Is there anybody out there?

Some would say that in recent years things haven’t been going particularly well for Pakistan. But I think most would agree that things have never gone particularly well or, for that matter, particularly badly either. We seem to have muddled along for 63 years without much of a plan, as a result of which the mess has gotten messier and the unravelling much more difficult. Difficult but not impossible. After all, it is we who have brought us to where we are. So instead of blaming everyone else let’s look inward and see what we are doing to contribute to the malaise.

Pakistan has been hit by the worst floods in living memory. We cannot combat the force of nature – superpowers like the US were unable to deal with the raw power of Hurricane Katrina – but what have we done to contribute to and compound the tragedy?

Let’s start with deforestation. Only two and a half per cent of the country is covered with forests, which are being stripped of trees at an alarming rate. What’s that got to do with flooding? Lots. Illegal logging has been taking place for years, trees are felled and hidden in nullahs. When it rains the nullahs turn into streams and the logs are transported down via the river. Other than landslides, soil erosion and the occasional homes and crops being swept away, it’s not considered a disaster and hence doesn’t make the headlines. When it rains like it has this year, landslides occur on a huge scale, villages and livelihoods are swept away and as the mud and water pours down with the force and fury of nature, the logs lying in the nullas cease to be doors, windows or furniture for your new home. Instead, they turn in to instruments of destruction as they, propelled by the force of the water, smash all in their wake. According to relief workers, most bridges in the area were destroyed when swirling logs crashed into them.

With bridges gone, areas becomes inaccessible. Kohistan is remote enough as it is but with roads and bridges gone, it can take anywhere from a two to five day walk to get to a point where relief goods can be delivered. Thousands of people are cut off from the rest of the country and even fire, yes fire so that people can cook, has to be delivered. Not something an airdrop can take care of. Airdrops too are limited. As we know from the days of the earthquake, Pakistan has small fighter helicopters. Good for bombing Balochistan but not so useful when it comes to aid drops. They can carry a few hundred kilogrammes at the most, whereas we need to transport goods in tons. Perhaps helicopters could drop off relief workers and C-130s could drop relief goods. It has been done before and known to work.

Further downstream, encroachments on the river contribute to the devastation. Despite the warnings and efforts of the civil administration, people refuse to move. The floods are heading to Sindh and the example of the terrible tragedy of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is before us, yet people refuse to move. Not because they are stupid but because they are afraid. Afraid that if they move they will not be allowed back. That more powerful elements will take their space. The wrath of nature seems to be a better bet than the cruelty and greed of man.

Much has been said and written about the failure of government. It is time for us to realise that the government is capable of what we let them be capable of. If we want the state to work for the people we need to understand that military adventurism will only mean more Cobra attack helicopters and not big transport ones, that the timber mafia sits in parliament because the political process is so stymied the state has no writ and the country is split into thousands of little fiefdoms. Calling for a change of government is not the answer. Not only do we need to make ourselves heard, we need to make the government work.

“The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our stars but in ourselves that we are underlings.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2010.