Behind bars

The writer is a freelance journalist

Isolating oneself in the branded ‘luxury’ of a gated compound is the ‘recommended’ lifestyle for those who want to enjoy a modicum of security in the Pakistan of today. With everything under one roof, including a gaggle of like-minded morons who have failed to comprehend the fallacy behind ‘developers’ lies, prison-style ghettos of hastily-constructed apartment blocks, complacently basking behind razor wire-topped walls, offer an ‘incomparable’ standard of life if existence in cloud cuckoo land is what turns you on.

Such integrated community housing projects, aimed at specific income brackets are, however, dangerous to the nth degree as they promote the creation of ‘islands of prosperity’, each island, over time, being inhabited by people with the same cultural roots. Ethnic-based communities, inevitably going for each other’s throats at the drop of a hat are already widespread throughout the country, being particularly noticeable in city suburbs and are most certainly not noted for their peaceful coexistence with other sections of society (as Karachi-ites in-particular know).

Furthermore, while it may sound like heaven to allow children to play, unattended, in the park which is offered as part of the deal, this too is obviously open to question as security is never all it is purported to be: Kidnappers and paedophiles do buy apartments too!

Such gated communities are not, as is often suggested, an American concept of modernity but are instead, a retrograde step in to the annals of history when times were just as fragile, albeit in slightly different ways, than they are now. ‘Then’ it was quite often the danger ‘without’, now it is the dangers both ‘without’ and ‘within’ and from any other conceivable angle.

Cities, towns, villages, farms were all, at some point, protected and gated largely self-sufficient entities in which their inhabitants felt safe from the marauders outside. These strongholds, subject as they were to attack and siege, evolved to safeguard the interest of the ‘haves’ from the avariciousness of the ‘have-nots’ and their slow disintegration, over hundreds of years actually, marked a progressive move towards a more open, balanced, even ‘democratic’ society based on commerce, free trade, respect and equality although, as always, some were more equal than others.

The current trend of returning to existence in a controlled environment — and do remember, that someone has to do the controlling — is a clear indication of a deep rooted fear: fear of strangers, of predators, of interacting with those perceived to pose any real or imagined threat and, above all, a strange fear of having to rely, solely, on oneself for survival. Huddling in hives, however, is as much the answer to visible societal breakdown as any other form of make-believe and only serves to contribute to increased instability. Those electing to remain outside the protective walls, either through choice or due to lack of finance, will, inevitably, be far more in touch with reality than those living under lock and key in their luxury prison cells and, when push comes to shove, as may very well happen, then it is those on the outside who will have easier access to the necessary tools of survival such as water and food.

It is, admittedly, natural for humankind to seek company but taking up residence in a supposedly like-minded community of strangers where, undoubtedly, a committee rules the roost, is far from being a move towards salvation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 29^th, 2010.