Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The land of innocence

So the barge owner on which over a thousand egyptians died was declared innocent by the court; it is not that he purposely pulled a drill out of his tool box and poked holes in the vessel. Accidents happen. Sure the decision was put on hold,  but who are we kidding, he is a card holding member of the ruling party.  

In Lebanon, nearly a thousand people die every year in car accidents. It's not that the roads are unsafe, or the cars aren't street legal. It is not because traffic cops don't even know the rules much less enforce them. Accidents just happen, and people die. Lebanon's roads proved unsafe for Generation 4 Merkavas, yet teenagers popping wheelies on  their home-made scooters are common sights on busy highways. It's all innocent fun, and accidents just happen. Just like the tens that have been accidentally shot and killed throughout the country the past couple of... millennia?

But I am curious to know one thing though. I wonder if YASA keeps these stats. Does the rate of fatality drop when  a car is protected by some type of religious iconography? If so, which icon is the most protective?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good article Jamal,

I remember having read, between 2005 and 2006 (probably around new years) an article written in the famous l'Orient le Jour, blaming the fall in the alcohol market in Lebanon on Syria...

I thought the analogy is pretty amusing don't you think?

Regards

Ibn Bint Jbeil said...

Sad condolences for the death of our beloved Darwish.