The Mosul ferry disaster on Iraq’s Tigris river, in which at least 120 perished and dozens more are still missing, is an awful tragedy for a city that in recent years has seen more than its fair share of catastrophes.
The public fury over the sinking of the overloaded ferry before it reached a popular holiday island was very real. Some distraught survivors lost most members of their families when the overcrowded boat capsized. The death toll was undoubtedly greater because the vessel lacked life jackets and adequate lifeboats. The primary responsibility for this terrible tragedy undoubtedly rests with the ferry operators. They had been warned the Mosul Dam upstream had been opened to let out excess water. The level of the Tigris along with the extra speed of its current had, therefore, made any boat crossing more risky. As has happened with other ferry calamities around the world, particularly in the Philippines and Indonesia, the crew did not stop more and more people crowding aboard until the vessel became unstable.
But if the captain and ferry operators are directly guilty of failing to ensure their passengers’ safety, the officials supposed to regulate the proper operation of commercial craft are no less culpable. How was the ferry ever allowed to sail without the right amount of life saving equipment? For all its chaos, Iraq has sensible regulations dealing with public transport. But no rule is any use unless it is enforced. So there are local officials who must also answer for this disaster.
Yet above them are the local political leaders, whose ultimate duty is to ensure officials do their jobs. Unfortunately, Mosul has become a byword for corruption, with local militias running payola and creaming off government funds. Thus popular anger was directed at Nineveh governor Nawfal Al-Akoub and his two deputies. Akoub’s car was stoned when he visited the scene of the sinking and it is reported two people in the crowd were injured when he fled in his bulletproof limousine.
The Iraq parliament in Baghdad joined premier Adil Abdul-Mahdi in demanding Akoub and his team quit. They accused the governor not only of being responsible for the ferry sinking but also of corruption, abuse of his position and squandering public funds. Unfortunately, what has been happening in Mosul is duplicated throughout the country. The deliberate marginalization of the Sunni minority under the two calamitous premierships of Nouri Al-Maliki played an important role in driving some desperate Sunnis to support Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) terrorists. Maliki’s cronyism and his demolition of checks and balances designed to introduce transparency into government opened up massive opportunities for corruption, which have yet to be closed. By his slavish support for his Iranian sponsors he was ensuring that Tehran would have a weak and politically incoherent Iraqi neighbor.
The problem with corruption at all levels of government is not simply one of waste and inefficiency. It is also socially corrosive. If politicians are on the take, why should the ordinary citizen stay honest and thus also stay poor? Iraq is a diverse and potentially very wealthy country. But until all Iraqis, whatever their community, can believe and take pride in their nation and play by the rules, the chaos and tragedies will surely continue.
