Battle of the spirit level

Just work on that accountability

Anyone studying political science should study an under-construction house in Pakistan, the best microcosm representing this country. Homeowners play bit parts in that production, in a clear parallel to the public. Lead roles are played by the contractor ably assisted by the electrician, the carpenter, the plumber and the stone masons, never forgetting the all important chowkidar, with the labourers as gophers. The game starts with ‘The Battle of the Spirit Level.’

Wikipedia defines the spirit level (aka Bubble Level) as ‘an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal (level) or vertical (plumb).’

There are several kinds of spirit levels, and for some unfathomable reason the Pakistani blue collar worker loathes them all. It is against his ghairat or whatever passes for his brain, to use it, and so he wages his crazy version of jihad against the little tool by ignoring it.

The result is glaringly obvious: the air conditioners hang at a slightly drunken angle to the floor, the washbasins lean wearily into the walls and the shower pipes meander drunkenly along the tiles while the tiles themselves, clearly sloshed, slope into the background a bit off centre to the right. Nope, the spirit level has not been used, and it will only be used when hell freezeth over.

Pakistanis are not used to a level playing field so they ensure (as part of perpetuating the familiar) that there is always a hitch, hindrance or obstacle in the way. People are used to dealing with these whereas trouble free equates suspicion. This is apparent on the roads in the way people drive, and in the unhelpfulness in the public sector.

That they are made to redo every job makes no difference. The workers redo anything spiritedly, but without the spirit level again. This is when terrorism begins to occur to the client as a feasible option.

Maybe the most infuriating thing of all is the fact that to a man, every worker, from contractor down, takes orders only from another male; a woman is not taken seriously, not even if she constitutes one half of the client team, not even if she happens to be a Civil Engineer as opposed to her husband’s Masters in Food and Nutrition. This, remember, is the country where women face overwhelming cultural bias at all levels. It is no argument that Pakistan fields women in politics, has even had a female prime minister in the person of Benazir Bhutto, because just as support for the Taliban in this country is an index of the prevalence of chaos and poverty rather than religiosity, Benazir was an index of the power of feudalism and capital. It may seem like an exaggeration to link this attitude to something as huge as honour killings but this bias against women is so strongly pervasive as to be obviously lethal by extension.

Last year, according to an HRCP report, 675 women and girls were killed in Pakistan in the first nine months of 2011, and 791 the year before. One of these may soon be that female electronics engineer unless she manages to kill the contractor first.

The bias mentioned above means, according to a national daily, that ‘women are not considered independent, equal members of society even in Pakistan’s most advanced urban settings. A woman’s fate is tied to her (invariably) male guardian’s fortune throughout her life…she is seen as both a reflection and a source of her guardian’s status in society.’

The contractor with whom the client comes to an agreement regarding a date for completion proceeds with the utmost speed to ensure he does not meet it. When this happens several times, target killing occurs as a pleasing solution.

The plumber lays his pipes any which way across the future garden until it is certain that the first time the mower runs there will be a geyser rivalling Old Faithful shooting up the middle of that lawn.

In the meantime, the chowkidar, the very man appointed to safeguard the construction material removes a light fixture here, a pipe there, some steel somewhere else, and his replacement does the same. There is no legal or other recourse and a nagging feeling that this is a familiar situation is confirmed by the newspapers. Public custodians involved in similar corruption at every level fill the pages and there appears to be no justice for a hapless public.

This is why I say: forget the Prime Minister who is a goner anyway, and that letter. It can only shame Pakistan further, and his replacement will do the same. Concentrate instead on strengthening accountability systems in this county, and get that house fit to live. When they know they can’t get away with crooked deeds, those involved will level with the public to start with.