Let’s stop turning a blind eye

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. The quotation is most often attributed to Edmund Burke, the 18th-century Irish statesman, and it applies well to the tragedy on the Chao Phraya River in Ayutthaya this past weekend.

Government officials were very likely among the witnesses who saw around 150 people board a boat that was designed to carry 50 passengers. No one said anything, and at least 27 of those passengers died.

The boat capsized after becoming destabilised. “Many passengers jumped out and scrambled towards the shore three to five metres away,” said Annop Kudeephan, a 50-year-old survivor. Some made it. The rest weren’t so lucky. 

Perhaps the tragedy could have been prevented or at least the number of casualties reduced had someone been bold enough to point out the danger beforehand. In such cases, though, we all tend to turn a blind eye, thinking – erroneously – that it’s no concern of ours. It certainly should always be our concern when public transport is operated in a hazardous fashion. Public safety is by definition our own safety, and yet every day in this country it’s being compromised.

Eyewitnesses said the boat skipper was trying to pass a sand barge just before the accident occurred and the craft become unstable in the wake of the larger vessel. Other evidence indicates the passenger boat struck a concrete berm alongside Wat Sanamchai. 

The passengers were on a pilgrimage and had attended an annual Muslim ritual at historic Takia Yokin Mosque in Ayutthaya earlier that day. The ill-fated boat was one of about 20 participating in the tour that originated in Nonthaburi. Rescue workers rushed to the scene but, hampered by heavy rain and a strong current, were unable to save them all. Women and young girls reportedly made up most of the dead. Two boys, ages four and eight, were also among them.

We have suffered through many such tragedies involving passenger boats. Another occurred five years ago in the same area and with the same reason playing a role – overloading. There was a lesson to be learned from that accident. We just didn’t bother to learn it.

Mankind struggles against the storms and floods of Mother Nature, and yet we also constantly place hazards in our own path. When 150 people are allowed to board a boat intended for 50, there is no need to argue over the shortage of rescue equipment.

The boat operator has been arrested and is likely to be charged with carelessness resulting in death. The survivors and the victims’ relatives will be able to seek financial compensation. A species of justice will be achieved. But, just as there is no consoling the dead, there is no excuse for letting such accidents occur again and again for the same stupid reasons. 

Apart from concern over our own safety and that of the public in general, we should recognise that tragedies like this send an awful message about Thailand to the world. We are to Western eyes a Third World country overrun with corruption and insensible to risk. 

Tens of thousands of foreign tourists enjoy cruises along the Chao Phraya River every year, taking in the grand temples of the current and former capitals. Tourism is Thailand’s biggest money earner, and yet tourists’ lives are forever being put at risk. We endanger them and allow scammers to cheat them, and if we have the chance to speak up and object on behalf of our guests, we remain mute and avert our gaze. Let someone else worry about it.

We need to change this mindset, and stop turning a blind eye.