Yesterday, May 28, 2012 was a very tragic day for the community of Doha, Qatar. Qatar is about the size of Connecticut and even though Doha is a large city, it can feel much like a small town. It is amazing how many connections are made and who knows who through mutual friends. Rumors, that were true, quickly started yesterday afternoon about a fire at Villagio Mall. This is a place that the majority of people in Doha go to quite often. I had been there the night before to do some shopping and meet friends for dinner. This particular mall has an amusement park, ice rink, grocery store, numerous restaurants, and countless other shops. In all, 19 people were killed in this horrible fire. This event has touched many people at ASD very close to home as some of our employees are friends with the families of the deceased children and many of students happen to live in the same compounds as many of the families directly involved. A loss of a life is always tragic and sad, but I think what has touched home to so many people are the 13 children deaths caused by this fire. Thankful to a wonderful team of counselors and administrators, we are dealing with this tragedy very well.
This horrible event and the international attention is has received within the last 24 hours has also made me think more about human rights in Qatar. This is an issue that I feel very conflicted about and there are always a number of situations that makes my mind return to this topic. My friend Ann Durham wrote a very interesting blog about this in October: Human Rights. Ann touched down on many of my own opinions and thoughts and she wrote very eloquently about the issue. Reading the articles in The New York Times, on BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera about the fire, has made me ask myself, "How many worker deaths are there each day in Doha that go unnoticed and unreported?" Not in any way am I negating the horrific event that happened yesterday, but in actuality, this horrible occurrence causes my mind to venture to all of the sad and terrible things that happen and call into question of why they must happen. I have also just read another article in The New York Times about a drug raid in my old home of Honduras: Honduran Villages Caught in Drug War’s Cross-Fire. Again, causing me to call into questions all the violence in this world.
Below is an article from yesterday's fire as well as a few other images:
Doha-based cartoonist Khalid Al Baih drew this cartoon as a prayer to the deceased.
A video posted by Al Jazeera.
Authorities report 19 people killed, including 13 children, in fire at major shopping and entertainment complex in Doha.Last Modified: 29 May 2012 00:03
At least 19 people have been killed, including 13 children in a fire at a major shopping mall and entertainment complex in the Qatari capital Doha, according to the country's interior ministry.
The ministry said on Monday that four female teachers and two firefighters were among those killed in the fire, while at least 17 others were injured. Among the children were six boys and seven girls.
Al Jazeera's Stefanie Dekker, reporting from the scene, said firefighters were forced to go through the roof of the mall to reach a nursery where the children were trapped.
"The nursery, where most of the children were, is on the first floor with difficult access," our correspondent said.
The health ministry cited suffocation due to smoke inhalation as the cause of death for many of the children and teachers at the Gympanzee nursery.
"We were told the nationalities of the children included Japanese, Filipino, South African, and also European and Arab, but no Qataris," our correspondent said. "Three of the teachers were Filipino and one was African."
Dekker said that the cause of the fire was not confirmed, and authorities were still investigating.
"A witness who was in the mall told me that initially he saw green smoke, and soon after that it turned black and then very heavy," Dekker said.
"He also said that the sprinkler system was not working."
Eyewitnesses reported confusion in the rescue effort, saying they saw no evidence of an organised evacuation plan.
Some among the witnesses reported that the emergency exits in the shopping complex were locked.
Government investigation
Officials said rescue workers were not initially informed that many of those trapped were children. The emergency workers reportedly arrived on the scene within 60 seconds of an initial phone call, but the lack of floor plan delayed the rescue efforts.
Abdullah bin Nasser al-Khalifa, Qatar's minister of state for interior affairs, said a combination of heavy smoke, heat and narrow corridors in the shopping complex forced emergency services to seek an alternative point of entry.
"That entry was from the top of the complex. Time was really critical, and the team took some time because the maps were not immediately available", he said, adding that firefighters had to break through the roof to get to trapped children after a staircase to the first-floor nursery collapsed.
At the evening press conference, the minister expressed his condolence for those that died in the fire, adding that most of the injured were firefighters from the civil defence operation.
Footage posted online showed black smoke billowing from the shopping centre as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.
The Villagio is one of the Gulf country's largest and most popular shopping malls, containing a cinema, an ice rink and an amusement park.
The government said that a commission will be formed to investigate the safety standards of buildings in Qatar.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
