Daily Times

It turned out to be a real crisis. A squirrel had sneaked into the house. Nothing worked, as we tried to lure her out of the door, with threatening gestures and food baits. She ran around merrily, and then sat unmoved as if she knew the law. We could not touch her. Leaving her alone for the night was not feasible, as she could gnaw at anything in the house. Call the wild life department. “Take it easy,” the voice on the other side warned. “This year the squirrels haven’t bred in the winters. That is in itself a cause for concern. Do not make unnecessary sounds. She might get stressed. We are on our way”. They came, gave us small talk on squirrels, and lovingly whisked her away. All heaved a sigh of relief.

I was left with my thoughts. Back home, the police opens indiscriminate fire on a protesting crowd in Model Town, Lahore, 17 killed, many wounded, including men, women and children. For the grand finale the police enter, and there is destruction, trauma and real terror. ‘His Majesty’ slept in peace in the same neighbourhood, only to discover in the morning that the ‘battle’ had already been won. The message had been aptly conveyed. ‘Might remains right,’ lest you had some cheeky ideas.

The big ones trade in death with impunity: the political boss, the drug baron, the general, the robber, and the offender. Life and death lose their meanings amidst gun-battles, bomb explosions, and perpetual fear, all nerve racking. I am certain that the squirrel protectors had overreacted. Attitude towards life could not be so drastically contradictory between two human societies.

I read a Hadith when I was in Pakistan. “Greet everyone you meet whether you know him or not,” or words to that effect. Next day, during my morning walk I started to greet everyone I came across. Some gave me an askance look, others backed away startled, some replied, and hurried away as if the next thing they expected was either a pistol or a begging bowl. Only one aging man reciprocated in full measure, and even asked how I was doing. He became my friend; his bright eyes filled with eagerness to respond became the only redeeming feature of my greeting exercise. He worked as a watchman in a nearby house.

St Charles’ was declared the best community in Chicago because, I was told, it was the most kind and courteous of the whole lot. There is a jogging track around a lake, set in a romantic surrounding. People jog, walk, and ride bicycles. Everyone greets everyone with a smile — men, women, old, and young, whether they know you or not. Cars stop at some distance, allowing pedestrians to cross the road; they keep the distance so as not to cause them distress. The people of Mississauga, Canada, also greet everyone in the same way as here. There must be something more to mere greetings that the St Charles community is the best in Chicago. And all along I keep thinking: Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) instructed people to greet everyone, whether you know him or not. Had Jesus Christ (PBUH) also said the same? I do not know.

An Indian refused to pay the bill for his father’s heart surgery despite the undertaking he had given at the time of his parents’ immigration to the US. He was to be responsible for all the expenses of his parents until they became legally entitled. The undertaking notwithstanding he had not bargained for such a huge expense. He just did not have the money. The matter was finally resolved, and the hospital ended up covering the entire bill. The fellow Asians said the Indian had hoodwinked the system. God knows the truth but the episode did not deter the system. It remains as responsive. Care for the patient comes first; bills are taken care of later. In Pakistan, it is the other way around. Patients are supposed to hold on to the thin thread of life till the funds can be arranged. Many fail. We call it God’s will. Do we need to quote the Prophet (PBUH) again, and this time on religious humanism?

The US is not a Christian state. There exists no Divine law, fallible mortals have written the law, and the same mortals implement it. God is seldom mentioned in the public discourse, and yet He lives in people’s conscience and is visible in their spirituality. We have mosques growing like mushrooms, devotees’ number ever on the swell, and as rituals abound faith dissipates. Holier narratives produce baser behaviour, and our worship without spirituality has become, at best, only a light physical exercise.

There are hungry children, sick children, dying for lack of food and medical care, and thousands of sick senior citizens waiting for the mercy of God in the ultimate transition. A plethora of miseries that afflict the rest, from the struggle for survival to the torture of trying in vain to settle the exaggerated utility bills, while the rulers sit cosy ‘in their niches, drinking their nectar’ unmindful of the miseries of the teeming millions around them. The comparison pains the heart, torments the soul, and clouds hope in the future, near and far. Can then the heart be at peace even in St Charles, the most peaceful and the best community in Chicago?

Coming back to the squirrel… Please forgive me for wandering off her tale.

The writer is a retired officer of Pakistan army