In the Wake of Tragedy, Who Should Pay?

With the weapons depot explosion death toll at 100, the big question in Maputo these days is "Who is to blame?" The most common answer is the Government, though there are some conspiracy theories already making the rounds about disgruntled workers at the armory who were underpaid and provoked the blasts as a way to make their discontent known.

The explosion at Malhazine is not the first accident involving a military armory in Mozambique. Back in 1985, the exact same depot involved in last Thursday's tragedy exploded, killing several people and prompting the local population to start a campaign for the Government to remove all weapons depots from residential areas. For whatever reason, no action was taken and several other accidents around the country occurred, including an armory in Beira and one in Matola, Maputo's industrial sister city, just 2 months ago. While none of these accidents were of the proportion of last week's events, they were clearly a sign that storage of outdated heavy artillery from the country's civil war in populated areas was a potential recipe for disaster.

As people in Maputo mourn their dead and start the difficult task of rebuilding homes and damaged property, the question on everybody's mind is who will foot the bill. Many of the people affected by the explosions were desperately poor to begin with. On the news the other day, they told the story of a woman who had literally saved for 15 years to build her dream home - a simple concrete block structure with 2 rooms and a kitchen - only to have it completely destroyed when a projectile from the blast crashed through her roof, killing 3 family members. In addition to the loss of her loved ones, this woman has no home, most of her posessions destroyed, and is currently sleeping on the street and cooking one meal a day over a coal fire using a pot lent by a neighbor. "Who will pay to fix my house?" she wailed during the news interview. "How will I start again?" Sadly, her story is not unique, and many Maputo residents affected by Thursday's tragedy are asking the same difficult questions.

While the general consensus is that the Government should provide coffins, building materials and other basic provisions to support the victims of the explosions, I wonder whether the money will truly come from Mozambique's coffers. In a country were over 50% of the GDP comes from foreign aid and there is a marked culture of dependency, I can already see the appeals for international assistance. Part of me believes that in the wake of a tragedy such a this one, it is not only appropriate but *human* that we step up and help our brothers who are suffering. At the same time, I wonder if a wave of donor aid to "fix" the situation won't send the wrong message. After all, this accident was highly preventable and action could have been taken years ago for a very reasonable cost.

By ignoring the situation despite multiple examples of what the consequences would be, the Mozambican Government, in my opinion, is guilty of extreme negligence. Shouldn't the onus of responsibility for assisting victims, rebuilding structures and, most importantly, moving all remaining weapons depots to unpopulated areas rest on the shoulders of the local Government and not the international community? I worry that significant foreign aid at this point would send the message that it's okay for the Mozambican Government (and others for that matter) to ignore essential security issues, because donors are always available and waiting to send 1 or 2 million to the rescue once the situation blows up, in this case quite literally.

To me it's like the parent who is always there to bail their child out of any situation in which he has screwed up and is sufferng, completely missing the lesson that actions (or inactions) have consequences. When will this idea be applied on a larger scale in the international community?