{"id":6944,"date":"2007-10-22T11:55:35","date_gmt":"2007-10-22T03:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/?p=6944"},"modified":"2013-11-22T12:12:32","modified_gmt":"2013-11-22T04:12:32","slug":"the-explainer-red-october","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quezon.ph\/2007\/10\/22\/the-explainer-red-october\/","title":{"rendered":"The Explainer: Red October"},"content":{"rendered":"
That was a scene from \u201cEmpire of the Sun,\u201d where the main character is separated from his family during the fall of Shanghai.<\/p>\n
With 11 dead,\u00a0 dozens wounded, hundreds more eyewitnesses or in the vicinity, the explosion at Glorietta 2 is a tragedy that has deeply shocked the nation.<\/p>\n
Tonight, we pause to remember the victims, sift through the testimony of eyewitnesses, and also try to begin picking up the pieces.<\/p>\n
Most of all, perhaps we can, all of us, begin to identify the lessons we can learn from this tragedy.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I\u2019m Manolo Quezon. The Explainer.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. What happened<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his first inaugural address, and told an America frightened by the Great Depression who their real enemy was.<\/p>\n So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory.<\/i><\/p>\n With FDR\u2019s words in mind, let\u2019s start off by pointing out that right now, there\u2019s a lot more we don\u2019t know about what happened at G2, than we actually do know.<\/p>\n Courtesy of Inquirer interactive, here is a bird\u2019s eye view of the Glorietta complex.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.inquirer.net\/specialfeatures\/gloriettablast\/multimedia.php<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s try to orient ourselves with this image as we tackle the first thing we have to do. And that is, to piece together what other people saw.<\/p>\n Here is what we know:<\/p>\n It happened after lunch, but way before rush hour. There was an explosion; there was heavy damage; there was panic and in some places, stampedes.<\/p>\n And this is what we know from eyewitness accounts. These eyewitness accounts are everyhere, I spent two days compiling the ones that appeared on line. And some others, too.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n