Opinion
Winter woes and insensitive authorities
This sort of miserable winter with bone curdling chill comes once every five or six years. I suppose we should count our blessings that we do not have to face the nearly unbearable arctic misery every year. Thank goodness for that. Those of us, with the warmth of heavy winter attire and comfortable dwelling, feel cozy and yet complain and harangue about the cold perhaps should think about the street people, including women, children and old folks as well as the poor and the destitute, bereft of warm winter clothing, comfortable living or snug abode.
Let's face it and be candid, blunt and honest. Despite tall talks, grandiloquent verbosity, grandiose claims and elaborate plans by successive governments and excessive NGOs, this country is yet to make a noteworthy dent in poverty and attain a smidgen of success in poverty alleviation. The poor, the dispossessed and the deprived are currently and mostly bearing the brunt of winter miseries. Little bonfires lit in street corners, huddled masses and a longing for the sun are testimony of this. The situation in the rural areas and in north Bengal must really be a lot worse, something the Dhaka elites and powers that be find difficult to comprehend. Nor do they particularly care. The Prime Minister distributed blankets to the poor and the homeless in the dead of night. Other ministers are seen on BTV News wrapping blankets around the underprivileged in their constituencies. These are all well and good. But the fact is these are at best token gestures, patchy, symbolic and anecdotal. These gestures do not make a whole lot of difference in the collective misery of the lot. These actions, frankly, do not amount to a hill of beans in greater scheme of things.
According to a recent CNN news item, about 500 people have died in the current cold wave. It is unfortunate but the truth of the matter is, in a poor, poorly governed and botched managed country like ours, people die for reasons that they do not need to in this day and age. It is true for infectious or untreated diseases, it is true for horrendous road and work related accidents, and it is equally true for unexpected bone chilling winter effects.
Could the government and the NGOs have done something about it? Absolutely, indubitably and for sure. How about providing shelters, as is the norm in cyclones and tidal waves in the coastal areas, in schools and government buildings, especially at night time in most affected areas such as the northern districts? The mercury in some areas in north Bengal dipped below 5 degree Celsius. Most schools have been in winter recess or have been shut down due to severe cold. In Sierra Leone, Bangladeshi peacekeeping soldiers have received tributes and accolades for building roads and shelters for people in the war ravaged country. As the army action to curb crime and terrorism was in progress, could the Army Engineering Core not be used to build temporary shelters for their own poor, homeless, utterly helpless and suffering compatriots?
What is the value of human life in this country? Will the government, rather than banging its empty and vacuous drum on state controlled media, appeal to the wealthy and privileged to assist the poor with food, clothing and shelter? Will the main opposition party, rather than the drivel about senseless, and gratuitous destabilising mass movement to oust the government, indulge in the welfare task of helping the needy? Will they ingratiate themselves by good deeds rather than empty self serving fallacious words? And will the indoctrinated, sanctimonious and self-righteous, wrapped in a time warp inconsequential left wing parties, rather than phony moral outrage and tautological do good utterances get out of their metaphoric plush living rooms and provide much needed assistance to the distressed lot? And finally, will the NGOs, rather than bickering among themselves and playing a dirty power and influence peddling game in terms of a prim and proper hooey umbrella organisation (ADAB or not), get down and dirty to the nitty-gritty and utilise the bulging coffers to alleviate the misery, torment and hardship of the needy and provide solace, relief, hope and valuable gift of life? These are all rhetorical questions and most of us already know the answers.
Omar Khasru is Special Assistant to Vice Chancellor at a private university.
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