From Orchards to Killing Fields

                  http://blogs.thenewstribe.com/blog/68503/from-orchards-to-killing-fields/#.UQBDJSfC0b2



Growing up in Quetta in the ‘70s and ‘80s, we all knew the name Yazdan Khan High School. Boasting a predominantly Hazara population, it was the pride of Quetta. It was an academically competitive school, but it was truly beloved for its marching band. With bright red and white uniforms and amazing musicality, these children served as our representatives. Whether welcoming visiting dignitaries or performing during cricket matches at Ayub Stadium, the Yazdan Khan High School Band was always front and center, always flawless. This school, once the proud ambassador of Quetta, was on Alamdar Road, the site of the January 10th bombing.

In a soul-shaking demand for justice, the Hazara community decided to not bury their dead and are sitting out in the cold, alongside what remains of their loved ones. The leaders of the community have given a written list of demands asking that the perpetrators be apprehended and that the Hazara community be protected from further violence, that they be allowed to live their lives in peace. Reading the list brings tears to my eyes when I realize that all they are asking for is justice and freedom -- fundamental rights that should have been awarded indiscriminately to all citizens under the Constitution. This list of demands should never have been needed.

Forget about freedom and justice. Our government is barely acknowledging the loss of lives that the Hazara community, and the human race as a whole, have suffered. The entire world has felt the jarring jolt of this tragedy. People from every nation and every ethnicity are voicing their anguish at the needless loss of innocent lives and the absolute apathy of the governing bodies. But, while the provincial capital is reeling after the massacre, the Chief Minister is enjoying a vacation abroad. The death of over a hundred people was not enough reason for him to cut short his beach time, come back home, and face his responsibility. I hope he has a good reason because, short of being on his deathbed, I can’t fathom any justification for his absence at a time when his presence is needed the most. Or maybe I am expecting too much from an elected official.

This is a time when humanity should have trumped politics, but it is proven to us once again that we, the people, are in no way equal to elected office. The population of Pakistan has risen and is standing with the Hazara community both within the nation and abroad, but the political leaders are cautious in their statements. Even at a time like this, they remain consummate politicians, ever careful not to step on any toes and, God forbid, lose an influential supporter. Their affiliations are dictating their level of outrage, which is muted at best, and their lack of support compounds on an already overwhelming assault.

When will we feel truly protected by the people we elect and the police force that swear to protect us? How long will our children be fed the contorted gospel of “might is right”? We fought against the mightiest powers and carved a country for ourselves so that all religions could live free and without the fear of persecution -- we even declare it to the world by having a white band on our flag. When our brothers and sisters refuse to bury their dead until they get justice, we have to ask ourselves: if not now, then when?

Democracy: nothing but a politicians catch phrase.

          http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/15663/democracy-is-nothing-but-a-politicians-catch-phrase/


Our world today seems to be in a constant state of revolution. Somehow, revolution brings a romanticized solution to all that is wrong with a corrupt bureaucracy.  Whoever promises the most drastic changes, the most extreme improvements, the most cacophonous, clamorous, and deafening rhetoric, is guaranteed a captive audience and an avid following. One thing that these masters of spin can count on is the common man's desperate desire for a better life, their despairing hope that the world has something finer to offer -- if only they can find a charismatic, catalytic leader to make change happen for them.

We, the man on the street, also known as the citizen and the unit most in need of the aforementioned “better life”, are the most vocal advocates for a revolution. According to public opinion, revolution will bring democracy, and with democracy will come peace, lawfulness, good fortune and prosperity.  What we fail to realize in our desperation is that a government of the people and for the people does not begin and end with democratically-held elections, but must continue on as democratic governance. These are assignments of accountability, not appointments of entitlement.

In our hunger for change we listen for the word “democracy,” which has become nothing more than the politician’s catch phrase, a perfunctory buzzword, a siren song. We fail to realize that democracy is a form of government for the people—and people are different in every country. Thus, by default, the democracy of each country must be tailor-made for its population and not the copy of another countries’ governance. Laws necessary and successful in one thriving democracy might prove to be abject failures in another. This could be due to differences in culture, history, religion, and other myriad possibilities.

We have to study our chronicles, the good along with the bad. We have to analyze what worked and what failed miserably within our own country to see what we want and what we desperately need. When we look democracy through a theoretical paradigm invented by the West, we see something that we yearn for, but which might not be the solution for us. Our form of governance has to be as unique as our nation.

Instead of looking for a leader from among us, we look outward and upward for guidance, and so we have become a nation of followers. We will willingly march behind anyone who peddles a dream, but we never feel worthy enough to form a movement around our own dreams. So we pin our hopes and our hearts on anyone who is willing to lead us, never questioning loyalties, agendas, or ulterior motives. As a result, we are either left heartbroken and bitter, or continue fiercely loyal and blind to the obvious charade.

A revolution has to come from within the masses. We have to push away from the wall against which our backs have rested for the longest time. The elite lack the will to recast a state that seems to be working well for them. They may start the journey with an honest enthusiasm, but lose their convictions somewhere along the way. Leaders have to come up from within us, from our roots, our kin. Until then, we will continue to be the fodder for another’s revolution.

If human lives were quantifiable.....

http://blogs.thenewstribe.com/blog/68482/if-human-lives-were-quantifiable/#.UO8krG_oR1d

If alien beings from outer space  were to travel to our neck of the woods and form an opinion about our priorities, they would surely conclude that the most worthless and expendable commodity is the human life.

A question like “what is a human life worth?” seems more of a philosophical query, inviting a vigorous debate, rather than a mathematical problem followed by a calculation and a dollar amount. But, believe it or not, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget puts the value of a human life in the range of $7 million to $9 million or around $8 million, if we are talking averages. I am not qualified enough to wade into the quagmire of economic parameters and channel my inner Adam Smith for an explanation but I will pose this question: If people were required to pay this amount for every life they were responsible for terminating, would they be so disregardful of their actions?

What is a human life worth? I posed this question to a friend of mine who is a very passionate pacifist and a humanitarian. She said, without any hesitation, that the worth of one human life is the same as the worth of all mankind. That is a mind blowing amount if we look at it numerically. It means that we would have to multiply $5 million by the number of people ever born and those that will ever be born. By these specific guidelines the human life is priceless.

Everyday we come across accounts of neglect, atrocity and pure greed which result in the loss of life. This is only if we are very lucky. Some among us actually experience these events first hand. We hear of hundreds burned in a preventable factory fires, scores killed in sectarian, bigoted violence, thousands of lives cancelled because their thought was different, they looked different, they were different...

One wonders how much fire alarms and proper fire safety measures would have cost in the ill-fated garment factories. If the factory owners were liable to pay for each life lost due to their greed and neglect, would they have been so careless with hazard-proofing their workplaces? What would it be worth to have a visible police force that actually serves and protects? Would it be outside the realm of imagination to ask for public servants that actually serve the public?

Maybe the problem is that there is no accountability for the elite class and no one to pay heed, let alone take any action, in response to the pleas and cries of the working class. How else could a society explain the ruthless beating of a young man just because he denied a “begum sahib” some baked goods. How could the murder of a Swedish missionary, working only for the well-being of the needy, be justified?  Most of these are not spur of the moment emotionally fueled incidences. Rather they are planned and dramatic measures to instill fear and discourage any others who might want to stand up to an oppressive elite. But if these “untouchables” had to pay  for every person they roughed up or, worse still, killed, would they be so gung-ho about it?

Entire sub-nationalities are staked out to be massacred. Religious sects are marked for death because they have a different ideology and mass murder is validated and justified by closed-minded men with personal agendas. And then there are those who take up the savage war-cry , without any question or thought as to the cogency or the repercussions of their actions, and cut down lives with the abandon of an unholy crusader high on crack. The Grim Reaper would cringe in fear and loathing at such wanton waste because even he has rules. Nobody pays for these innumerable lost lives: lost in the name of profit, in the name of power and the most vile category for justifying gratuitous killings--in the name of God.
 
It has been said that those who stop fearing God, fear nothing else. Maybe that is the problem. God has become nothing more that a word, an abstract idea that can justify all misguided agendas. Everyone believes that they wield the sword of the Almighty, but whose side is Allah really on?

HOPE

Above all this is a story of hope for the future.

People often lament about the youth of their times. I suppose it is a rite of passage. Young people are often judged to be disgruntled, good-for-nothing kids going nowhere fast. They are usually a disappointment and often fall short of the expectations of their adults. Their clothes, their hobbies and their choice of entertainment, regularly incite negative responses from the older generation which includes much head-shaking and vigorous finger-wagging. Then the youth cross the threshold and as adults look back at the generation following them and the cycle ironically repeats itself. And so it goes.


I myself, being of a certain age (that shall remain undisclosed), have tried my best to not be a part of this head-shaking, finger-wagging mind-set.  I try to look beyond the few that are truly wasting the best and potentially the most productive and rewarding parts of their lives...and such people do exist.  But then there are those who are not only motivated individuals, but also dedicated to bringing about a better future -- for themselves, for those before them and the ones following them. This is the story of not one but a group of such special individuals.


A few days ago I attended a rally, in New York, against genocide and sectarian killings in Pakistan. The focus was the targeted killing of Shi’as. I went there fired up with a sense of duty and brotherhood. I grew up in Quetta with many ethnicities all around me, enriching my life. Among them were the Hazaras with their beautifully unique features, their musical  language and their rich history. I wanted to be a part of any gathering which condemned this mindless violence. 

The day dawned dreary, cold and wet and I sloshed up to the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza which is a park in front of the UN and a popular site for rallies and demonstrations. Around 3000 people had shown up despite the conspiratorial weather.

I wanted to find out who arranged this event and so I asked a passing organizer if he could take me to the coordinator.  I was introduced to a young woman who looked barely out of college. She was busy trying to find someone to cover for a speaker who was stuck in traffic.She was surrounded by hand-outs and press-kits and had media waiting to film her. Despite the multitude of things unfolding around her, this young woman was in control.

As I spoke to her about the rally, my admiration for her and her dynamic crew grew. Sakina, the chief organizer, is a recent law graduate. She works for Imamia Medics International, an organization dedicated towards the enhancement of the medical, social, intellectual and spiritual well-being of communities.  She was articulate and poised and passionately explained how invested the entire group was in stopping the mindless violence. She masterfully handled the press, the media and the demands of the rally, all of which required her immediate attention.

As I walked around, I saw young people  answering peoples questions and guiding the attendees.  They had food for everyone as well as water and hot tea. They went around making sure that everybody had something to eat and drink and that all questions were answered. They led the congregation along the streets of NY to the Pakistani Consulate in an orderly fashion and presented their petition to the officers.. After that, they continued their demonstration around the corner along Fifth Avenue where organizers handed out pamphlets and informed passers-by of their cause

They managed this rally which had attracted around 3000 people despite the weather. This gathering not only attracted people from all religious sects of Pakistan but also from other countries. It was endorsed by several secular organizations. It had the attention of scholars and academics among them familiar and renowned names like Reza Aslan and Noam Chomsky, to name a few. And it was all possible because the future generation of our world decided to look beyond everything that makes us different and united us on a single platform.  

How could a country whose youth shows the motivation that I saw on that wet and dreary Friday ever lose faith? If the future of our country lies in the hands of accomplished young people like Sakina then there is hope indeed. As Benjamin Disraeli said “The youth of a nation are the trustees of posterity”.


Indeed, above all else, this is a story of hope and the promise of a better future.

Let Overseas Pakistanis Vote

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/14339/let-overseas-pakistanis-vote/


In a grand gesture, the Election Commission of Pakistan granted 3.7 million foreign-dwelling Pakistani nationals permission to vote in elections. Huh. I had never realized that this was a privilege, rather than a right. As with all shows of benevolence, however, there is always a catch. Excluded from this group are just as many Pakistanis who hold dual nationalities; in order to be eligible to stand for office or to be allowed to vote in Pakistan, they must surrender their non-Pakistani citizenship. Being in this particular boat, I’m inclined to ask: what, exactly, gives you the right to take away my rights?

By definition, a dual national is a person who is a citizen of more than one country. With that comes the rights -- all the rights -- of citizenship, including the right to vote and the right to compete for office in the elections. Nowhere does it imply that being a national of more than one country reduces one's citizenship to a fraction or, as the Chief Election Commissioner Mr. Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim so succinctly put it, makes you a “Half-Pakistani,” a term which, in my mind, borders on a slur.

Rights granted to the citizens of any country through constitutions are not changeable on whims or fancies. The politicians of Pakistan have always regarded the the Constitution as a list of suggestions rather than a document of concrete ordinances.  Mr. Obaid-ur-Rehman, a Supreme Court advocate with more than 55 years of experience in Pakistan and an expert in constitutional law, says that these amendments are creating a subsect of Pakistanis that are somehow considered less than their counterparts living in Pakistan. He and his colleagues were part of the movement for independence and among the lawyers who laid the foundations for the legal system of the country. Now retired and living with his children in the USA, he feels that his rights are being sidelined on a drummed-up technicality.

I would like to ask the Election Commission about the thought process that led to their decision. Did it conduct a fact-finding mission and gather evidence that proves that citizens are more loyal and invested in the future well-being of Pakistan that those with two passports? Were there accusations of disloyalty, of treason against them?  Are Moin Qureshi, Rehman Malik and Shaukat Aziz more or less loyal than Shahbaz Sharif or Yousaf Raza Gilani?

And what about  those of us who just want to be  part of electing a government?  The audacity of the Pakistani Election Commission to dismiss almost 3 million Pakistanis as unfit to have a voice in an historic election boggles my mind. And then, in adding insult to this injury by calling us “Half-Pakistanis,” this organization shows how disconnected it is with the realities of the world.

Pakistanis living abroad infuse millions of dollars into the economy each year.They send money to their families, they build and support schools, they donate to hospitals and welfare organizations, and they invest in business. Why is their “halfness” not considered when they are propping up the economy? According to Mr. Obaid-ur-Rehman, alienating these generators of foreign exchange can be compared to throttling the goose that lays the golden egg.

Overseas Pakistanis are the ones on the frontlines of the international arena. We are the true ambassadors, the representatives of Pakistan in the world. We are the ones who beam with pride as Sharmeen Chinoy accepts the Academy Award. We gather the tattered integrity of the country when fielding indignant questions about 14 year-olds shot in cold blood for going to school. We have set up Overseas Pakistanis Associations to propagate our culture and values. We register all Pakistani political parties abroad so that we can stay informed. So to me, questioning our loyalty and love for Pakistan is tantamount to the most egregious assault on Pakistani pride. To dismiss, whom I believe to be “more-than-whole” Pakistanis, as half as much is beyond my comprehension.

Our lofty decision-makers were so gung-ho in their wide, sweeping gesture that they also failed to consider the fact that many of those who have lived in the country all their lives hold dual citizenship. Some have been born to foreign nationals, and others have acquired it during the years they spent abroad for education. These people have never considered any nation other than Pakistan as their own. They have been working in and for the country all their lives, and now they are being excluded from participating in its future, both as voters and as potential elected officials -- all because a few entitled individuals deem them not to be “pure Pakistani.”

A more feasible solution would be to take the factor of dual citizenship out of the equation. Pass a law requiring the surrender of Pakistani national status if applying for any other passport. This action would be a much more logical and practical approach to the issue of citizenship. In creating a binary, “either/or” decision for each individual to make, there will be no more room for ambiguity or anger. We need to know where we stand as far as our options as “citizens” are concerned, so that we can be sure that the rights we go to sleep at night with are the same rights we wake up with the next morning.

In a country with such monumental troubles, the way forward should be through policies of inclusion rather than exclusion. Pakistan has always been blessed with the fierce loyalty of its citizens. We do not shrug off these strong emotions just by stepping over a border. The assumption that Pakistanis abroad are suddenly no longer concerned with the welfare of the country, and consequently are unable to make unbiased choices come election time is preposterous. And if that is the opinion of the Election Commission, this offended “half-Pakistani” vehemently begs to differ.

My Hell on Earth

http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/13898/my-hell-on-earth/





Dust and heat scrubbed this sky of all color. Disfigured roads and dismal buildings littered the
earth beneath it. A desolate land in shades of dirt. He looked upon the building below him.
The veneer of smog and heat created the impression of a mirage, giving the factory an almost
dream-like quality. ”Deathtrap,” he whispered to himself. Day after day, he was sent to observe,
not knowing why. He never questioned, much like the people he would see filing into this
building in just a few moments.
One door. They entered through one door every morning. And they left through one door,
the same door, every evening. There was no other option; all of the others were chained and
padlocked. Whether to keep profits in or miscreants out was debatable, but it was nevertheless
the whim of the owners. And it was without contestation.
He always loved this time of day, before the people were swallowed up by the factory. Before
smiles were wiped off and drowned in the angry buzz of sewing machines. His favorite among
these people was a young girl. Every time he saw her bright eyes and sweet expression, he
would be instantly taken over by love for the Creator. He reached out to her and shrank back in
delight -- another heartbeat was strong within her.
Wait, what was this? One of the older women was holding the hand of a little boy. Oh! This
must be her grandson, the one she was bragging about with such loving pride yesterday. The
supervisor had allowed the boy to stay with her while his mother was at work. ”If he makes
himself useful, I might even give him a few rupees,” the supervisor remarked offhandedly. “He
might have a heart after all,” the woman muttered to her friend.
Once the last of them had walked in, the door locked shut. Another work day had begun, and
it would end after long hours were proffered by those inside. In the end, the workers would
leave the factory with only enough time spared to prepare for the next day. A terrible sense of
foreboding washed over the observer, pulling his attention back to the people inside. Everything
seemed as it had been -- until he heard the screams. A wild keening came from the windows
as the stench of charred flesh overwhelmed him. Angry smoke billowed, cloaking the horror in a
deathly veil. Fiery tongues licked at the desperate souls trying to squeeze through the  windows.
Those who could escape through the bars jumped. Did they hope to survive the fall? Or did they
only hope this form of death was more merciful than the one waiting inside?
A nightmare. Imploring screams tore through heaven and earth, beseeching for help. He heard,
and yet, he did not answer, for he was still only an observer. As he watched, ethereal light
descended from above and the Angel of Death stood before him. He put his hands lovingly on
the observer’s shoulder. “I cannot reap this many alone, my brother. That is why you were sent
here.

250 Lost Lives: The Cost of Western Designer Clothes.

                                                         

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2012/09/15/comment/editors-mail/250-lost-lives-the-cost-of-western-designer-clothes/

In a world where death and mayhem have become the order of the day, some tragedies still leave us breathless. The fire in the Karachi garment factory, Ali Enterprises, is one of them. The most heartbreaking aspect of this horrific incident was that this could have been prevented had a handful of people placed the value of human life over the importance of making a buck.

Over 500 people worked to put food on the table for their families in that deathtrap of a factory, including a 27-year old pregnant woman and a ten year-old boy. All the exits were locked for fear of theft by the owners who apparently thought that blocking exits was a better strategy than enhancing their close-circuit TVs. The only way out was a door operated by an electronic lock which failed because of the fire.

In Pakistan, laws protecting labor do exist. Pakistan is also a member of the International Labour Organisation's labour inspection convention. By these guidelines, the government should not only be committed to safety but also to regular inspections and to informing the workers of their rights. The Pakistani Constitution has a legislation on health and safety in the Hazardous Occupation Rule 1963, under the 1934 Factories Act which, incidentally, has a section on fire safety, added in 1997. But what good are these laws if there is no implementation. In fact, in a mind boggling decision by Punjab, labor inspections were abolished by executive order. This was meant as a step towards "developing an industry and business-friendly environment" . Sindh, obviously deciding that this was a great positive step, quickly followed suit--perhaps with the encouragement of wealthy and powerful industrialists.

Where was the oversight?  The The federal government has passed on the enforcement of labor laws and safety regulations to the provincial government. But, in a stellar example of avoiding responsibility, immediately after the tragedy, the Sindh Labour Minister, Ameer Nawab, claimed that Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, had stopped him from taking action against factories violating labour rules. Sindh minister of Industry and Commerce, Rauf Siddiqui, however did give his resignation, showing that he, at least, has a conscience.

The owners were apprehended but granted bail for eight days. Let me refresh your memory: these people are directly responsible for the death of over 250 people and many more injured. How were they considered eligible for bail?  They on the other hand are playing the victim, pointing fingers at invisible extortionists and shadowy threats. Adding insult to injury, the brothers who owned the factory, claim that the reason they wanted bail was to have time to spend with the families of the victims. How blind are they to the grief that they have caused? Did they ever think that the families of the people whose death they have caused might not even want to share this earth with them?

We have come to be part of a society where human life has very little value in the eyes of the people who hold all the power. The common man has become a disposable asset, replaced at a moments notice by the hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need. Industrialists believe that the growth of their bank balance justifies all means and any rough patches can be smoothed with money--whether used to grease palms or to wipe away the tears of grieving families.

The onus of this tragedy falls on so many departments. If one officer in one department had stepped up, these lives would not have been lost. But why should we blame just the Pakistani government? Ali Enterprises, the factory that burned down, was producing clothes for a “western supplier”. Why is there no mention of who they were supplying for? No one has come forward because the responsibility falls on them too. But whoever the buyers are, they know that owning up to the fact that their clothes were being manufactured in a sweatshop will not bode well for them. Outraged patrons will boycott their product  and they will also have to investigate the working conditions in all their other facilities.

Most designers outsource to developing countries to escape pesky minimum wage laws of their own countries. Respectable enterprises like Disney and high-end designers like Ralph Lauren and DKNY have all been guilty of using human misery to their advantage. One would think that a small percentage on the revenue will go a long way in making the lives of these workers safe and strict oversight might even eliminate disasters like the one in Karachi--a disaster made more tragic by the fact that it could have been prevented.