Aberfan: 100% Tragedy, but Who Is To Blame?

Bartenders usually have to deal with disputes between people who argue over pointless topics; however, the other night this was not the case. Two tourists from Wales came to enjoy all Australia has to offer, including my bar. After several drinks the couple began to engage in conversation with a talkative local, Jounrey. Jounrey Bhaya spends his days surfing and playing the guitar (and occasionally smoking from a billy). Jounrey began complaining about global warming and the pollution defacing his beach, calling it an unfortunate disaster. When Jounrey asked the vacationers if they had any children, he only received blank looks. “Had would be the correct word,” one of them responded. This conversation is any bartender’s nightmare! To break the awkward silence, I asked if any of them wanted another drink. Terry had this response, “No matter where we go we are always reminded about where we came from and what we left behind. October 21st, the day that changed our lives forever.”

Jounrey, not knowing when to stop, relied, “I remember that! Yawl’ must be from the village of Aberfan. I am so sorry. The dangers of consumer consumption and globalization have destroyed our world and not to mention, those damn hot springs.” As I saw the puzzled looks I knew this conversation must be stopped so I told Journey that I would drive him home. Just my luck, the couple told Jounrey they would take him back when he was ready. That night Jounrey spent the night at the bar. He enraged the couple enough for them to renege on their invitation to take him home. The couple blamed the disaster solely on the National Coal Board while Jounrey also placed blame on the spring under the coal tip and the worldwide dependence on coal.

That night I began searching online for articles about this “dramatic business” (Nature). October 21, 1966, thousands of tons of colliery waste slid down a mountain and killed 145 people. Below the mountain, 116 children and 5 teachers were smothered inside their school. The chairman of the National Coal Board, Lord Robens blamed the Aberfan Disaster on natural unknown springs beneath the tip. However, the final verdict was that everything could have been prevented and should have. “It only happened because of ‘ignorance, ineptitude and a failure of communications’ within the board” (Nature). For several years the villagers complained about the coal tip and the dangers of it. The National Coal Board ignored these complains until they could not ignore them anymore, the morning of October 21st.

One article I found, that supported the above, utilized a pathos approach appealing to the reader’s emotions. “In the school hall at 9:30 am that morning, the children had sung All Things Bright and Beautiful,…”(Ole). The author also outlines a few conclusions from the Labour government: “1. That the blame for the disaster lay firmly upon the N.C.B” (Ole). No one was prosecuted and 500 pounds was rewarded for each child. Throughout the article it is evident that the author is grief-stricken. “In concluding my few words on this terrible event I just hope that when the time comes/came for Robens and anyone else that had even the slightest responsibility for the disaster to approach the Pearly gates, I hope St. Peter said/or will say GO TO HELL, for they certainly earned that right”(Ole). After reading this I thought about Jounrey’s comment and decided to investigate more.

I found more and more articles like the above one. I even found a song, and here are a few stanzas from it:

“The mining men of Wales are hardy, strong and bold, And they tunnel in the earth and make it yield its coal. But in the town of Aberfan, it's dearer now than gold, For one generation, for the black rock, has been sold.

How many died in Aberfan When the coal tip came rumbling down? How many children will never grow old? How many lives purchase how many pounds of coal?

The little school of Pantglas* lay where the mountain loomed, And some two hundred children took their lessons in its rooms. The day fall recess was to begin, they went to meet their doom, Not knowing "the green hollow" would soon become their tomb.

The men of the National Coal Board said that they'd known from the first. The coal tips they permitted were a worry and a curse. But I've heard that kind of thing so many times and it always sounds rehearsed. If the coal tip was a murderer, the Coal Board's crime was worse. " (Parrott)

After reading this song I thought about ending my search for any kind of rebuttal. The first few articles I had read convinced me that the National Coal Board was solely responsible and that they should face the consequence. However, I believe it is always important to find a contrary argument, even if it is about “cold,” “hard” facts. Someone who developed those facts could have been wrong! I kept searching and found a few articles rebutting a few points made in the above articles. For one, a few articles claim that the springs were not dangerous as the National Coal Board thought. However, one example for proving the springs harmless was the fact that grandparents could remember playing in the streams. However, the N.C.B was trying to prove that the springs were feeding out of the sandstone, not if they were safe to play in.

Another article drawing connections to Aberfan and the Titanic said, “At Aberfan, the National Coal Board attempted to say it was caused by a geological fault, while after the Titanic went down the powerful shipping industry lobby got to work to shuffle off the blame to avoid tighter regulations” (Aberfan and Titanic twin Tragedies). The word “attempted” lets me know that the author does not believe the geological fault claim.

An article about wind power supports part of Jounrey’s argument. “With enough vision and political will, we will eventually have wind turbines out at sea and so begin to harness the power of the sea itself. Electricity production from wind technology will never have the tragic consequences summed up in such words as Aberfan, Chernobyl, Exxon Valdez, Piper Alpha, Brent Spar, and Milford Haven. Every time we switch on the light, turn on the computer, or put clothes into the washing machine we should consider the environmental consequences of having such a dependable source of power. With wind power what you see is what you get – a small visual impact, not a large invisible hazard” (Cryer). Some of you may ask how this supports Jounrey’s argument. Journrey believes that the dependence of coal had an effect on this situation by forcing the N.C.B. to focus more on their production rather than long-term effects. The people of Aberfan did indeed see the coal tip as a hazard before the disaster but the National Coal Board had a quota to meet. Is it worth it? I do not believe so! The dependable source of power may be the culprit indeed.

I blame the National Coal Board, the springs feeding out of sandstone, and the dependence on coal. However, it is up to you to decide which you blame more or less, or if the extent even matters. But should we all take the safe route and place all the blame on the National Coal Board or use this as an example and change how things are operated? Wind power won’t have the same kind of costs.

“Aberfan and Titanic twin Tragedies.” Western Mail. 21 October 1998. 29 January 2007. http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/politics/aberfan/twin.htm.

Cryer, Peter. “Wind Power.” 26 January 2007. http://www.bwea.com/pdf/ks2.pdf.

“Problems of Scale.” Nature. 12 August 1967. 26 January 2007. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v215/n5102/pdf/215683a0.pdf.

Ole, D. R.. "Aberfan." 2005 26 January 2007 http://www.red-dragonwales.com/SpecialPlaces/Aberfan.htm.

Parrott , Thom . "The Aberfan Coaltip Tragedy." 1966 29 January 2007. http://www.geocities.com/parrottsongs/recordings/aberfan.html.