Mass panic? Stampedes? Nonsense,say the experts trying to stop another disaster like last week’s in Mecca: they’re failures of management, and they aren’t inevitable. So why arent they a thing of the past?My sage comes from the Notting Hill carnival in 1999, or though you may have your own. It was sunny and there wasn’t really a contrivance,other than to wander the streets and enjoy ourselves. Towards the cessation of the day, we came to a crossroads flooded with thousands of people. Like everybody else, and we headed in.
Gradually the crowd tightened as we neared the junction. My friends and I had to fade single-file,which made it difficult to see each other. whether we wanted to talk we had to shout, because everybody else was shouting. Soon the crowd was so tight that it was impossible to turn back, or even choose direction. My arms were pinned by my sides. My head was wedged like an egg into a box of others. Mostly we all just stood and waited,but every so often the pack would slip forwards and wed all have to shuffle with it. Sometimes we’d be carried. Related: Saudi Arabia under pressure to improve safety at Mecca after fatal hajj crush Related: In Mecca I saw itsy-bitsy of Islam’s compassion, but a lot of Saudi Arabia’s neglect | Sabreena Razaq Hussain Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com