Accuse Me Please!

Are we a failed state? I do not know the technical meaning of this phrase but I have had just about enough of hearing discussions on the question. I do not know whether we are a failed state but we do suffer from a dearth of good governance and are fast becoming a failed government and a failed nation.

Forget about the condition our economy is in, the threat of terrorism, the state of our judiciary or the general law and order situation. These problems have been here for a long time and there doesn’t seem to be much of a chance of their leaving us soon. Government officials have a long list of reasons for their failure to tackle these issues. Maybe they are right. Who knows? Maybe there really are such huge hurdles in their path that they cannot possibly do anything about these pressing problems.

But what about the simpler matters. Ignoring what our government cannot do, why not focus on what it can do. Here are some news items from just the last few days. Before reading on, remember that I am restricting myself to only a few of the incidents that took place in the past couple of days. The actual number of such occurrences in the whole of the country should best be left to the imagination.

• A 12-year old boy died after falling into an open manhole in Gulberg.
• A 26-year old man died after falling into a ditch in Gulistan-e-Johar.
• A 21-year old woman, who had been married less than a month ago, died of drowning in a sewerage drain.

The last incident needs a little elaboration. The said drain has also claimed at least two other lives (both children) and neither theirs nor the woman’s body has yet been recovered. Now, what kind of hurdles does the government face in its effort to cover manholes or prevent innocent people from drowning in sewerage drains? What could be more important than a human life? And to lose it in such a manner! There just cannot be any excuse.

One would imagine that after such incidents, the administration would be rattled and immediately take steps to prevent a repeat of such avoidable loss of life. Sadly, this never happens. When asked to comment on the tragedy involving the newly married woman, the town Nazim simply said that it was an accident (as if the people were wondering if it was a conscious act by the drain). He further explained that encroachment by the people over the area of the drain made it difficult for the government to clean it. What a load of bullshit! The worthy Nazim should be reminded that getting rid of such encroachments is also the responsibility of the government and explaining that the government messed up one part of its job (cleaning the drain) because it had messed up another one earlier (removing encroachments) might just be one of the most stubborn, insensitive and silly explanations ever.

Think about it. A drain that is so dirty that anyone falling into it cannot come up because of the fauna growth (the local people tried to help the woman by cutting the grass on the drain but could not succeed), so filthy that at least three drowned bodies have still not been recovered. Still, the Nazim has an explanation which helps him sleep at night.

And it’s not just the fault of the government either. We are as much a part of the government as anyone else. The government is elected by the people; the Nazims are symbol of the power of the electorate. They are answerable to us. In case you are wondering how the people reacted to the death of the woman, read on.

The people of the area were naturally angered by the death and blamed it totally on the ignorance of the authorities. They did not file any protest or complaint. They did not notify the higher authorities. They did nothing to find out the right persons to contact in order to redress the problem. What they did was block the busiest thoroughfares of the area, pelt stones on passing vehicles and burn tyres on the road.

What have we come to? As a protest against the needless death of an innocent individual we caused huge inconvenience to hundreds of other innocent people.

Another part of this frustrating saga was the reaction of the authorities to this protest. Forgetting all the causes of their failure in protecting the life and property of the public, they jumped to unhindered action to stop the violent protests. Did they have a plan to do that? Of course not. They resorted to the old and time-tested strategy of baton charge and tear gas, a decision that further antagonized the already wild people.

Maybe this uncivilized way of protest could have been excused as a reflex reaction had the protestors resorted to more sensible methods after their initial anger subsided. But the end of the issue was again the same old one. The higher authorities (the news report does not mention who exactly) came to the scene and ensured the people of their full cooperation after which the protest died down. The people did nothing to make the authorities elaborate on the kind of cooperation they meant, the specific steps they would take or the timelines. In short, just like we do at election time, promises were heard, believed and the matter went down as quickly as boiling milk goes down once the stove is switched off.

This might not be too significant an event amid all the long marches, suicide bombings and governor rules in this country, but it reminds us of the kind of people we have become. Our government is not capable enough to cover manholes, clean sewerage drains or peacefully take care of angry mobs. And we, the people, have no clue how to react to such incidences, we cannot differentiate between wild and violent ways of registering our protest and the peaceful and effective ones and all it takes to deflate our anger are a few meaningless words by someone in a position of authority.

And then there is the silent majority, the Pakistanis who might have been in one of the cars passing on the said road. A stone or two might have been thrown on them. What do we do? We criticize the ineffective government, the uneducated masses and the overall deterioration of the society. We forget that we are educated and civilized, it is more our responsibility than anyone else’s to do our part to improve the situation.

We must stand up and take the blame for whatever is going on. We must stop giving or tolerating excuses. Only then can we begin to realize the extent of our responsibility. We might fail (in the short run, we most probably will) but that is better than not making the effort. I don’t exactly know what any single person might do about such issues, but I know that everyone should try and find out some way. As for me, I am starting with bringing this issue to the notice of all the readers who didn’t know of it, and reminding all those who have forgotten the gravity of the situation.

For anyone else who seriously wants to do something, I suggest a start by changing your perception of Pakistan from “this country” to “our country” and of Pakistanis from “them” to “us”. These are our problems not “Pakistan’s”, as if it were an alien land. And it is us who are failing as a nation not “Pakistanis”.

And remember the famous saying “He who excuses himself, accuses himself.”