I met several teenagers who, with little preaching, fell easily into the terrorism trap. This raises a few questions: why are they readily and easily drifting towards militancy? Is it because the Taliban propaganda machine is so appealing and rich in its contents? Or is it the culture and the environment that works like a breeding nursery for the militants? Unfortunately, it is both. The propaganda part is important and must be understood first. When we go through the propaganda material produced by the Taliban, we find that they do not have access to the mainstream public; most of the materials they use comes from the Urdu press and that, mostly, the material is published and broadcasted by one of the leading media groups. My sources told me that this issue was raised at the meeting of the owners with anchors and columnists a few months back but, unfortunately, we do not see any change whatsoever.
We also need to understand that it is not the hardcore militants whom we should fear but their supporters and sympathisers sitting in urban centres writing articles and coming on television talk shows. I put them in the category of ‘intellectual terrorists’. They give the terrorists justification for their acts and present them as revenge even if they kill unarmed and innocent civilians.
Another section whose speeches and statements are used by the Taliban as propaganda is that of the politicians and retired military men. I call them political terrorists. This includes the Tehreek-e-Insaf, Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) and their typical stance after every inhuman act is that it could not have been done by a Muslim even if the perpetrators claim responsibility. The second part, which helps the Taliban in their recruitment, is closed cultures. Having a Pashtun background, my focus is completely on the rigid Pashtun culture that gives little opportunity of entertainment and has been coming under the onslaught of Wahabiism since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Driven by materialism and class consciousness, the young generation is drifting fast into the hands of militants as they promise financial rewards for their families if they surrender themselves to their mission.
Gradually, this is becoming a way of life in the Pashtun belt and to do away with it is not going to be that easy whether the Americans or its allied forces leave or otherwise. Fast track economic development, a political process to keep the restless youth busy and progressive education could help stop militancy from becoming a way of life.
My 10-year-old niece told me how children talk of the Taliban and suicide blasts in her school. She told me how it has become a routine thing for students to talk about militancy. The teacher’s role has become very important in cultivating a culture of peace and tolerance. The genuine NGOs working in the field of education should come up with something concrete not only to train the teachers in how to handle this situation but also by introducing creative programmes for children to immunise them from falling into the trap of militancy.
We need more than reforms in our educational system. Pakistan neither has the capacity nor the resources of other countries affected by terror attacks, which are working with the children affected by post-traumatic stress disorder caused by any form of terror. It is very important to treat this as early as possible, otherwise it becomes untreatable. One such example is Israel. To reach out to children affected by terror, they have specially trained psychologists and social workers who are on call 24/7. They have relief programmes for children and occasionally organise days out for them in distant areas away from their homes. They also involve families and communities as their role is crucial for the rehabilitation process. They have multidisciplinary staff that specialises in giving a child the needed support and bringing them back into normal life with the full participation of several NGOs and volunteer organisations for child relief. They reach out to children even in hospitals, organise trips into the great outdoors and open talks and avenues of socialising with other children so that they know they are not alone and that there are many more out there who are affected like them.
We need to love our children and not let them become part of the ongoing militancy — like one of my very bright students who lost his life as a militant. It is time we realise the seriousness of the issue before it gets too late and we lose a whole generation to militancy because we made them become the children of terrorism.
(Concluded)
The writer can be reached at [email protected]