Governments are Being Tested this
March
(Commentary by Dara Precious Asiimwe)
This year, the month of March has started off at a low point, from a plane crash, chemical dumping to terrorism. The disasters caused in this month have left scars on the hearts of the world. It has also uniquely brought us together as a human race. These events have put governments to the test on how they would handle such crisis.
On 10 March 2019, disaster struck in Ethiopia involving the Ethiopian airline which resulted to the death of 137 people within six (6) minutes of take-off. This disaster brought the safety of Boeing Commercial airline planes into question. This is the second disaster involving the Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane after the Indonesian airline crash. Over thirty (30) countries around the world are grounding Boeing 737 Max 8 planes for further investigation to prevent future tragedies. The company was brought to question after the black box in the Indonesian airline revealed the pilots struggle to control the plane. However, Boeing claims most pilots are not fully trained or equipped unlike the American pilots but if the company was aware the pilots didn’t have training they should have raised an alarm about it. Investigation is still going on to find the cause of the crash.
Recently in Malaysia, a crisis involving two factories dumping chemical waste into Sungai Kim Kim river in Kota Masia. The dumped chemicals contained mental used to dissolve metal at a chemical factory and a scrape yard. The waste dumped migrated to the straits of Johor affecting over 500 people and leading the government to shut down 111 (one hundred and eleven) schools in Pasir Gudang. Due to air pollution, many students in schools located near the river were affected; feeling dizzy, vomiting and nausea. Over 160 people were rushed to hospital. Fishermen were also affected, they stated the water is sluggish making it difficult to manoeuvre their boats.
The crisis was handled by the National Disaster Agency, with the help of Department of Environment (DOE), which investigated the illegally dumped chemical as marine oil that emitted flammable methane and benzene fumes. The owner of a chemical factory in Kulai and the owner and worker of a shredded waste factory from Taman Pasir Putih in Pasir Gudang were all arrested in a joint operation by DoE and police. The government made the decision to investigate and shut down schools and find an immediate solution to secure the people living in that area.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, a terrorist from Australia opened gun fire at two mosques, on 15 March 2019 at Christchurch. Fifty (50) people were murdered and fifty (50) people were injured. This was a hate crime done by a white supremist with an intention to get revenge on immigrants and past terrorist attacks on innocent people. New Zealand had a temporary lockdown in Christchurch to protect and alert the citizens nearby the area. The gunman identified as the twenty-eight (28) year-old Australian citizen, streamed his terror on his victims for seventeen (17) minutes live on Facebook. The gunman later released his thirty-two (32) page manifesto explaining his reasons behind the terror attack all over the internet.
New Zealand has been under heightened security alert since the terrorist attacks with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern moving quickly with a new tough law banning some of the guns used in the March 15 shooting. The country and government were quick to assist the victims of the tragedy in all the support they need. The process in helping was a bit slow since they had to identify the bodies and according to Islam religion, one must be buried immediately after death. The terrorist’s manifesto was banned from the country to avoid further attention given to him. The mosques were rebuilt and freshly painted and guarded with armed police. New Zealand held strong and together after the attack and the government worked for the people to ensure their safety within the country.
In conclusion, the month of March started of disastrously leaving most people ill in Malaysia and victims to death in New Zealand. Governments in countries are acting together to protect their citizens and to bring down anyone who destroys the peace in their countries.
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