Local newspapers have recently published several stories that ended in tragedies as a result of negligence on the part of the Civil Defense. One of the stories was about Fatima Al-Saadi, an old woman from Al-Fareesh village. Fatima's body was found four days after she died a natural death. By that time, her body had decomposed. The people of her village mourned her death. What made the story more tragic was the Civil Defense's poor response.
Another sad incident, covered in the press, took place in Madinah where two young brothers, Mishari and Fahd Al-Mutairi, fell into an abandoned well in the Al-Fahd district of the city. Both died as a result of the Civil Defense's poor response. After seven hours, their bodies were recovered from the well.
Then there was the story of a mother of five who lost her way on a mountain. Reports were published how the emergency services were looking for her after she was reported missing. All that was needed was to look for her using a helicopter. She was finally found dead seven miles from where she had gone missing.
While the search operation was still under way, the police said a helicopter was needed, as the terrain where she had gone missing was difficult for cars to negotiate.
The Civil Defense, however, insisted that a helicopter was not needed.
Had it not been appropriate that the Civil Defense used a helicopter to look for the woman? Is that not the Civil Defense's job? What is the use of the government purchasing a helicopter if the Civil Defense has no interest in using it?
Now that we know about the negligence of the Civil Defense, who is going to hold them accountable.
I wish the courts speed up the process of passing judgments on cases. The father of the two children who died in Madinah is still waiting for a ruling. It has been a year since he filed his lawsuit.
However, the question remains: who is going to hold the Civil Defense accountable for its negligence?
