The Greece Boat Tragedy: A Reflection on the False Promises of the System

We all dream of living the best life and then finish off with an easy death. Any normal human being would want a life where they are not limited to the pursuit of needs but one where they can also fulfill their wants. We never want to die because of torment or under the effects of harsh poverty. We do not want suffering, and our entire lives are spent running away from it. Yet the essence of life is to suffer, to undergo rigorous routines fetching the necessities and requirements of a decent lifestyle. However, overshadowing all these wishes, is the towering figure of incompetence by those who take oaths of sincerity to the people and to this country.

The recent development of an immigrant-carrying ferry sinking off the coast of Greece sends shivers down one’s spine. Reports suggest around seven hundred and fifty people were aboard, approximately half of whom are feared to be Pakistanis, subject to the most inhumane treatment.

The question is, who in their good sense would depart on such a perilous journey? At least most of us have at one point in time thought of emigrating and heading to the developed world. Why? The answer lies in the human tendency to seek brighter avenues and acquire better possibilities. Moving gradually from meeting needs to fulfilling wants.

Pakistan, for the middle and lower end of the financial spectrum, is unfortunately not the best of the places to live in. Some might argue that it is not even an adequate one. There arrive instances where one may agree with such a statement: when the most desperate lot struggle to take food home and feed their families; when young bright graduates roam around the city unemployed; when thieves steal a man’s money who just returned from his job earning below minimum wage; or when poverty-stricken people lose their lives fighting for a bag of flour.

Yet packing your belongings and making a run is not the only answer. There are those who make their stand, who in all adversity decide to stick to their roots and remain. These are the people who will make a change. That change needs to be brought in the system that is running Pakistan. A systemic change if you will.

The government has assigned agencies to seek the human traffickers responsible for arranging what led to this tragedy. Yet it is important to highlight the real cause behind the deaths of those people, and traffickers are way down the list.

The government is primarily responsible for the welfare of its people. The government is to be held accountable for the availability of welfare or a lack thereof. It seems that the larger Pakistani society has always felt a lacking in this regard and rightly enough. One need not look further than the public education and healthcare sectors to gauge the government’s efficacy. The law and order situation is deteriorating on a day-to-day basis. Currency devaluation, that too for an import-oriented economy, has spelled disaster for the low earning segment of the society; even the considerably affluent seem concerned with the rate at which inflation is growing.

All of these are indicators of a flawed system. From our very inception, we had very few bright minds to rely on, and entire political and bureaucratic systems were handed over to highly unprofessional and narcissistic individuals who left no stone unturned in acquiring the riches for their own, leaving a paltry here and there for the miserable people.

Thus, there is a calling for a systemic change. It all starts with the economy. Pakistan’s agricultural produce will not suffice if Pakistan wants to compete with the rest of the world. Massive industrialization is to be focused on and wherever large-scale industry is unfeasible, priority should be given to Small and Medium Enterprises. Second, our education system must rely less on superficial notions and focus on raw, realistic, contemporary and skill-based education; this will empower the upcoming generation by helping them become independent. Third, our judicial system must correct course before it crumbles under the weight of corruption, decades-old pending cases, and a decreasing confidence in the judicial system. Wherever justice is delayed, it is considered as denied and the people of that society degenerate. Finally, we need to create opportunities for Pakistanis within Pakistan so that they are not forced to leave their country and their loved ones in such desperate circumstances. Our flawed system and its policies ultimately force people to consider gambling with their lives, as appears to be the case with the incident near Greece. It is not the drowned souls who are solely responsible for their deaths; rather the sheer lack of sympathy and sensibility of the existing system needs to be addressed.