The deadly disaster in the Soma coal mine has torn our hearts out. In our recent history, we have not only experienced occupational accidents in coal mines, but also in the fields of construction, energy, shipyard building and seasonal labor.Why can't these disasters be prevented? Why do we come at the top of the occupational accidents list in Europe and come third in the world following Russia and India?Firstly, these questions should be answered and the answers should be applied by the politicians. But, it should not be limited to politics alone. That alone isn't enough to fully enact the right legislations and regulations. The implementation and supervision of the laws are equally important. Businessmen, civil society and media should all take responsibility on the matter. Unfortunately, the media in particular is so swamped with political tensions that it cannot pay attention to the environmental matters, occupational accidents and oning problems that affect our future.For a while now I have been receiving emails from a nongovernmental organization called "Support Group for Justice Seekers" that endeavors to limit occupational accidents.But whenever I intended to give voice to their cause, political tension intervened and I had to postpone it to a later time. I do not know whether it would make an impression or not, but it is truly unforgivable that a total of 1,235 workers have lost their lives in the past year alone.On May 10, just a few days ago, the Support Group for Justice Seekers sent me a report called "Almanac of occupational murders in 2013." As the phrase goes, this is an "emergency call." The families who lost their members in occupational incidents had this important detection: "We are the justice-seeker relatives of those who passed away in occupational disasters. Unfortunately one cannot discern the reality that everyday five to eight workers die in our country, unless they experience the same sorrow. We cannot envisage or estimate the grief involved when beloved ones die while earning their bread and butter. We cannot understand how offensive it must be to those relatives to hear occupational murders described as simply an "accident" and that deaths are considered as an inevitable part of destiny which cannot be avoided."It is impossible not to agree with their call. Do the dead come back? Obviously not. But our struggle for justice is out of respect to our losses and sense of responsibility for our fellow employees who have to work to earn a living.In order to prevent occupational murders and maintain remembrance for our losses, every first Sunday of the month we should keep guard of conscience and justice. We embrace every occupational murder case and accept it as our own as well as pursuing trials altogether to activate silent consciences in the struggle for justice.There are countries that have minimized the amount of occupational accidents they suffer.Of course coal mines are inherently risky by their nature. The world has gone through many greater mining disasters so far. But no one gave up producing coal, and through technology and legislation, the risk of accidents has dropped gradually. These countries increased the level of supervision and cut down on omissions. We can also achieve this. We can set to work by declaring April 28 as a day of mourning and remembrance, a day to remind us not forget those lost and to push us to prevent further deaths. It is almost certain that in Soma, negligence and mistakes claimed the lives of 301 people.