A farm accident has claimed the life of three young sisters in a small, Alberta community. They were playing on a truck as it was being loaded with canola, fell in, and suffocated. One was taken to hospital where she later died. Two of the girls are 11 and one is 13.
This issue is being widely discussed on social media, especially facebook.
Some people claim it wasn’t an accident, that the parents should have been more vigilant in watching their children.
Other people say it’s what farm children do, play around equipment, whether it’s being operated or not.
As many people in Whitewater Region read about, or heard about, this farm accident, many began recalling their own childhoods growing up on a farm, thought about their children who are growing up on a farm, or thought about other children they know who live or work on a farm.
The debate is whether this was a preventable accident.
In one word, yes. The children should have been kept away from the truck as it was being loaded.
But, it’s just not that simple.
One was a teenager, and the other two were almost teens. Raising children, you know they don’t always listen to what a parent says. The facts in this story aren’t yet known. Maybe they were warned several times not to play on the truck. Maybe they were fascinated with the seeds as they were hurtling into the truck from the hopper.
The canola seeds are tiny and in a moment a person would be sucked into them.
While the families in this small community mourn the loss of three young lives, let’s not judge the adults, because you can bet they are judging themselves.
Let’s pray for them, pray for the whole community. If a child dies in Whitewater Region, the sorrow is felt by everyone, whether you know the family or not.
The farming community comes together and provides support in whatever way they can. And the farming community in Whitewater Region, as most likely near the farming community where the tragedy occurred, is more than just the farmers. It’s the people who live and work in the area.
Those three young lives touched many people’s lives. Let us pray the families find solace and comfort.
God Bless them all.
