Rise and shine!

What an infinitely sad day yesterday was for all of us.It’s one of those rare occasions when words do not seem to be enough. Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old defenseless girl and the recipient of many peace prizes, became yet another victim of evil, ignorance and hatred. Two of her friends were also wounded in the attack.While she lay unconscious fighting for her life in a hospital in Peshawar the ‘Prime’ Minister condemned the incident, confusing Malala with Arfa Karim, and directed another fellow buffoon senior minister to ask after her only to find that he was not even in the country. The President, safely ensconced in his palace, ordered a minion to send a bouquet of flowers to the comatose Malala, and immediately turned to more pressing problems like finding ways to continue his office for another 5 years. Political personalities and news analysts scrambled to come up with all sorts of analyses and conspiracy theories about the Taliban and the media had a field day with enough to discuss for another 24 hours.

I am not a political analyst and neither do I have the knowledge and expertise to know what is happening in Swat and the tribal areas. I only know that if yesterday’s attack on Malala Yousafzai does not jolt us out of our reverie than nothing will. This attack symbolizes the eternal fight between evil and good, darkness and light and ignorance and enlightenment. It is a stark and ugly reminder of where we have landed ourselves and where we are headed.

All I know of Malala is what I have seen or heard about her in the media. She appears to be a vibrant, brave and intelligent girl with high hopes and resolute ambitions. Just what we need in our youth! Whether the attempt on her life was motivated by misplaced religious beliefs or greed or both, the fact remains that we, the people, have allowed things to come to such a head that enlightenment, education and knowledge are seen as threats. I know this view is of a very small minority but that this small minority is running amok is a reflection of our apathy, disunity, detachment and selfishness.

We, the people, do not realize our power. We all studied the ‘Unity is strength’ story of the farmer and his three sons while in school but short of cramming it up for the exams, we did not learn anything from it. We have divided ourselves into small groups based on caste, creed, religious sects, ethnicity, geo-location, language, economic situation and so on and so forth. The tried and tested old formula of ‘divide and rule’ still holds water and our enemies from within and without continue to exploit it to wreak havoc in the country.Swat may be far away from many of us. Safe and secure in my home in Khewra, I may wax lyrical about our problems and philosophize endlessly about how things should be, but the fact remains that Malala Yousafzai and you and me are in the same boat. Pakistan is our country and our survival and well being is conditional upon its survival and well being.

While most of us can do little for Malala except pray and wish her well, what we can do is free our minds and remove the barriers we have erected around us. Come together as one; develop a sense of unity and uniformity in thought, action and attitudes. The time has come where we take matters in our own hands. Five clear steps in the right direction, in my opinion, are:

1. Try our utmost to put national interest above personal if there is a conflict between both.

• Spread education through personal efforts either by educating a child or extending economic help. Invest effort, time and thought in raising our children right.

 

• Raise our voice against corruption and injustice in appropriate ways and not just remain a silent observer.

 

• Come together as one and develop a sense of unity and uniformity in thought, action and attitudes.

 

• Participate actively in the upcoming elections and vote for the right person, basing our decision on good sense and past experience and then stand by whom we have chosen.

 

I fully believe that as a nation we are full of resilience and strength. It’s a case of a pack of monkeys leading a nation of lions. These monkeys, in their lust for power and pelf, have always put personal interest over national interest. Let’s open our eyes. Just look at how our so called leaders and law makers live. Do they have the right to lead us? True leaders are people who are at the forefront when it is time to give and at the very back when it’s time to receive. Hear the shallowness and superficiality in their words. Observe them snapping at each other like hyenas and bowing and scraping at the altar of selfishness and greed. They are not leaders. They seem to me to be more like vultures! They are in power because we allow it. The blame for the current situation lies mostly with us.A drop of water may be insignificant when solitary but when many come together will move mountains.Indeed Malala is a chosen one and has already achieved the impossible by being the cause of some unity as seen in the nationwide condemnation of the cowardly and horrific attempt on her life.Let us take ownership of our beloved country. All is not lost. Rise and shine!

”Tho’ much is taken, much abides;

and tho’ we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven,

that which we are, we are,

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”