How do you help someone you don’t know? Or, to rephrase the question, would you forgive someone who unknowingly fed a lactose intolerant infant some milk? Is a lack of knowledge (ignorance, as it is known in the West) justification enough to do something that would normally be considered a crime? If you answer no, then you need to do some soul searching, because no one can claim to be innocent of committing grievous wrongs unwittingly. And that’s why the real criminals never get punished around here.
In the West (or the Great Shaitan, whatever you prefer), the legal system makes a distinction between criminal acts, such as assault or murder, that are committed voluntarily or involuntarily. There can be no doubt that an unintentional act should not be as severely punished as a premeditated one. However, there should be no debate on the fact that a crime committed in ignorance is a crime also. ‘Criminal negligence’ are the two words I’m looking for. But unfortunately, in our country, there is no such thing. The rationale is that if you didn’t know that you were doing something wrong, you never did it.
For example, on the infamous ‘Apna Gireban’ show, outspoken journalist Matiullah Jan grilled the cute and cuddly Asma Shirazi on why she went to the Holy Land (Makkah, for those who don’t know) on government expense when she can obviously afford to go herself. Ms Shirazi’s justification was that she didn’t know. There are two major flaws in her explanation. One, she’s a journalist (or at least claims to be one) and could not NOT have known. Secondly, she might have noticed something was funny when she wasn’t asked to pay for her own ticket or accommodations while living in the holy city. So her ‘I am stupid’ defence really doesn’t cut the mustard.
Consider now the plight of the average aid worker. He/she works in the field for acronyms such as CWS, ICRC and STC instead of proper names. The people that he/she interacts with, day in and day out, are all desperate for something or the other. One may want food, the other medicine, another shelter and yet another would want you to hook them up with some dope. In a crisis situation, everyone needs something. For the aid worker, this is an ideal situation because they live only to ‘help’ people in need. But how do you tell who is needy and who is not? Does everyone wear nametags identifying them as the really needy ones? Is it in their eyes? What mechanism would one use if they wanted to tell a professional beggar from a flood-affected farmer? A crystal ball, maybe?
A lack of background knowledge and information is something you can forgive the average human being for. But when that human being occupies a position of authority that puts them in the position to influence the lives and choices of millions of other people, they usually fall under intense public scrutiny. Such close attention to detail in anyone’s affairs can yield some very interesting results. For example, you may be willing to forgive the new guy at the office for parking in your space because they didn’t know better. But would you be willing to extend the same courtesy to a colleague who has known you and your parking spot for years and parked in your space simply because they were in a hurry? There is no fixed answer to this question, and everyone’s responses may vary depending on the type of person they are; doormat, militant, egotistical etc.
In Rwanda in the mid 90s, the international community rushed to the aid of the Hutu, who had migrated to the border with Zaire after they were kicked out of the country by warring Tutsis. Being the do-gooders they are, the humanitarian community rushed to the aid of the displaced people, giving them free food, shelter, clothing and new Mercedes Benz wristwatches. However, these people had already massacred some one million Tutsis before the doormats of Africa said “Enough!”
You’ve probably heard of the Rwandan genocide, well it was the Hutu that massacred the Tutsis in that tragic period. Now the international aid community, being the sweethearts they are, did not know this. All they saw was a bunch of homeless people who would look good posing for photos with aid agency-provided food stuffs. It’d make for good press, they figured. What they didn’t count on was that they were in fact giving refuge to those who had been kicked out of their country because of the horrible atrocities they had committed.
To put this into perspective, that’s like saying that Nazis masquerading as Jews post-WWII should have been protected against prosecution. This is also like saying that those who supported Musharraf should not be held accountable for their actions because they thought that Herr Fuehrer was “a good man.” Please, spare me the melodrama and admit it. You all lie, cheat, steal and forge alliance behind our backs. Don’t insult our intelligence by lying about it. You know who they are; Super Sharifs and Many Qumquats Mummified. It’s about time you held them accountable. Not for something they did, but for something that they didn’t do. Because they never do the most important thing of all, and that is telling the truth.
