I was horrified to read that Pakistan is submerged! About one-fifth of the country’s territory is lost. By the time the floodwater begins to recede, a quarter of Pakistan would reduce to garbage! Pakistan’s poor and impoverished masses are striving in the flood-hit areas of Punjab and Sindh. The victims will have to start all over from scratch, rebuilding their lives on the remains of nature’s fury. That’s the cost humans pay of nature’s dirty games!
Pakistani media claims that the cost of rehabilitating these poor victims runs into billions of dollars. The U.N. claims that the damage caused by Pakistan floods is greater than the damage from the 2004 Asian tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake, and the 2010 Haiti earthquake put together. Contrary to my expectations, I don’t really see tables turning to fight the greatest disaster of recent times! I was hoping that the world would step forward, like one family, with a helping hand and an open wallet. But what do I find? Take a look at these statistics. The approximate amount of funds raised for per person affected by-
- 2004 Tsunami- $1250
- 2010 Haiti earthquake- $1100
- 2005 Pakistan earthquake- $400
- 2010 Pakistan floods- $16 !!
What might be the reason? I don’t know! Is the reason ‘flood’- a word that rings bells no longer? Sometimes I wonder if there is some glamor associated with the disasters too. Or do we blame ignorance- ignorance about the human tragedy and the great element of pain, and the way media has put it! There are multiple theorists which have tried to explain this monetary drought after nature’s furious rush. Is it because the Pakistani government is corrupt and can’t be trusted? Is it because the victims are Muslim? Or is the reason how people look at the country- Pakistan? Statistics say, Pakistan is amongst the most hated nations in the world, along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Iran and North Korea, according to recent surveys. Foreign media goes fancy about India, but have you ever read an article that speaks about Pakistan’s incredible hill stations, culture, music, diversity, food?
Twenty million people with crumbs of bread are waiting for their messiah to feed them and bring to them a sip of clean water to drink! And the ridiculous questions the world is asking are on political grounds, and have nothing to do with these millions left in a barren land to perish. These political morons must at-least acknowledge that if Pakistani flood victims are not dealt on secularist grounds, few terrorist organizations will step forward and divert these personal losses to communal rage- in the name of jihad!
Pakistani leaders might be corrupt and unworthy, but these dying millions are not an ISI conspiracy to stay away from. Helping them is a matter of humanity. Pakistan is among the lands where civilization first flourished, and today the civilized world has turned deaf towards their pleas. What a cruel and inhuman paradox!
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 
Yes unfortunately for the media, a tsunamis and earthquakes have better brand value than floods.. It’s all about brand value in the media. Fly Air India, die in an air crash your family gets 10 lakhs; die in a train accident in Bengal, you get 1 lakh only :p