Waking up to the dreadful news of the viscious attacks on civilians in Mumbai. Targetting British and American passport holders and upscale targets such as the two 5 star hotels, Taj Majal and Oberoi
I listened to the Today 4 programme travelling into work about the situation and there was an interview with a man who had barricaded himself into his room in the Taj Majal hotel where he believed terrorists were still hiding out. The tv and radio channels had closed down, no telephones working and he was only able to contact the outside world using his Blackberry – this caused me to think about communication in times of crisis.
The Oberoi has a statement on its website:
”Despite all efforts we are unable to make contact with the persons inside the hotel. Therefore at present, we do not have more information than what is being relayed by the media. We will update you as soon as we have confirmed information on further developments.
For those families of people trapped there, they must be feeling so isolated not being able to communicate with their loved ones. Mumbai bloggers and twitters are offering help to relatives to get them in touch. Mumbai Blog offered on line help as people realised that the phone lines were clogged and not working even though there natural instinct was to ring or SMS.
John Ribeiro of IDG News – “A trapped hotel guest used his mobile phone to send an MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) video clip of police action to a local TV channel, IBN Live. The channel has been encouraging witnesses to send MMS as part of their citizen journalism program.”
It would appear that communication in its many forms rises to the occasion in the face of adversity.
Hello Julie
I remember the twin tower attack and the way those on the planes used their mobiles to send final messages to love ones that they will never see again.
But did those at Lockerbie get that chance? Did the fans at Hillsborough get a chance to use the technology to say how they felt – No. But the press used the technology of the media to paint a picture that was never true but it sold papers – well The Sun did for one day in Merseyside and then they closed them out!!
Technology can be a help and also a block on what needs to be communicated.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those being held against their will. If technology and communication techniques can help them keep in touch with the outside world then lets use it.
Paul
I was thinking about the twin towers too, when I read your post. I also remembered being in London on 7/7 and being really shaken that all the mobile phone networks went down alonsgside the transport network. Having been so used to being able to be in immediate touch with pretty much everyone I know, it somehow heightened the horror of the situation to feel suddenly completely cut off.
As Penny says, I too remember the mobile phone network going down in Central London. Along with colleagues, we werent allowed to leave our building. One of our team kept trying to get through to his wife who was at a meeting in the Midlands to reassure her. Some time in the afternoon he got through and was actually overcome with emotion and mumbled that he was “alright”. His wife (who hadnt been near a news network all day) thought he’d lost the plot to call her at work and replied “Whatever” and hung up! She did ring back later to apologise and we all had a laugh about it.
Lots of texting to people to check that evryone in your extended network was OK.
How quickly though the new technology is changing our responses to emergencies and making us more engaged. But can also be used to encourage violence.
I agree Deborah, technology is changing our responses and making us more engaged -but it can also have its downside. People using their mobile phones to record incidents in real time rather than trying to help others. I’ve heard cases where emergency services have actually been hindered by ‘citizen journailsts’ trying to get photos or footage from the scene. This isn’t necessarily a new phenomena, paparazzi have long been accused of this, but does mean there are far more people to contend with.