Turkish-Syrian Earthquake:
Does Responsibility Matter?

We are horrified at the toll that the Turkish-Syrian earthquake has taken - 20,000 dead at the time of this writing, and the number continues to rise to a limit that has not been set yet. We are grateful for the lives saved and recovered. The survivors face difficulties and challenges that are hard to imagine. 

We admire the energy, the skill and above all the devotion and dedication of the professionals and the volunteers who are doing all they possibly can to mitigate the suffering.

Yet, a question lingers in this disaster as it does in all such disasters. Did it have to come to this? Did over 20,000 people have to die and thousands upon thousands have to suffer injuries and grief beyond description? Was all this death and destruction, injury and grief the consequence of the earthquake alone?

Of course not. In this disaster as in the collapse of an apartment high-rise in Malaysia many years ago,  and a large apartment fire in England some years ago, the cause of death and devastation was principally caused by human negligence, or fraud at worst. But at that time, as now, the focus was on saving lives and not determining responsibility.

This is an error we keep repeating.

Authorities would say, let's take care of the emergency right now and worry about responsibility later. Nice sentiment, but completely out or order. We need to do both now.

By putting off the reckoning of those who were responsible for shoddy construction and violation of building codes, we allow them space for insensitive assessment of their responsibility. Putting off reckoning for another day gives them an escape route and comfort to repeat their criminal conduct as they please. We can't prevent earthquakes, but we can ensure that the consequences of earthquakes are not magnified by irresponsible human agency.

We are too busy saving lives, government officials will say - an unacceptable excuse. Any government is large enough to attend to two emergencies at the same time - saving lives and catching those responsible for causing more death that can be attributable to the earthquake in this case.

We wait to hear from the Turkish authorities if they have apprehended those responsible for the magnification of death and destruction initiated by this earthquake.