The nation’s ability to be outraged is dead
To insinuate that any group is committing genocide is a serious accusation. ‘Genocide’ as a term evokes images of the blood in the streets, of bodies piled up in mass graves discarded by some weapon-wielding mob bent on extinguishing the lives of some perceived enemy. The horrific tragedies in Rwanda or in Srebrenica are almost universally recognised as genocide and the events that transpired in those places fit the above mentioned description rather well.
Genocide as it is understood is something akin to physical domestic abuse, the shocking after effects of which are readily apparent. There are, however, other forms of abuse (emotional or psychological), the results of which are more difficult to acknowledge. The same is true with actions of a government that may not amount to genocide per se, but that result in the slow, painful demise of a citizenry nonetheless.
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to which Pakistan is also a party, states that genocide refers to an act committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical racial or religious group and this act may include, “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”
What better fits this description than the willful mismanagement of a state and its assets?The current fuel crisis is one in the long line of many recent disasters that slowly tear away at any misconceptions citizens of Pakistan may have about the will of the government to improve the state of the federation.
The current fuel crisis is one in the long line of many recent disasters that slowly tear away at any misconceptions citizens of Pakistan may have about the will of the government to improve the state of the federation
Pakistan is in the midst of a crisis that, by the actions of its leaders, will be solved primarily through panicked finger pointing, staunch denial or bemoaning alleged anti-government conspiracies. Events such as these are not one-off, at least not in this country. It has become difficult to shock the average Pakistani, difficult to evoke his ire or contempt. People do not take to the streets over the prolonged absence of basic utilities including electricity, water or gas.
Thus, a nation’s ability to be outraged is now quite dead, the casualty of utter cleverness or utter incompetence by a government that has bombarded its people with one ridiculous problem after another. With collective response now firmly buried, the greedy powers-that-be may now go about inflicting rampant collateral damage with poor policymaking and sheer lack of desire to improve any part of this nation in any way that does not directly satiate a ravenous appetite for money.
The downward spiral of this nation shows no signs of slowing down; rather, the quiet mayhem inflicted by rampant mismanagement is now seemingly ignored. Thus, there is no outright massacre occurring, only the gradual hemorrhaging of a nation. A slow bleed does not invoke international headlines, nor does it prompt mass vigils. It does not get identified as genocide, a label that carries international criminal consequences. It does, however, create collateral damage. Examples of this damage are endless, from disappearing small and medium industries, to widespread communicable diseases, to lack of electricity, gas, water and fuel.
As is often said, there are laws and policies, but there is no implementation. There is great potential, but no political will. The national strategy for any issue is conducted more or less as a game of whack-a-mole
As is often said, there are laws and policies, but there is no implementation. There is great potential, but no political will. The national strategy for any issue is conducted more or less as a game of whack-a-mole. All of this does not amount to what may be labeled as genocide in the Rwanda or Srebrenica sense of things, but it’s not nothing.
There is no label for what Pakistan is enduring because no one wants to label this self-inflicted kamikaze spiral to the failure of a state. A label would require a reaction or the assignment of responsibility. In the midst of a massacre the solution to intervene seems more obvious, but what is the obvious solution for a democratically elected government that insists on bringing about the slow destruction of its population?
Perhaps the solution is in fact obvious, but disconcerting. It involves Pakistan’s citizens better using their vote or their voice to speak out against the unpopular choices of the government, rather than assigning blame to or expecting intervention from another state. Limited education and constant obstacles to performing basic daily tasks are intended to keep people from implementing this solution and as a result a national complacency has settled in that is difficult to shake.
Thus, there is no alarm to sound because what is happening in Pakistan is not genocide. It is a quiet abuse that leaves scars that no one wishes to see. Change would require trust, trust in one’s fellow citizen and trust that the system would allow for something better. Such an outcome seems rather difficult, albeit not impossible, amongst citizens that would rather line up for hours to fuel their vehicles, but not to protest irresponsible government actions. There is, however, always hope, which unlike fuel, electricity, clean water, education or gas, is something of which the people have plenty.