On Thursday I was on a building site where new classrooms are being built at a school. I bent down and picked up four new bricks from a pile being used for the construction of the walls that will eventually house children.
With little effort and my bare hands I was able to break all the bricks in two. Two of them just crumbled in my hands when I applied a little pressure.
These are the bricks being used in walls that will form rooms were children will study.
One earthquake, one violent storm, internal and external building pressures and it is possible these walls could tumble down on the children causing severe injuries and loss of life. A few teachers were with me when I showed how bad the quality of bricks were.
They just shrugged their shoulders, gave me the ubiquitous Indonesian smile and said nothing. A senior workman watched me do this and laughed.
The construction of these classrooms is a tragedy waiting to happen based on an obviously flawed process of tendering, supply, supervision and accountability.
You don’t make a building out of bricks that crumble in your hands. I believe it is my duty to speak out now before something disastrous happens.
I believe these buildings need to be inspected before they are completed and if found to be made of inferior quality materials — appropriate action should be taken to prevent the likelihood of serious damage to lives and property.
Otherwise, who will take responsibility when or if these buildings collapse?
And who will wriggle out of taking any responsibility? Certainly not the kids. Many of them could be dead under the bricks. This is yet again another example of the Indonesian “short-term”, “quick-fix” mentality.
The fact that the buildings will be dangerous and in bad repair within a short time, mean nothing to the people mismanaging these projects.
That human lives — the most vulnerable being those of children — may be at risk seems to mean nothing to the authorities if it means doing the job properly without ripping off the system. I have no doubt somewhere along the line, some people are making money out of this government contract.
It would be an exception in Indonesia if that wasn’t the case. Show me a government contract or project where money isn’t being creamed off?
Unfortunately, it’s a rather standard approach here. Money first, second, third.
People’s lives, safety and dignity and their right to proper and decent services are priorities that don’t even get a mention.
That certainly appears to be the case in much of Indonesia. It is, ironically, that attitude, of course, which is holding this country back from really developing.
This is the great land of the short-term view and the short-term grab and fix! There appears to be very little substantial forward thinking in Indonesia. Priorities are based on — “What’s in it
for me?”
How much value can you put on a child’s life — anyone’s life — in Indonesia? Obviously not as much as a badly made brick purchased for the construction of these potentially dangerous buildings.
Phillip TurnbullSouth Tangerang, Banten
