Box Jellyfish Death Brings Anger In The Philippines

 

Jahaziel Michaellie Maningdin is devastated and angry after the death of her daughter, five-year-old Kiera, who was fatally stung by a box jellyfish at a Philippines resort. 

A relaxing mother and child swim turned into a nightmare at All Hands Beach in Subic Bay when on a calm and sunny late-June morning this year, Keira suddenly screamed, collapsed and within a few agonising minutes was dead. 

She had stepped into the sticky tentacles of a lethal and endemic box jellyfish and was quickly, painfully killed by its lightning-fast acting and extremely potent venom.

This happened at a resort. A revenue-making resort attracting paying tourists that offers no information, no warning signs, no related first-aid protocols, no rapid-response procedures, no anything. 

Yet, aware of the risk and that box jellyfish are endemic to the area, they meanwhile promote their resort as “… great for swimming for all ages due to the gradually sloping depth of the shoreline. A Coral Reef with an abundance of Tropical Fish greet you daily. It is also a nesting site for Marine Turtles from October to February.” 

Perhaps the thing most likely to kill you at their beach is just a footnote in your receipt's T&Cs or an obscure website oneliner.

We all understand that drownings happen, accidents happen, anything can happen in the ocean and there must be a reasonable level of care and responsibility taken by the people that are guests at the resort; be proficient swimmers, be vigilant, use common sense and don't take unnecessary risks. 

Widely-regarded as the world's most venomous animal and the Number 1 most dangerous animal in all of Asia according to a Netflix documentary, box jellyfish are known to kill innocent victims who are blissfully unaware of a risk - worth warning about, don't you think?

Jahaziel lost the light of her life, terrifyingly and traumatically snuffed out in a matter of only minutes in the most excruciating way imaginable. 

The attention offered by the resort was too little, too late and, frankly, Keira never stood a chance of survival once stung owing to the resort not meeting, before nor after, its duty of care to its guests. 

Anger rapidly spread through social media and the community with the mainstream media, scientists and even those in politics responding to Keira’s heart-wrenching death. 

Everyone understands that by knowing about a potential death threat, the resort and local authorities have an obligation to provide information and warnings at a bare minimum so that swimmers can make an informed choice about taking a risk or not.

They are failing their duty of care. A child is dead and a family distraught and grieving. The fact is that this exact same scenario plays out throughout the Philippines far too often every year and it seems nothing is being done, nothing ever changes and nothing is not acceptable when society deserves and demands more.

Where is the responsibility and where is the regulation? 

No-one it seems is accountable. Private businesses providing a trustworthy service instead maximize profits at all costs while local authorities governed with serving the people routinely follow their too-often selfish agendas and the too-hard basket is overflowing.

It is now proven in another South-East Asian country with a similar historical box jellyfish problem that proper management works. Thailand invested in developing a system that has successfully minimized the risk of box jellyfish stings and at the same time improved outcomes with effective training and treatments. It has been years since a fatality was recorded in Thailand.

Armed with epidemiological and scientific evidence as well as a model system of success in the neighbourhood, the Philippines is not all hands on deck, it's sitting on its hands. The death of Keira at All Hands Beach in Subic Bay should be the absolute last straw. 

Lawyers have been consulted about possible legal action. But because it appears the resort and even the local government were negligent in not providing a reasonable duty of care that led to a death, it is actually and rightfully incumbent on them to show the initiative by owning the situation, acknowledging they must do better and providing an effective solution.

The solution is not simple yet it absolutely is. The hardest part it seems is the courage, consensus and commitment to make change that so far none of our leaders in business or government have been prepared to offer. 

It has to start somewhere because tragedies like Keira's have been devastating families around the country for decades.

The message to our leaders and decision-makers, those we pay to take the best care of us and those that profit from all of us; it's a simple coordinated plan involving education and information with some training and signs. There's infrastructure and expertise available to lessen the cost and it could be rolled out on a relatively shoe-string budget. 

In a disturbing display of arrogance and disrespect, All Hands Beach a few weeks following Keira’s passing had not read the room and posted on Facebook a victim-blaming, zero-accountability generic statement with no reference to Keira and simply washed their hands of any responsibility nor intention to change. 

It’s hypothetical to think what might have been if there had been warnings and staff at the ready. Thailand shows that it makes a profound and critical difference. Safety must always be the number one priority, especially when it comes to our children.

Here and now, Jahaziel must forever live with the heart-breaking and life-altering consequences without her beloved daughter Keira.

Read More:

• Children & Box Jellyfish
  
• Death & tragedy in the Philippines
• A far-ranging Philippines problem
• Pain in the Philippines
• 3 children dead in the Philippines

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