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Lifeguards needed

I'm writing in response to the appalling disaster at Baishawan Beach this past weekend -- the drowning of four young people on Sunday.

It was only the previous weekend that I was enjoying my first visit to this lovely stretch of sand, just a short distance from Taipei. As I walked along the shore on that beautiful sunny afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to see a beach full of people enjoying the lovely day. I barely took notice of the lone empty lifeguard chair. It was then that friends told me that only two weeks before, a young man drowned on that beach. Apparently, this stretch of water is known for its occasional dangerous tides and currents. And sadly, its frequent drownings.

This is an open letter to those people who are in a position to make a difference. Please, use whatever resources you have at your disposal and see to it that somebody is guarding these beaches.

In countries that have a long history of recreational swimming and swimming education, you will see the beaches fully staffed and protected by trained lifeguards. Anything less would be considered irresponsible.

Teaching an entire nation to swim may take a generation. Taiwan cannot wait any longer. Since it is clear that small beach communities lack the resources and are incapable or unwilling to provide even the minimum lifeguard services for their beaches, something else has to be done.

Perhaps the national government can step in and make this a priority. Let's forget about pandas for a moment or the latest tabloid scandal and focus on something that we can do to make an immediate difference. I would suggest that a handful of military conscripts could volunteer to be trained as lifeguards. They could then be sent out on the weekends to protect the beaches. This certainly would be cost effective and it would take the pressure off of small communities.

No beach can be made 100 percent safe even for strong swimmers. However, an active beach patrol with trained lifeguards would make tragedies, like the one this past weekend, rare events.

Andrew Schwimmer
Taipei

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