Not a single word or words stringed together will ever be able to bring any sense of comfort to the family and friends reeling from pain after learning that they have lost loved ones in the Mahdia dorm fire. Not a single social media status, vigil, thought or prayer will fill that void created by something that was by all means preventable. I can say I feel anguish like so many others, but what I also feel is anger, hopelessness, despair and guilt.
Anger because dorm and school fires or fires at state agencies aren’t new, yet we find ourselves here time and time again: Waramadong Secondary School (2008) fire which claimed the lives of 3 students, Bartica Secondary School dorm fire (2007) which saw no loss of life but completely destroyed the school and more recently 2016 at the Children’s Drop-in Centre which saw the loss of life of two brothers within state care.