Christchurch comparisons

Three times recently, people posting on CHCH EQ Photos have compared Christchurch to a war zone or to a developing country.  There is understandable frustration at the slow progress of recovery in the residential red zones, and sorrow at the number of buildings that are being demolished because they are either so damaged they are deemed unsafe by CERA or they are considered uneconomic to repair by their owners and insurers. 

During 2012 I visited Lebanon, a former war zone, and Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in Asia.  The resemblance of Christchurch to either a war zone or a developing country is superficial.  War zones and developing countries are untidy and ugly and they share that characteristic with the red zones in Christchurch – both in the central city and outlying suburbs.  There the resemblance ends.

The demolition sites of Christchurch are orderly, there are health and safety signs, cordon fences to keep out the unauthorised, friendly army officers at the cordon helping tourists navigate to their destinations.  The demolition workers deftly handle very large machines and sort the piles of demolition rubble into different kinds of material for recycling.  This is a very different environment from war zones where the bullet holes are still evident, or the developing world  where there are few controls on worker safety or how to deal with demolition rubble. 

Everywhere construction and demolition workers exhibit skill in the work they do.  Our demolition workers have heavy machinery to assist them in their work, whereas in the developing world far more of the work is done manually without the assistance of machinery.  We are often mesmerised by the skill of the heavy machinery operators as they deftly sort demolition rubble.  The demolition and construction workers that Christchurch needs so much, often work in difficult, noisy and unpleasant environments.  Sometimes their work environment is dangerous as well.  They deserve our respect for the work they do.

Frustration at the slowness of progress in some areas, disagreement with the direction of the development plans, anger at the decision makers who choose to demolish rather than repair – these are all reasonable responses to the situation.  Comparing Christchurch to either a war zone or a developing country  is an unfair comparison.