, we climbed Everest, we learnt how to fly and we learned with science through the likes of Aristotle, Newton and Einstein of the nature of human existence.
I feel that we can now proudly add to that list of achievements the fact that we, mankind, also managed to rescue miners, after 69 days of incarceration, from a living Chilean hell.
Well done Chile - this has been your finest hour.
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