As a proud citizen of this country, I have to come to realise that my country is the only country to have had so many bomb blasts in a calendar year and yet be strong and resilient enough to face any. Sadly though, my pride is probably only restricted to me. What is a matter of pride for me and probably a few others is in fact a gruesome reality for the millions of my fellow citizens. The results of high number of bomb blasts has had an unimaginable effect on the lives of the millions of people who have had to face these blasts first hand and not as a mere spectator TV audience.
“In Mumbai it was 26/11 and 13/7. In New York it was 9/11, in London 7/7. In Pakistan its 24/7.” A simple fact-revealing statement by a chai-wala on the night of Mumbai blasts. With a few dozen commenting on the humour side of the statement depicted the response of the blessed people of the country who conveniently ignored the true meaning of the statement. This is a statement we all must have had felt sorry or ashamed of but sadly none of the people who liked it felt that way.
The statement highlights the deteriorating situation of the country with hardly any shops staying open 24/7 in the financial capital of the country Karachi and the sense of security depleting every second. Countries that are progressing and are prosperous remember the days when a large number of its inhabitants lose their lives and observe a day for them. However, in our country with bizarre days marked by outrages over a statement taking over 15 lives and causing a loss of more than a billion rupees to the country, we really cannot have such days, or else everyday will have to be observed as a day for something or someone.
The effects of the high number of bomb blasts are mind boggling. The number flashed on the news channels of the people killed in bomb blasts does not take into account the after effects of the blasts. People who lose their body parts result in a decrease of labour power and make the person an unwitting burden on his family and society.
Just the other day, I came across a boy who lived in Reti Line Colony right across my house. Much to my surprise after nearly seven years I saw him outside a mosque after Friday prayers with an amputated arm and weird bruises on his head begging for money. He told me that he had bought a rickshaw by selling his land in the village and was earning around Rs 300-400 every day till 13 May, 2011 when he was outside a shop in Charsadda where a bomb exploded and burnt his rickshaw along with injuries to him. He stayed in the hospital till the time he could afford it and then had to leave. With no land, no money and no hand, the only option he had was to start begging.
This is just one of the thousand untold stories of the victims of bomb blasts; the psychological effect of blasts is beyond imagination. Statements such as “Pakistan 24/7” should be accepted with a pinch of salt and not as a joke.
AFFAN H KHAN
Karachi