Aberfan and a lack of accountability that still affects society today | Letters
Lyn Dade and Lyn Collins respond to an article by John Humphrys about the 1966 disaster and the lessons that haven’t be learnedJohn Humphrys’ righteous anger at the carelessness of...
By Guardian Staff · The Guardian Opinion
Lyn Dade and Lyn Collins respond to an article by John Humphrys about the 1966 disaster and the lessons that haven’t be learned John Humphrys’ righteous anger at the carelessness of national institutions and the horrors that followed as a result – at Aberfan, Hillsborough, Grenfell and during Covid – is matched only by his disgust at the lack of accountability afterwards ( At Aberfan, I saw fathers digging for their missing children. And the lessons society should have learned, it hasn’t, 24 October ). Sadly, it is too often true that those in leadership roles walk away with no more than a slapped wrist. In France, citizens would be manning the barricades. Here? “Dreadful, isn’t it?” Followed by a shrug. Like Humphrys, we should be raging at the death, grief and lasting trauma that were delivered by our “leaders”. But we don’t. Because we don’t believe that it will make any difference. We are apathetic, maybe because we have so little self-agency. Continue reading...