A new collection of specters haunts the earth today: 72 workers killed yesterday in a slipper factory fire in the Valenzuela district of Manila. There was no accident. That fire and those workers burning to death are part of the brutal architecture of industrial production. Every report covers up more than it reveals, and the workers, charred beyond recognition, wait for nothing now.
The fire “started” when sparks set off an explosion. The slaughter of the innocents began long before the spark. The windows were covered, sealed tight, by metal gratings. Even now, the local mayor isn’t sure the building had any fire escapes.
“Dionesio Candido, whose daughter, granddaughter, sister-in-law and niece were among the missing, said iron grilles reinforced with fencing wire covered windows on the second floor that `could prevent even cats from escaping’.”
Those workers – daughters, granddaughters, sisters-in-law, nieces – were deemed less valuable than cats, and far less valuable than the chemicals, the machinery, and the slippers in the building.
None of this is new. The State can “investigate quickly”, if it likes, and the trade unions can protest “working conditions”, but the factories and sweatshops go up, the bars and grills cover the windows, and doors are locked from the outside, the flammable materials are next to the welding machines, and no one does anything … until the fire explodes.
From the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in 1911 New York, to the Kader Toy Factory in 1993 Bangkok, to the Zhili Handicraft Factory in 1993 Shenzen, to the Tazreen Fashions Factory in 2012 Dhaka, and now to the Kentex Manufacturing Corporation in 2015 Manila, the architecture is the same, as are the smoke, stench, exploitation, workers and bosses. The factory wasn’t a factory; it was a slaughterhouse. When the flames burst and the women workers’ bodies exploded, there was no accident. There was an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people, a massacre, and it was always part of the plan.
(Photo Credit: Reuters / Ezra Acayan)
Shameful, let us cry out against this barbaric work condition.
Do not forget to mention the deadliest tragedy of this kind in April 2013 , Rana plaza in Bangladesh with 1129 death and more than 2500 life time injuries. In all of these tragedies young women are the main victims. They pay with their valuable lives for the cheap fashion to remain one of the most profitable industries world wild.
http://www.asicentral.com/news/newsletters/promogram/may-2015/rana-plaza-victims-sue-retailers/
This is the fault of the concerned govt. agency tasked to conduct safety inspections to all factories.Some owners and inspectors connived to cover up some missing precautionary measures due to greed for money. Death penalty should be approved as the penalty to deter future
offenders
[…] (το κείμενο είναι μετάφραση στα ελληνικά από εδώ) […]
[…] (το κείμενο είναι μετάφραση στα ελληνικά από εδώ) […]
[…] (το κείμενο είναι μετάφραση στα ελληνικά από εδώ) […]
what would an ordinary citizen do to this kind of injustice? It goes back to politician and corrupt officials who give the establishments license to
Operate without checking SOP re: fire excapes and fire extinguisher!
Come on! When will we ever learn?!
i guess much better to do some reaearch your article is baseless who the hell will burn his own child. the owners child is also a victim of that fire u called massacre. dumb and crazy article
My heart just dropped. I can’t believe this. How can they even NOT create a safety route out? This was all planned for sure. Such corrupted government in the Philippines. It pisses me off.
The Philippines government should hang all the person involved in the factory including the mayor of Valenzuela..
With this article, you’re saying that the owner actually planned to kill his son and burn himself too. Not everything is about your cause. Your cause is what exactly? I don’t see the point of your piece. Might be best not to conclude this as a sexist issue due to lack of information. Focus on labor laws maybe.
i cried for the precious lives lost in, and the families, relatives and friends irreparably impacted by, this tragedy. I pray that there comes a time, and may it be soon, that our world will be filled with love and compassion. May there be no more of this senseless loss of precious lives–all lives. May we all work towards a better world.
[…] 72 killed in Philippines slipper factory fire [Filed under: poverty, Third World Women, inhumane working conditions, unabated capitalism] […]
Those accidents are product of negligent and carelessness of the concern departments and people, fires are starting commonly in a small flames, the speed may depend on the environment of the flame location, that is a management role to be aware the dangerous or hazardous materials, second was the inspectors, it’s iether in house or third party should be vigilant to the facility condition, every month should have mandatory unannounced inspection to maintain the preparedness of the facility, lastly, the product buyers should see to it that their supply chains are in compliance with the OHS requirement.
Cause oriented group should make an independent inspection to the facility that having a mass employment.
Fire can be prevented as long as having constant awareness program..
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[…] 32 girls burned to death yesterday. As with the Topo Chico prison fire, in Mexico last year; the Kentex factory fire in the Philippines, in 2015; the 2013 Rana Plaza Factory fire and the 2012 Tazreen Fashion Factory fire, both in […]
[…] corridors far too narrow to allow for quick passage: this was no accident. Yet again, as in the Kentex fire two years ago, this fire and those workers burned to death and the workers critically injured are part of the […]
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Sandiganbayan junks bid to dismiss Kentex fire evidence https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1102133/sandiganbayan-junks-bid-to-dismiss-kentex-fire-evidence
Special Prosecutor insists on Valenzuela mayor’s liability in deadly Kentex fire http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/11/19/special-prosecutor-insists-on-valenzuela-mayors-liability-in-deadly-kentex-fire
Reinstate charges vs Valenzuela mayor, prosecution urges https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/01/11/reinstate-charges-vs-valenzuela-mayor-prosecution-urges/
‘The odour of burning wakes us’: inside the Philippines’ Plastic City https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/08/waste-recycling-smell-pollution-philippines-plastic-city