A worrying trend has begun to develop within Irish social media culture, which I can only look at with anguish and horror.
In recent times – with the advent of social isolation and the resulting increase in social media usage – videos have begun to surface of people carrying out various ‘challenges’, involving dangerous farm machinery and equipment.
One such video, which garnered considerable traction and had me – as a farm accident survivor – watching on in trepidation, was filmed in our very own Emerald Isle.
Social media ‘fun’
Though such videos may seem, to most people, to be just a bit of fun, more of these are beginning to surface online. The particular video I’m thinking of showcased a young teenager in a piece of machinery that could have taken a life, if activated accidentally.
We, as a society, need to do more to promote safer farming practices. What about the young, impressionable children who may have also seen this video? What if they decide to make their own versions, when mammy and daddy aren’t around? You just never know who’s watching such content…and what they might be tempted to do.
Through Embrace FARM, we have met countless people who have either lost a limb or a loved one, as a result of an on-farm accident. They could tell you about the real impact it has had – not just on the individual but the whole family.
‘Wall of silence’
One of our members, who lost a leg before the age of three, often recounts the accident being met with a wall of silence at home – a wall of silence that lasted for over 60 years. He often says that his father never fully got over it. It’s food for thought…
As parents, farmers and members of the wider rural community, we need to stand together and show a ‘duty of care‘. We need to get our ducks in a row…and break the cycle.
If we don’t learn from our mistakes, one can only worry for the future. The statistics are already bad enough as they stand. Just imagine if the next person to succumb to an accident was one of your own.
What’s the one thing you can lose, but never get back? A limb or, worse again, your life…
From Peter Gohery, Embrace FARM