A sick society

A society which suffers grave flaws in governance and in relations between people within the social environment demonstrates this in many different ways. Let us think of countries from where the abuse of entirely helpless persons has been reported. There are many. Unfortunately, there is alarming evidence that Pakistan may be joining their ranks. The incident reported from Lahore last week       in which two bus conductors taking a group of deaf and dumb children to their government school in Gulberg brutally tortured and laughed at the agony of two of the small boys, one of whom had been hung on the railing of the bus until their agony was visible, demonstrates cruelty that can be experienced in many places within our country. Obviously, distinctly torturing a child who is unable to speak or to complain, is an act that only the most sadistic person would engage in. Worst still is the aftermath. A ‘settlement’ was reportedly reached in court this week between the parents of the victims and the two men. It is not known what the terms were. But the two men have escaped without penalty. It is unlikely an inquiry by the school head will lead anywhere.

There are other stories of abuse within institutions of people who are unable in any way to defend themselves. Such reports have surfaced from mental institutions, schools for those with special needs and also ordinary schools attended by children from across society. There has to be something wrong within a society that is capable of harming another human being so callously and apparently mainly for the sake of entertainment and then allowing them to escape without punishment. An expression of regret, offered by the two jailed men, is essentially meaningless. It is obvious we as a people have become badly brutalised over the years with multiple cases of mobs attacking people or harming them in other ways. Violence has spread quickly and human life or welfare is no longer sacred. This is not an issue that should be taken lightly or ignored. We need to look into the soul of our society and see what has gone wrong and what compels people to act in certain ways. Without this examination incidents similar to the one which will forever haunt two defenceless boys will continue.