In Ethiopia there were sixty people killed because of a landfill collapse crushing homes and innocent people. Though the landfill had been protested from receiving more garbage, it continued to pile up resulting in this tragedy. Instead of taking the protesters concerns into account, the government continued to let garbage pile up to the point of dangerous amounts surrounding countless people’s work environment and village. This could’ve easily been avoided if someone had done something to create a new landfill site or simply stopped the distribution of trash into the site. Most of the deceased are women and children who were forced to rummage through trash in order to find sustainable resources and things to sell to make a living. This despicable situation needs to be avoided in the future by the government taking into account the safety of its citizens. Previously three people died from small collapses at the same landfill site. Instead of doing something about it before the situation got out of hand, it was swept under the rug and so were the people who were at risk. One mother who is collecting trash that day is now hospitalized and doesn’t know if she will ever be able to walk again and she does not know if her husband and children are going to survive. Her suffering should not go unnoticed. The government needs to implement new safety measures in landfill areas that will help protect the surrounding villages and people. Furthermore, programs should be provided in these villages to help people find jobs outside of the landfill. This will help ensure less fatalities if a collapse were to happen again.
