Victor Hugo, in his most famous novel of 19th century France titled Les Misérables describes life in France as he had observed it. For writers are those who observe life closely and, at some point, face the adversities that give humans the spirit and faith by which they are strengthened within. And they achieve what they want. Les Misérables is the story of a poor young man (Jean Val Jean) who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister and his niece only to end up in the dungeons of the rulers at the hands of a tenacious policeman. The story of this young man is set in post- revolution France. The French revolution came about because of these very injustices that choked the masses and even a loaf of bread was a rarity. The people rose. The people were hungry and only one thought dominated them: to overthrow the rulers and to get food to sustain life. This is what life means to any human being. This is why we work, shop, work, meet people and work again - to be able to survive - survival being the first human instinct and food the first prerequisite for survival. Many centuries have passed and the European countries have learned humanity. If someone hasn’t learned any lesson, it is us. The following is a true account which is uncannily similar in nature to Les Misérables, which shows where we, as a nation, stand today.
A case that GEO TV unravelled and bought to a justifiable end was where a teen-aged boy in Rahim Yar Khan stole a very expensive commodity - atta. Robbers usually manage to get away but the boy who had stolen this precious atta for his ailing sister and family was efficiently and immediately caught by the police - beaten and thrashed brutally - till GEO TV’s crew arrived and intervened. Recovering the poor boy was not a small deal. A lot of struggle, along with sincerity of purpose, was put in for the right reasons.
How much atta could the poor boy have stolen? Five, ten, fifteen kilograms? At the most, amounting to a few hundred rupees? An amount we spend in a few minutes. There could have been a much lighter punishment like letting him use the atta and enforcing upon him a small instalment to be paid monthly for the commodity. What is wrong with the people of our land? We say the Kalma, but do we know what our Holy Book says and means? We preach but do we practice? We offer prayers, we religiously perform Huqooq Allah but where are our Huquq ul Ibad? Forgotten, right? What the eyes see, the mind believes. Our eyes do not see God watching our every move, nor the wrongs we do, neither the pain, be it physical or emotional, we inflict upon our fellow beings - the mind forgets. The ones we call the enemies of Islam and Muslims have, at higher levels, studied our Holy Book and have become humane to their fellow countrymen. But we are an ignorant lot and happy in the way we are. Throw us some more luxuries and a few more millions and who cares about the starving! Apathetic, is what we are now. Even the Middle East has realised that they should invest the money from this historic present day ‘oil boom’ in the development of their own communities, rather than amass and horde the wealth for their sons, and their sons in turn. They are now developing job opportunities for their own. We don’t even have a boom of the slightest sort but we prefer not to help our own. We are set on a stage that is like the olden Carthaginian and Egyptian Empires; greedy with an insatiable hunger for wealth and given to all sinful indulgences. Are we waiting for the wrath of God, like he set an example of Pompeii? It is clearly stated in the Holy Book that He will impose another race (if we are not correct in our ways – sarat-i-mustaqeem - and make mischief on His Earth) to rule us. This is not particularly for Pakistanis but for all who transgress the limits set upon human beings.
We are talking about Pakistan here and the atrocity that the young boy faced for (metaphorically speaking) a loaf of bread, is inhuman. It was God’s Will that GEO TV succeeded in extricating the young man out of ruthless clutches. But for how long and how many people will the concerned and caring save? As the number grows, it takes its toll and ultimately there comes a time when people snap. We should be prepared and, better still, avoid and amend our ways, lifestyles and mindsets so we do not witness what massacre France, Russia and many other countries in recent history had to witness and be subjected to. Or we may pay no heed, with our eyes shut and ears covered and, one fine day, realise that the ones who were told to eat chicken instead of daal - because daal is expensive - are out on the streets and have taken over every palatial house and luxury apartment.
It is time for the government to get working and pay special attention towards providing job pools for the jobless to eradicate if not poverty, at least hunger, for most. It’s just a beginning, but every baby step counts. There are many ways in which the government and the private sector, both, can be useful to tackle this severe problem. There may be many hurdles impeding the process but hurdles only make us leap higher – high enough to cross them if we are sincere.
The meek shall inherit the earth, they say. Will it come to this? There is still hope, only if we consider our fellow countrymen human, too. Man was created to help man. Are we helping anyone? n
