Emotion and logic
May 18th, 2012
Now that the six-month standoff with the US over Nato supply routes finally seems to be over, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said that in the future the government will not make decisions which are “emotional”. This was a tacit admission that Pakistan may indeed have taken steps that could be justified only as a matter of honour and not as policy decisions. By some estimates, Pakistan will earn up to one million dollars a day from the 600 or so Nato trucks that will ply our roads daily and also have over a billion dollars released from the coalition support fund that were due to us. Discarding emotions, it seems, has immediate financial effects.
In this case, taking a calm decision over the future of our relations with the US was certainly the right thing to do. But more than the civilian government, it is the establishment which needs to learn this lesson. For too long now, it has been guided by pure emotion rather than strategic concerns. From the occupation of Siachen to the insistence on asking the US for an apology for the Salala killings, it seems as if the whole issue of honour was being managed (to use a euphemism) by the military establishment. That has meant a lot of emotional chest-thumping and rhetoric when what was really needed was realism and pragmatism. The military, too, would do well to heed the prime minister’s sensible words in the future.
The country as a whole, in fact, could do with a lot less emotion. Phenomena like honour killings stem from emotion, not rationality. The anti-Americanism that permeates our body politic is again spurred by an emotional sense that the US is our enemy. We come to that conclusion without rationally considering the political and financial benefits of an alliance with the US or ever look at the damage our country would suffer should we completely break off ties with the Americans. These are decisions that need to be carefully considered because their effects will be felt for a number of years. One slight to our honour should not be enough for us to take emotional decisions that we will eventually come to regret.
Our declining sense of humour
May 18th, 2012
It has long been said that people are able to survive in the face of depression or morbidity by employing humour. The same is true for those who live in Pakistan and its ever-present problems. We crack jokes at our own plight and this process somewhat eases the angst we face. But it seems that we might be losing this trait as well. Have we become so intolerant and dour that we are no longer able to laugh at ourselves, or accept a joke? Certainly, there is evidence that this is indeed the case.
A caricature of JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman, drawn by fine arts students in an exhibition at the Nishtar Hall in Peshawar, was pulled off the wall and removed from display. It showed the leader stepping out from a lamp and this was apparently offensive to some political leaders. At least, one other caricature was removed for similar reasons. The young artists involved, including the girls, who projected the Maulana the way they saw him have expressed disappointment and said they are upset by the removal of their canvases. The action taken hardly goes to encourage artistic expression. Indeed, curbing expression amounts to a form of unacceptable censorship of opinion and goes against the basic grain of human rights as protected in our land.
More seriously, it exhibits a diminishing sense of tolerance. A nation that is not able to laugh at its flaws cannot be expected to progress. Satirical shows which have depicted figures ranging from the Queen of England to prime ministers have been popular television hits in many nations. The fact that we cannot accept a drawing of a political figure shows the kind of intolerance that is breeding in our country. Somehow, we need to rediscover this lost sense of humour and use it to our advantage in these difficult times. Caricatures, cartoons and drawings can often say more than words. They create awareness of the realities and highlight the perception of the people. Those concerned should draw on the positives instead of curbing the right to expression.
Rabid dogs
May 18th, 2012
We are told that in Karachi, around 40 people suffering dog bites visit the rabies centre set up at the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) daily. Others report to the hospital upon being bitten or extensively scratched by stray animals. The JPMC is one of the few locations in the country which has the required vaccines to prevent victims from developing rabies and is able to offer them the immediate treatment they need. Of course, the problem of dog biting exists in many cities all over the country. Yet the shortage of rabies vaccine is reported regularly and is most often not available at all in rural areas.
The issue, however, is not to do with the unavailability of the vaccine alone, but of the number of stray animals roaming our streets. Apart from occasional drives to kill them, nothing substantial is done to reduce their population. Even the means used to inflict death are extremely cruel. The poison used — strychnine — causes the animal extreme suffering once consumed. It is fed to them wrapped in meat or gulab jamuns. Instead of trying to hunt down and kill dogs, the authorities concerned need to find means to lower dog populations.
There are charities ready to set up animal shelters in the country where stray dogs and cats can be nurtured, spayed and possibly rehoused in some cases. Of course, a number of sick animals will need to be put down. But if we are to stop the spread of rabies, it is also vital that measures be taken to try and wipe out the disease by vaccinating animals and making our country rabies free. This is no easy task but it needs to be undertaken. Likewise, people need to be made aware of how to prevent animal bites. Approaching or teasing stray dogs is obviously asking for trouble. Only a unified strategy can eliminate rabies and, indeed, stop the spread of other infections caused by bites.