Hello everyone! This is the place where I put art and asks of my characters. Mainly on Twitter: @SpecterCrums, Linktree: https://linktr.ee/spectercrums
as a hong konger i feel the need to speak out and give a local's perspective on the fire that has ravaged tai po's wang fuk court because there's so much disinformation and western gazed reports regarding it.
a quick background to the incident: a fire broke out in the housing estate of wang fuk court and caused the burning of 7/8 blocks in the estate. so far a total of 128 deaths have been reported with around 200 more missing and 79 injured. the fire burned for a total of 43 hours. the housing estate was undergoing a renovation project that cost 330 million HKD (around 42mil USD) when the construction material of one block caught on fire and subsequently spread to the rest of the buildings. around 4.6k people live there and majority of them are elderly.
a lot of the media is blaming the bamboo scaffolding for the cause of the fire's spread. that is not true and is a distraction from the actual problem of corruption that caused this avoidable tragedy.
for starters, bamboo scaffolding is a centuries old practice that is a recognized cultural heritage in hong kong. everything in hk, including the iconic skyline, was built using bamboo scaffolding. centuries of cantonese opera shows hosted in bamboo theatres had hot food stalls with no issues of burning. it is not because it's cheaper or from an inflated sense of nostalgia but a factual thing you can easily confirm by looking up any heat test with bamboo. but the most obvious proof you can find is that the site itself shows the scaffolding mostly in-tact while the safety net is almost completely gone.
which brings me to my next point about the nets. they have been proven again and again by residents own tests to not meet standards of being fire-retardant. there have been complaints made an entire year before that were dismissed as inflammatory rumors aimed at hindering the renovation. this is a test from TVB news showing how a net with fire-retardant properties vs a net without would react under fire. but if that's not enough, here are multiple videos showcasing how the fire's spread was completely accelerated by the nets flammability.
video showcasing the start of the fire (with jumpcuts showing the spread within a 10 minute window)
video showcasing another block of the estate that ignites into a chimney of flames within 30 seconds
（backup)
左邊一棟，由外圍開始見到火到燒到頂，
30秒！
就算有咩警鐘都唔會有用
rather conveniently as well is that construction sites across hk the day after have begun removing the safety nets. i know of people working in construction who can corroborate as well.
as always, the incentive for such corner cutting is money. fire-retardant nets cost 6-10 times more than regular nets. among this was the use of styrofoam boards as opposed to metal for blocking out the windows within the construction site, which as another factor in aiding the spread of the fire.
this renovation project was the most expensive out of the 3 proposed for the estate. it was in part paid by the residents, with each tenant required to pay 16k for the project. i would also like to add that as wang fuk court is a part of the home ownership scheme, they are owned by the housing authority, which is an agency of the hong kong government.
330 million in funds yet they could not even afford the bare minimum of fire proof materials? their greed and corruption is what turned the housing estate into a death trap for the thousands living there, NOT the bamboo scaffolding.
another tragic (and suspicious) factor in the deadliness of this incident is that the fire alarm system for all 8 buildings failed to sound, which likely caused the deaths of many more as most people reported not even knowing there was a fire until either the smoke reached them or they could see the flames.
the government's response to this has been to immediately roll out policies to switch to steel scaffolding as opposed to addressing the real issue of corruption involved. likely because of the election coming up next week (which has still not yet been cancelled despite the tragedy) where there are candidates directly involved or connected with district councilors that allowed this to happen by denying and shutting down resident's concerns. people are also concerned that this is just another method of streamlining the process of outsourcing labor from mainland, as their standard is using steel scaffolding and their labor is far cheaper. this would also allow the mainland industry of providing steel scaffoldings to break into hk.
majority of the relief effort has been funded by or provided the citizens of hk themselves. volunteers have poured in from across hk as well as the bordering shenzhen to help deliver supplies for displaced residents. if there is one feel good thing to take away from this incident is that we fucking care about each other, far more than this shit ass government. the initial relief funds offered by the government was a mere 10k per family, a whole 6k less than what residents paid for the renovations that took their homes and just plain disrespectful when they've lost their everything. (as of right now it has been raised to 50k, likely due to backlash)
i mostly wrote this post as a half rant and half psa to let people know from a hkgers pov the blatant display of greed and negligence that allowed for something like this to happen. this is not a tragic accident but a situation so preventable that all the people involved should all be charged with murder. this is the deadliest disaster hk has faced in the last 70 years, and the death toll is only expected to rise as the fire brigade actually starts breaking into flats individually.
hk is very small so most people, myself included either know or know of someone directly affected by the tragedy. about 50% of hkgers, again myself included, also live in these types of housing estates. i'm deeply disturbed and appalled at the implications and would like more people to know how complicit our government is in this incident.
Beginning Friday the 11th, RTVS will be holding another 3-day weekend fundraising event for the people of Palestine.
It is a tragedy that Palestine is still enduring the same nightmarish conditions that they were this time last year. There has been little to no improvement in things as Israel continues to break ceasefires and block incoming aid as they try and continue their genocide. We would like to once again rally our community and as many others as we can reach to give what support we are able to to Palestine's people.
Like last year, the event will not be a traditional stream fundraiser, rather than pointing people at one donation point, we will be suggesting a number of different recipients for support. However, this year may be organized slightly differently than the way we did it last time; more information regarding that will be shared in the next few days once we confirm our plan. Overall, it's the same idea: all donations to Palestinians and aid groups will be tallied into our grand total for the event.
The all-day, all-weekend streaming event will once again feature a rotation of hosts from Radio TV Solutions putting on all kinds of events. Themed segments, classic segments, crazy gameshow-type beats, chill segments, gaming w/ Da Whole Crew and MORE await you. The event will be hosted at http://stream.rtvsfundraiser.live/. Mark your calendars, tell your friends, and GET READY!
Log's Humanities Block for RPG Education is in session. this college course is worth 78,000 credits. which just so happens to be how much we've raised - let's hit 80k before the end of his class!!! come learn all about BAITEN KAITOS
Beginning Friday the 11th, RTVS will be holding another 3-day weekend fundraising event for the people of Palestine.
It is a tragedy that Palestine is still enduring the same nightmarish conditions that they were this time last year. There has been little to no improvement in things as Israel continues to break ceasefires and block incoming aid as they try and continue their genocide. We would like to once again rally our community and as many others as we can reach to give what support we are able to to Palestine's people.
Like last year, the event will not be a traditional stream fundraiser, rather than pointing people at one donation point, we will be suggesting a number of different recipients for support. However, this year may be organized slightly differently than the way we did it last time; more information regarding that will be shared in the next few days once we confirm our plan. Overall, it's the same idea: all donations to Palestinians and aid groups will be tallied into our grand total for the event.
The all-day, all-weekend streaming event will once again feature a rotation of hosts from Radio TV Solutions putting on all kinds of events. Themed segments, classic segments, crazy gameshow-type beats, chill segments, gaming w/ Da Whole Crew and MORE await you. The event will be hosted at http://stream.rtvsfundraiser.live/. Mark your calendars, tell your friends, and GET READY!
Log's Humanities Block for RPG Education is in session. this college course is worth 78,000 credits. which just so happens to be how much we've raised - let's hit 80k before the end of his class!!! come learn all about BAITEN KAITOS
im making a post to support the fundraiser of ola @olagaza this is a verified campaign and is #205 in el-shab-hussein and nabulsi's vetted fundraiser list
Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azh… Nesma Khazendar needs your support for Ola's Family Call for your S
ola is a graduate student and math teacher from gaza. she was studying at al-azhar university and had just started teaching mathematics at a school when the war began. she was very happy and excited to be teaching and to move into this chapter of her life, but because of the war everything has changed.
her neighborhood, home, university, and the school she taught at were all completely destroyed in the bombings. her and her family lost everything and are now displaced living in shelters with very few of the necessities people need. theyve been forcibly displaced multiple times since then due to the genocidal israeli armys constant changes to the size and location of 'safe zones,' where they often kill civilians with impunity anyways. theres very little food or clean water available and its priced far higher than most people can afford.
i dont think many of us reading this can truly understand what its like to live like this, with no food or shelter, with the threat of death and torture hanging over you at any second– but please try to put yourself in her shoes for a second. ola and i are the same age, and were both graduate students. but while my classes are going to be starting soon, her school (and all the schools in gaza) were completely destroyed or rendered inoperable. many of the students have been killed. reports say that the rubble itself will take years to clear. if i think about what my city would look like right now with the same level of devastation that exists in gaza its almost hard to comprehend because its such an insanely horrific level of destruction. why should this be acceptable or simply background noise to people just because its happening to gaza and not to a western city?
please share and donate. ola's campaign has been going slowly lately but the situation in gaza is not getting any better. do not let this die down just because this genocidal war has been going on for so long. things are getting worse and your donations are a serious lifeline to families on here. what you do actually matters, so please donate.
Hello! My name is Coffee (they/them), and I'm trying to leave Texas for someplace better. However, that's really expensive.
To cover those costs, I'm throwing a bundle. $3k would help me pay rent at the new and old apartment for a month, while also assisting me with rental fees and other additional expenses!
My current goal is $3,000!
This bundle features the creative talents of...
aglennco, caro asercion, devin decibel, gavin fregeau, matthew guzdial, gints halcejs, mynar lenahan, brendan mcleod, the medusa doctorine, anna murphy and rosetta puya-devine, cindi peters, jake pritchard, yuri runnel, solace gray, superbiasedgary, v for valensa, alice v, aaron voight, and myself - coffee!
The bundle includes 39 items that would normally cost $182.24 in total - for only $10! Ten bucks to own and play some of the best that indie gaming (ttrpg and otherwise) has to offer!
So go to https://itch.io/b/2708/coffees-moving-fundraiser to pick up a copy!
you may have seen me post about fidaa’s campaign @fidaa-family2 (this is a verified campaign)
graphic by @fading-event-608
fidaa is a 29 year old woman from gaza with two very young children, muhammed and sila, one of whom was born during the war. her home was destroyed and she’s been displaced many times, and is currently separated from the rest of her family- her husband, her many siblings, and her parents. i can only imagine how nerve-wracking this is.
she’s doing her best to take care of her children by herself, despite facing hunger, thirst, widespread disease, and the threat of death. the other day, there was intense bombing near her and another family close to her was killed. life in gaza right now is hell and she told me they feel like they are just waiting for their turn to die.
fidaa and i talk often, and i feel lucky to know her. she’s an incredibly strong person, she travels long distances to find limited supplies for her kids and helps her siblings raise money even though shes separated from them.
but she needs help. the situation in gaza is so bad right now, the idf is preventing aid from entering and the food, water, and medicine available are extremely expensive. please share and donate to help her and her children survive and eventually leave gaza
I am Fidaa from Gaza. I am 29 years old. I stand before you as a person trying to preserve his fami… Abby S needs your support for Help Fida
i was talking to fidaa and she told me her daughter sila is sick and she has been very busy caring for her. it really broke my heart to read these messages from her… i can only imagine how painful it is knowing your child is suffering but having very few means to do anything about it. its so horrific the conditions people are living in right now
pleas keep sharing and donating, your donations are a lifeline to her family
We, (Najwa, Jana, Farah, and Maryam), are the sisters of Shaheed Khalid Saed Ash-Shawwah, who was martyred on 07/31/24 along with Al Jazeera correspondent Ismail Al-Ghoul and his colleague, photographer Rami Al-Rifi . Khalid was our older and only brother and he was a great support for us and others. As you may heard Khalid’s story in the news, he was bombed while he was riding his bicycle coming back from delivering food to our old and injured neighbors.
Before the IDF forces killed our brother Khalid, they forced us to evacuate our house and left everything behind. They then destroyed our house and our father’s restaurant. We had to move at least 10 times since every new area we seek refuge to gets bombed.
Currently, the 4 of us and our parents, are living devastating and sad life in a bombed room in Gaza. It is extremely difficult for us to get the basic needs of food, water, and shelter.
We sincerely hope you can empathize with our dire situation and consider supporting us. We are raising funds in order to be able to pay the rising cost of basic necessities in north Gaza. Our family is large and the cost of survival in north Gaza is astronomical. If you have anything you can spare, we implore you to support us. From where you are right now, you personally can help save our lives in north Gaza.
Please donate and/or replog 🥺🙏🇵🇸
Hello Dear,
We, (Najwa, Jana, Farah, and Maryam), the sisters of Shahe… Nesma Khazendar needs your support for Help Khalid Sisters in Gaza
Please reblog our post, follow us @khalid-Sisters and boost our posts, and repost the link to our campaign across all your social media.
Your generosity has the power to make a significant difference, and will give us hope that there will a better future waiting for us once the war stops.
We ask God to bless you and your families and to protect you all from all calamities and to never make you feel or go through what we are going through.
Hello again, I am Aseel from Gaza, I live in war, fear and destruction, we have been living for almost a year now but we do not know how long, we have been displaced from our home more than 11 times,
every time I was displaced to another place I prayed that this would be the last, but then came the idea of forced exit to search for safety where there is no safety, we got very tired and our bodies were exhausted, we no longer had the energy to continue, we lived hunger, thirst, cold and all the difficult conditions that humans cannot imagine,
we did not imagine that a day would come when we would live all of this, I lost my family and my childhood home, even my friends are no longer there, I was left alone!! I am looking for salvation from death, I fear death and I dread it, the idea is terrifying to leave your dreams, ambitions and the life you planned for and go from this world, we do not deny death but we do not want to live it now,
I had a beautiful life, suddenly I do not know how I lost my life, we live in a tent that can only accommodate 3 people, made of nylon that no human can bear, just standing in it for more than two minutes during the day is enough to melt you, in addition to insects, diseases and lack of privacy, imagine all this!! Can you live??
In addition, my father had a stroke due to the loss, and my mother also needs care due to chronic diseases and the lack of treatment, and her condition is getting worse. I am the only one who takes care of them. I really fear loss and I do not want to lose, as I lost a large part of my family, my home, my work, and my entire previous life.
Things here are more difficult than you imagined, reality is painful
We wake up every day to the smell of death, I have been surrounded by tanks and helicopters more than 4 times, each time I do not know how to survive? It seems that my death has not come yet
I do not want to die!! 🥺
Please help me save my life and get out of here, life is impossible
Your donation will save my life, it is the only way, hand in hand we can achieve the goal please
My campaing vetted by
@90-ghost
@fairuzfan
@nabulsi @appsa
Hello, I’m Margaret Brown, located in Seattle, Washington. I’m organizin… Margaret Brown needs your support for Support Asil Fight for Life
Hello, my name is Amal Ghilan, I am 25 years old, a mother of three children (Abdullah 8 years old, Salwa 6 years old, and the youngest is Nour 9 months old). We were living in a beautiful house full of happiness until this war of extermination came, our house was bombed on the third day of the war (and I was eight months pregnant at the time), our house and car were destroyed 😭
my father-in-law and my husband’s sister were killed, and we lost our only source of income, so we were displaced from one place to another more than once, and I suffered from severe malnutrition during my pregnancy due to the lack of bread until the time came for my delivery, so I did not have a warm crib or even clothes to protect my little girl from the cold of winter 😢, and we were in December, where the journey of childbirth is difficult without medical care, so I left the hospital with my little girl to that damned tent that was eating our bodies from the severity of the cold, as my children did not have warm clothes to relieve them from the bitter cold, and suddenly we saw death with our own eyes from the occupation tanks, so we were forced to move again to Rafah, despite the difficulty of displacement, it is very expensive in addition to the high price All the goods were crazy and we had no source of income which made my children suffer from severe malnutrition. 😔
Then in May we were forced to leave Rafah and go to a shelter school in Al-Maghazi where we lived with 6 families in one classroom. Suddenly the school was bombed and we escaped certain death, so we were forced to move to a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis where the sun’s rays began to burn our skin and melt our bodies. My children were afflicted with skin diseases and amoebiasis due to the scarcity and scarcity of water and the difficulty of bringing and carrying it from long distances under the scorching sun. And here we are suffering daily inside this hateful tent that does not protect from the heat of the sun or the cold of winter. I hope that you will help me save my children by evacuating them outside of Gaza before it is too late.
This campaign is vetted by association through @eslamfamily1 (vet, #175 on the Bees & Watermelons spreadsheet). Amal is Eslam's sister. Proof under cut
Disclaimer: I'm not an official vetter. I personally believe this campaign is legitimate given the evidence and encourage you to share and donate if you feel comfortable.
Tagging random ppl. Share and donate if possible. Want off my 'mailing list'? Please message me!
We were living a beautiful, ambitious and peaceful life, until a monster attacked us, which is the genocidal war that is destroying us.
I am Anas from the besieged northern Gaza Strip, which suffers from hunger, thirst and deprivation of food and nourishment due to the siege.
We are suffering from a severe shortage of basic foodstuffs, which has led to a severe deficiency in immunity.
We in Gaza are exposed to genocide every day, every hour, every minute, every second. We need your help.
I lost my seat in school, which I hoped to build my future from and my dream of becoming a doctor.
We lost our livelihood and daily sustenance after the war destroyed our agricultural land, which was our source of livelihood.
My name is Anas Al-Sharfa. Since October 7, 2023, we have been suffering from a br… Anas Alshrafa needs your support for Donate to allow my
VETTED BY BUTTERFLY 🦋NU 913 here
TikTok link to check
1911€ out of 50,000€ raised Help us complete this amount to get my family out of destruction and war Help me with $5 or $10Yes it is a small amount but it helps save my family's lives.
My name is Mohamed Nasr, and I live in Gaza with my small family. I worked as an aluminum technician, striving hard to provide a decent life for my wife, Yasmin Al-Jamal, my daughter Elyne, and my son Nasr. We had a small but comfortable home, and our work was our source of income. But everything changed suddenly when the war broke out. Our peaceful life was shattered. Our home, my family’s house, and my workplace were all destroyed. In a few moments, we lost everything we had built through our hard work and sweat.
"A small part of suffering"
Hello everyone, my name is Mohammed Nasr, my wife's name is Yasmine … Mohammed Nasr needs your support for Helping Mohammad's Family :Escapi
We were displaced and moved to a small tent in the south, far from everything we once cherished. I was injured while trying to check on my family and couldn't get the necessary treatment. My wife, Yasmin, who suffers from cancer, needs urgent and effective treatment, but we have no resources to meet this pressing need.
Hello everyone, my name is Mohammed Nasr, my wife's name is Yasmine … Mohammed Nasr needs your support for Helping Mohammad's Family :Escapi
Hello everyone, my name is Mohammed Nasr, my wife's name is Yasmine … Mohammed Nasr needs your support for Helping Mohammad's Family :Escapi
As we try to adapt to our new situation, we are in desperate need of urgent support. Our children, who have lost everything they knew, are now trying to meet our basic needs such as food, water, and medicine. Despite my pain and loss, I am doing my best to provide for my family, but the situation becomes more complicated each day.
Hello everyone, my name is Mohammed Nasr, my wife's name is Yasmine … Mohammed Nasr needs your support for Helping Mohammad's Family :Escapi
We need immediate help for the necessary treatment and care. Any support that can rescue us from this dire situation and restore some hope for a better future will have a significant impact on our lives.
Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azhar University in Gaza Palestine. I truly appreciate you taking a moment to read my story. As you reading my message, myself and my family, “my mother, father, three sisters, and my little brother,” are fighting death in northern Gaza and trying to survive under all kinds of suffering including but not limited to fear, instability, and starvation, thirst, and poverty.
For 11 months until now, we have been struggling to get proper food after prices increased by 15 to 20 times, struggling to have clean water for use and drinking. We lacked security and stability as we were forced to evacuate our house and left everything behind.
I sincerely hope you can empathize with our dire situation and consider supporting us. You can follow me to make sure I am not a scammer and to inquire about any details. Your generosity has the power to make a significant difference.
Please reblog my post, follow me and boost my posts, and repost the link to our campaign across all your social media.
My campaign has been vetted by @90-ghost , @northgazaupdates , @el-shab-hussein , and @nabulsi 's vetted list, line 205.
Thank you for standing by me ❤️.
Please donate and/or reblog 🥺🙏🇵🇸
Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azh… Nesma Khazendar needs your support for Ola's Family Call for your S
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