Maha Akeel joined a group of volunteers to help the Al-Faisaliah Women’s Charity Society distribute aid and daily essentials to residents still in their damaged homes as well as to evacuees relocated in apartment buildings on Palestine Road and elsewhere. She writes of her experience.
JEDDAH: Anger, frustration and disappointment are among the feelings expressed by Jeddawis. The rains that should have been a gift from heaven turned Eid celebrations into days of mourning and despair.
Over a hundred died and thousands were left homeless because of six hours of rain. The scenes of property destruction give the impression of a hurricane or a tsunami, not of a downpour, even a hard one, of rain. “What happened to us is a crime,” said a woman from Quwaizah, among the hardest hit areas in southern Jeddah.
The pain and anguish on people’s faces is beyond words and the appreciation they expressed for the little help that we were able to provide was overwhelming.
The stench of dead bodies still buried under the rubble filled the air and animals that were supposed to have been slaughtered for Eid floated on the lake-streets and were wedged between damaged cars. It was not enough that the residents had to grieve over the deceased and lost family members but also have to worry about diseases and environmental hazards from corpses, insects and different chemicals that were in shops and are now seeping into the ground and air.
A family of 11 — grandparents, parents and grandchildren — crammed into one apartment were thankful that they at least had a temporary place to stay. The Civil Defense provided a week-stay in furnished apartments with the possibility of extension. The grandmother worried about her bed-ridden husband and the parents cried over a drowned son who had been planning to marry in three months.
One man paid for the apartment he found for his family until he can get the necessary paper from the Civil Defense — this was necessary because apartment buildings refused to accommodate families without the paper. A neighbor left his family in their flooded home to get the paper only to find on his return that they had all been electrocuted. Another man, carrying two bags of groceries walked into the building, tired from waiting every day for the past four days at his destroyed home for the committee that is assessing the damages, but which never came. A third man was taking care of his three young children while his pregnant wife was staying with her parents in Makkah. He was thankful they were still alive because the family of one of his neighbors had all died. The families — ranging from three to 11 members — in each of the apartments thought we were with the municipality or other government office checking on their conditions. Since they came to the apartments three or four days ago, no official has visited them and they have been provided with only a carton of bottled water.
A lot has been written during the past few days about the causes of the disaster and the mistakes made. The pictures of the loss of life and property speak louder than words. If one positive thing can be said about this calamity, it is that the media did what it is supposed to do. There was no cover-up, and plenty of questions were asked. I hope this spirit continues and the story will not just be buried or forgotten.
Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal attributed the catastrophe in Jeddah to the delay in implementing drainage projects and the ongoing construction in valleys in most of the affected districts. Whoever delayed the implementation of the drainage projects or did not implement them properly during the past 20 years as well as those who allowed the construction of houses in valleys should be held accountable.
That has to do with taking action on the floods and the damage they caused. I would also like to raise the issue of how the whole situation was handled — or not handled. The rain began in the early morning and lasted for six hours. During that time, why were the roads that were becoming submerged not blocked from access and traffic diverted? Why were the residents of those districts in the valleys not warned to stay indoors and to move up from ground floors? Why were they not evacuated as soon as the rain began flooding their homes? No one came to their rescue until hours after the rain had stopped. Why were there no precautionary measures before, during and after the rain?
With weather forecasts of more rain to come, I hope we will be better prepared.
Besides the positive role played by the media in covering this tragedy, particularly on the Internet, another positive element that needs to be pointed out is the thousands of volunteers, especially the young, who answered the call of civic duty. However, due to some lack of coordination and management, most of those volunteers ended up going to the sites and standing around, not knowing what to do except take pictures with their mobile phone cameras. Even the divers who were asked to help in the rescue efforts were warned not to when they got there because the water was so murky and visibility was so limited that experienced professional divers and rescuers were required. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm with which the young volunteers were willing to assist in any way they could should put to rest some of the negative stereotypes about our youth.
People died in this tragedy because of negligence, mismanagement and corruption. The king’s orders to investigate the causes, rectify them, compensate the victims and hold those responsible for the tragedy, no matter who they are, is the kind of decision expected from a leader known for his courage, humaneness and sense of responsibility. We are confident that the investigating committee formed will carry out its duties — “immediately” as the king instructed, with all fairness. Let us hold those responsible accountable even if they have already left office. They should not be allowed to get away with murder. Justice delayed is better than no justice at all.
