Learning from Past Mistakes

Just came across this headline today.

'At least 31 people killed' in Bangladesh ferry sinking.

As I read on, images flashed to my mind of my own experience with a ferry (near) disaster. I was 14. Had gone to the southern part of my country to visit my ailing Grandmother with my parents and siblings. On the way back, in the middle of the night, the ferry got stuck on some "islands" formed by silt in the middle of the river. We spent the night like that, waiting for some form of rescue, pretty terrified as the area was supposed to be sometimes attacked by "river pirates". My parents were carrying foreign currency (we were visiting from abroad), so there was much to be lost, even if we managed to escape with our lives. Luckily, with the arrival of dawn, another passenger ferry turned up and we managed to change ferries mid river. Quite exciting stuff for a teenager!

Anyway, back to the current headline, it is feared more than 200 people may have lost their lives. It seems people in Bangladesh have learnt absolutely nothing about personal safety over the years. Every year brings new news of ferry disasters and no one, neither the authorities nor individual passengers nor the owners of the vessels that ply the waterways do anything differently. It seems no one cares for these lives that are lost and will do nothing to change their ways.