Scorn Republic: Karachi Sinks In A Blink

The last two weeks for the city of Karachi have been nothing short of a calamity, sinking and drowning out homes, people and their livelihoods along with our collective sensibilities.When catastrophes occur, the reactions of people are quite an accurate gauge of the lack of intelligence a group possesses. The ineptness of the leaders, past and present, the current administrative situation, it’s all an open book, ready to be read.

The floods ravaged so many homes and streets in Sindh, Karachi in particular, it was a historic natural disaster of this magnitude. And what do we get from it? A bunch of people holding placards without asking for any doable, actionable accountability, shooting for the stars and new shiny drainage systems without realising that construction of those would require thousands of homes to be bulldozed in an effort to build an underground sewage disposal line that actually works. Let that sink in. To say that each and every person in this scenario is responsible for the situation we are in, is as accurate a statement as it can get.

We citizens have been the worst tenants this earth has ever seen. We clean our houses till they are spotless and then discard the trash right across the street into empty plots. We liter disposable bottles and bags out of our car windows and onto the streets, for them to be swept up to block gutters and choke sewage lines, and then we wonder why the drainage systems don’t drain water. We have no issues with regularising natural habitat, so our homes and complexes can be built atop, yet we complain about environmental and climatic changes. We pay ridiculous prices to architects to design our homes, but conveniently ignore the basic infrastructure of the neighborhood and then complain when water seeps through our front door.

But in all of this, the word “resilient ” is thrown around like confetti consolation. It’s not like the city dwellers have a choice, but to gather their belongings and pride, and start over. So no, Karachiites are exploited, annoyed, frustrated but definitely not resilient or brave out of choice, because no one chose to be here, yet here we are. 

Missing in action in all this fiasco has been the equality thumpers. The “woke”, “liberal”, “mera jism meri marzi” and “apna khaana khud garam karo,” ladies have been largely on mute. Since they want respect and equality in every walk of life, why weren’t they seen armed with buckets, helping flush water out of homes and streets, or Frere hall, their holy land of assembly? Why weren’t they out rescuing people off streets, driving to help those stuck in their homes? Why weren’t they making food and putting up stalls in neighborhoods so people could have access to cooked meals when their kitchens were flooded or inaccessible? Why must the men do the dangerous tasks while the women sit behind their dying phone screens and complain? Why was it that a woman felt comfortable to upload a viral video cursing at authorities being chauffeured in a 4x4, commenting on drowning pedestrians, but didn’t feel the need to pull over or even roll down her window to ask if she could help somehow? This was their golden chance to stand shoulder to shoulder with men that they demand to be equal to, but not one of these equalists stepped out, hereby relinquishing their right to demand equal everything in the world. It’s always empty words with us, be it our civilians or our politicians, our institutions or our clerics.

While half of the city sank in filthy water and despair, one thing that became glaringly clear is our inability to be responsible, or have a sense of culpability. It takes a lot to be revolutionised; we aren’t of that cloth. That being said, another rain spell is predicted. Even Shah Ghazi refuses to protect us anymore!