More than half of our regions are being tormented by the floods. The consequences are evolving with each passing moment. A mammoth mismatch between the magnitude of the impact and addressal mechanisms by all concerned governments tells a story. This is a lingering and heart-rending saga of endless corruption and unbelievable apathy toward the real issues of a nation’s progress and a country’s development. For 75 years, our homeland is being fooled by the ruling elites and abusive powers. The elite capture, nepotism in nearly all postings, elimination of merit, misrepresentation and non-representation of the poor and marginalized in the legislatures and at high-level forums have attained a normative status. The country has become a vacation spot for donors and foreign diplomats. The NGOization of the social development sector reflected a weakened state and promoted the power of pedigree. With the shrinking space of the traditional NGOs, now in-vogue is the deceitful translation of startup culture and entrepreneurship. The traps of stagnant development and no upward mobility are expanding and are entrenched in the psyche of the people.
The causes related to the climate emergency, financing and overall environmental preservation are being discussed in many opinion pieces and webinars. As always call for collecting donations have been flashed by the Government as well as the volunteer groups. This all may be or must be the right thing to do. Faith and resilience do aid human beings in overcoming the grief and damage caused by any natural disaster. However, one may wonder how to respond to man-made disasters and the continued doctoring and double-crossing by the top-notch leaders of our unfortunate country. The current disaster has divulged the malpractice in urban planning, building and maintenance of the dams, absence of functional civil defence structures and deficient investments in human capital.
With the shrinking space of the traditional NGOs, now in-vogue is the deceitful translation of startup culture and entrepreneurship.
In a society of moral dwarves, it is expected to find that there is no demand from any strong institution or individual for accountability to the affected masses. Where is that independent private media who can shame the mighty ones for their photo shoots in the midst of this tragedy that no words can explain justly? Who will compensate for the death of dreams of so many disadvantaged communities? What lies beyond attention commanding slogans of Build Back Better etc.? A majority were already living in mud houses and suffering from intergenerational poverty. Many were facing extreme forms of human humiliation like bonded labour, private prisons, sex for food and so on.
As a noninfluential experienced social development worker, I am watching with discomfort the current haphazard and insufficient actions. No effective remedy can be offered without diagnosing the ills. How can this country “build better” when more than 70 per cent of its 22 million are paying from their own pocket for their health needs and the quality of health care is so good that almost no bureaucrat or politician prefers to avail of it?
Barring some traditional charities and good-hearted individuals ( mostly from right wing ideology), no one has risen to the occasion. The biggest disappointment comes from the TV channels, including the state-owned PTV. These profit-thirsty channels are marketing the miseries of the children of the lesser God. If there is any iota of empathy present and fear of Allah is still intact the decision makers there must consider stopping the coverage of any political matter ( news bulletins can cover the important ones) and run telethons on the ongoing tragedy.
I may appear hard on the media, but I have deliberately focused my attention on the media because only this pillar can create some magic. As far as politicians are concerned, I have personally lost any hope. Perhaps those who rule are ought to be thick-skinned, actors and good at bluffing. If this sounds biased or too negative a verdict one can get some substantial evidence by going through PILDAT’s report that analyzes our 15th National Assembly’s performance with a cost of PKR 64.15 million a working day with an average duration of only three hours for 88 days. The report recorded that 59 per cent of agenda items were left over by the 15th National Assembly during the fourth year.
The mere mentioning of gender biases and inequalities and exclusionary practices swiftly frowns a cross-cutting segment of the population in relatively normal situations. In the context of a disaster, such thoughts are right away dismissed and are believed as irrelevant. Whereas the reality is otherwise. Disasters act disproportionately. Discriminations and oppressions based on gender, class, ethnicity, age, and disability status become more noticeable in such testing times. I have yet to see any significant initiative from UN organizations to address the special and specific needs of pregnant women, neonates, infants, children, the elderly and PWD. Where is the national dashboard? Who is offering any comprehensive service package? Who is in charge of mental health care for not only the affected ones but those who are offering rescue services? If these services are already instituted then there must be dissemination on social and traditional media.
A country that ranks 154/189 on human development and 145/146 must take urgent people-centric actions to alleviate not only the symptoms but address the root causes of its ailments. This requires getting rid of the same old hand-picked intellectuals, experts and politicians who have no stakes here.
The writer is a free thinker and can be reached via @Kafekaam on Twitter.