Glen View 8 burns again: At this point, even the arsonist is bored

SO, here we are again.

For the umpteenth time, the Glen View Area 8 Home Industry Complex has done what it does best.

No, not making furniture, but catching fire.

On Saturday night, an inferno barrelled through the complex and caused extensive damage.

At this point, Mai Juju quite frankly believes that even the arsonist must have lost track of how many times it has been razed to the ground. The seemingly endless cycle of disaster, tears, rebuilding, recovery and yet another fire again is now getting ridiculous.

Even scriptwriters would reject such a plot to a movie as being too unrealistic.

One would imagine that even insurance companies would not want to be found anywhere near the complex.

But here is the thing that nobody wants to say out loud: As much as we would like to be empathetic, we have become numb.

Mai Juju is not proud of it, but when she heard about another fire at Glen View 8, her first reaction was not shock.

It was not even mild surprise because, really, what else is there to say?

We have run out of shock and we have also run out of outrage.

Again, let us not pretend that fires are the complex’s only problem.

The place has no toilets. No proper ablution facilities.

And the entire setup is a firefighter’s fever dream.

To call it a home industry complex is to be very kind.

It is actually a case study in everything that can go wrong when you mix carpentry, desperation, touts and everything that should not be found at a modern furniture complex.

Enough has been said. It is now time for action.

The time for inordinate prevarication should now end.

Rebuild it. Regulate it. Remove the touts. And for goodness’ sake, build toilets so people don’t have to use the bush next to a carpentry workshop full of sawdust and varnish.

Because here is the truth that burns brighter than any of these previous fires: The people of Glen View 8 are not arsonists.

They are also not idiots.

They are hardworking artisans who have had their livelihoods turned into ash so many times that they now rebuild with one hand while holding a fire extinguisher in the other.

They deserve better than empty promises.

So, let us finally, finally, finally do something.

Not next year. Not after more studies.

Do it now before the only thing rising from Glen View 8 is smoke, resignation and the faint smell of another dream gone up in flames.

Ndikoko!