Candle and fire

^{My colleague looked distressed today. In the afternoon, he told me that he was leaving early to go to the hospital, to see his neighbor who got burned last night.}

^{He continued.}

^{Yesterday early night, his neighbor girl, a 13-year old, was reading for her course review in a house with a candle light as the power was out as usual. She then fell asleep. The candle then fell, and it did not take much time for the candle to reach the bed mattress which incited a fire. Her family members were outside the house sitting and chilling, as Guineans usually do when the power is out. By the time her grandfather noticed the fire, ran into the house and took the girl out, the girl was badly burnt. My colleague took them to the hospital. The girl died the following morning. The grandfather was hospitalized.}

^{Just because the government cannot provide continuous electricity to all citizens; just because the households either cannot afford or does not have the consciousness to buy a safer torch, a young life had to be sacrificed. And they say this is not a rare news in this capital. Too sad, and too frustrating.}

^{同僚が疲れた顔をしていた。午後になると、今日はお隣さんを病院にお見舞いに行くから、早く事務所を出ると言って来た。}

^{同僚は続けて話した。}

^{昨晩、隣に住む１３歳の女の子が、学校の復習で読み物をしていたらしい。いつもどおり停電だったので、ろうそくの火で読んでいたらしい。そして女の子は居眠りしてしまった。その間ろうそくが倒れ、ベッドのマットに火がつき、あっという間に燃え上がってしまった。女の子の家族は、庭で涼んでいた。火に気づき、女の子のおじいさんが、燃え上がる家に飛び込み女の子を見つけたときは、ひどいやけど状態だったらしい。そして車を持っている私の同僚が、女の子とおじいさんを病院に連れ込んだが、女の子は翌朝亡くなってしまった。おじいさんのほうもやけどがひどく、入院が続く。}

^{政府が国民に電気を提供できないから、家庭が電気ランプ・懐中電灯を買うお金がないから、親がろうそくの危険性に対する意識が薄いから・・・若い命が犠牲になってしまった。そして、この首都ではこれは珍しくないことだと聞く。悔しく、悲しい。}