Lost souls

How can it be possible that three years after 400 people were burned alive in a third-class train carriage the authorities have yet to hold anyone accountable, asks Fatemah Farag

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One-way ticket carriages; the charred remains of train no. 832

On 20 February 2002 Aswan-bound train no. 832 hurtled close to 400 people to a terrible death: incineration while trapped in a third-class train carriage not fit to transport livestock.

As a horrified nation watched the charred remains of the victims being stacked in piles at Cairo's one and only deficient morgue facility in Zeinhom, the reality of the conditions of train 832 came to light. There were no fire extinguishers, no emergency brakes, no glass panes -- forcing people to cover the windows in blankets to protect against the biting cold of winter -- while metal bars across the windows kept them from making an escape and cars designed to seat 50 persons were carrying 200.

And the worst of it? Train 832 was a mere prototype for all third-class carriages transporting then some three million people daily up and down the Railway Authority's 4,900km of tracks.

Only 220 bodies could be identified, the remaining charred bits of humanity were consigned to a mass grave in a funeral attended by an estimated 2,000 citizens and a handful of heavily guarded officials. In a brave gesture, Presidential Adviser Osama El-Baz walked unprotected amongst the crowds of mourners and assured the nation that "the president personally is very concerned to see that serious improvement takes place in third-class trains and that they all be equipped with necessary safety measures." The timeframe he gave for the long overdue overhaul? "In three months, I promise you."

Three years down the line and Al-Ahram Weekly takes a southbound third-class trip only to discover that the "serious improvement" is way behind schedule (see article below).

And three years down the line, last Saturday to be precise, all Railway Authority officials being tried in connection to the tragedy were acquitted by the Supreme Administrative Court. The bottom line it seems is that not a single government official is to be held responsible for the incineration of 400 human beings killed in a train run by that same government.

But then only a few hours after the accident took place then- Prime Minister Atef Ebeid announced the train had been in good shape before embarking from Cairo and that the fire was the result of passengers lighting a butane cylinder on board. Blaming the victims did not go over well with a public opinion still raw with the images of horror and -- in a statement to parliament soon after -- Ebeid blamed the accident on the Railway Authority's LE17 billion debt burden, a result, he explained, of having to pay the salaries of close to 100,000 people at a cost of LE550 million annually. What was not mentioned at the time but was revealed by lawyers later is that an estimated 25 per cent of authority revenues is spent on bonuses and salaries of high-ranking officials.

But by then it seems the government had already washed its hands of the whole affair. The fact-finding committee set up by parliament to investigate the causes of the inferno was hardly attended by ruling party deputies, the Ministry of Social Affairs paid up its paltry LE3,000 per dead person, LE1,000 per injured person and the Traffic and Transport Police (TTP) -- an affiliate of the Ministry of Interior responsible for maintaining railway security -- announced they had nothing to do with the matter. Instead, 11 low-ranking railway employees comprising ticket collectors, train masters and mechanical engineers were sent to court on charges of negligence.

But in the midst of this jumble justice was realised when these under-paid, hapless employees were acquitted by Judge Saad Abdel-Wahed, who stated in October 2002 that it was his belief that negligence and inefficiency at the highest levels of the Railway Authority and TTP were to blame. Hopes were then pinned on the disciplinary investigation of 20 senior officials -- which has come to naught.

In the popular lore of Upper Egyptians the soul of a person killed unjustly does not rest until those responsible are brought to account. The file of the deaths of train 832 thus remains open until justice is achieved for those who died -- and those who continue to risk their lives being treated as "just third class".