More and more often, we hear of events intended to collect money for the people of various occupied or oppressed nations. Of course, all these people need help. In an ideal world, the richest nations on the globe, or at least those who form a part of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, would work much harder to offer these people the help and support they need, not only in terms of charity but also political pressure to alter their situation.
But should we be acting more locally, even if we continue to think globally? The reality is there are people in Pakistan who die of starvation almost every day. Thirty percent of people in the country live below the poverty line according to official figures, and according to the World Bank forty percent of households are food insecure or face shortages. This is especially true as inflation rises. We know from studies conducted in Sindh that women and children frequently suffer the worst impacts of malnutrition. Simply the fact that nearly 50 percent of children in the country are stunted, and due to the lack of nutritious food also susceptible to poor mental development, should be enough to tell us the story of our country in extremely clear-cut terms.
Pakistan is at present ranked as the 51st poorest country in the world out of a list of 194 countries put together by the IMF. This list does not truly reflect the extent of human suffering in a nation which has resources but where wealth is extremely unevenly divided. The long-term answer is of course a revamping of the system and more expenditure on ensuring that all people in the country at least have enough to eat.
So, should we not be focusing as Pakistanis on poverty and hunger in our own country? Too many of us simply deny that people, including children, sleep hungry night after night with not enough food to sustain growth and welfare. Perhaps for the short term, especially in this time of the pandemic, with fears of the fourth wave sweeping across the country, we should be focusing on feeding and looking after our own people – even if it is more ‘fashionable’ to hold events to help others.
It is also interesting that because of the negative perceptions regarding Afghan refugees in the past, there appears to be less readiness to help the people of that country, tens of thousands of whom are already seeking a way out of their own country. Traditionally, Afghans have sought refuge most often in Pakistan, except of course the very rich who can fly to other lands. Already these Afghans, including children and women, are hungry, without shelter and terrified of a fresh round of chaos and conflict. Yet we talk very little about helping them, perhaps because after the initial help provided to Afghans we gradually began to depict them as terrorists or thieves.
Pakistan is currently ranked according to the World Bank as a country which is poorer than Bangladesh and every other country in Asia except Afghanistan. India has suffered due to Covid-19 but in previous years ranks well above Pakistan in terms of its poverty levels. We like to delude ourselves into believing we are doing better than India. But it is easy to forget the shantytowns and settlements in our own country, which are often hidden away from areas where mansions stand even though the distance dividing them may not be more than a few kilometres. The eviction of people from houses they own leases to in some of these settlements or to set up new development projects makes matters even worse.
There is a real risk that climate change could further worsen the situation, most of all for the extremely vulnerable people who live without adequate sanitation, access to safe drinking water and too little food. The patterns are already visible, with the UN warning that Pakistan already suffers water scarcity and could within 25 years turn into a nation which is hit by acute water deprivation. Most deaths due to disease in our country are caused by water-borne illnesses. A further shortage of water would of course only add to the toll.
We cannot let this happen. We cannot simply let our people die of hunger or due to a lack of water – and we must remember that hunger exists in urban areas too, not just in Tharparkar, Cholistan or the more remote regions of the country.
There are many ways in which help can be offered. Some organisations, led by the Edhi Foundation, are already engaged in this task. More need to join them. Charity is not a fashion statement or a way to draw people to what they see as the current fad in terms of relief. We must face up to the reality of Pakistan and accept that its people desperately need support, initially through charity given the lack of choice but in the long run through a change in government policies and efficiently run welfare projects based around portions of the GDP which are currently being spent for other purposes.
The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor.
Email: kamilahyat@hotmail.com
