ABSTRACT
I was sitting with an old friend, an entrepreneur who had had experienced success like few others I had known. A self-made billionaire oozing with excitement and exuberance. The topic of our conversation was the horrific incident that had shocked the country, the death of 150 people, including young children and women, the casualty of an oil tanker blast. Considered to be one of the worst accidents of fire explosion in the world, an oil tanker of a big multinational oil company had toppled over in the middle of a road, gushing oil everywhere—a situation that should have called for rapid containment. The catastrophic scene became an unfortunate opportunity for the poor living in nearby villages. Faced with energy shortages and rising oil prices, the villagers living around the area saw it as a blessing in disguise, a gift brought about by nature, a moment of wealth redistribution. The poor came in large numbers to collect the free oil, risking their lives when they should have been running away from it. Families sent their young ones to fetch oil using their household utensils. It became a competition for who could collect the most. Motorcyclists were stopping to fill their tanks, thinking that Eid had arrived a few days early. A sudden unexpected moment saw their smiles vanish and turn to horror. Momentary happiness turned into perpetual grief as the tanker exploded, killing indiscriminately all those standing around with their false hopes. It marked the end of life for many. For their loved ones, who would experience the traumatic event for days and months, it was the end of life as they knew it. My friend, the self-made billionaire, blamed the greed of the poor who had risked it all for an inconsequential amount. He criticized their irrationality and stupidity, an outcome of their materialistic nature. For him, the villagers were a symbol of what society should shun. I sat there listening to him, thinking about the simplicity with which he was taking things for granted, things that many had died for. Ignoring the abject poverty which may have caused the villagers to show an utter disregard for what was most precious for what was least. How many days of hunger could cause someone to do such a thing? How many times would they have to look at others with envy and desire for these petty possessions? In that moment, I realized that the law made by the privileged can never cater for those who lack it.
