“Man has no control over life or death. It is in the hands of Allah.”
“Man has no control over life or death. It is in the hands of Allah.”
“The doctor who told the girl’s parents that if he had arrived 10 mins earlier is being investigated ..he will be persecuted.”
I am flabbergasted and appalled, in turn, by these statements from the senior members of Pakistan’s Peoples Party, the ruling party in Sindh, after the death of a 10 month old girl, Basma. Her father claimed to have been denied access to the emergency services of the hospital he took his gravely ill daughter to, after being stuck in traffic for an hour surrounding the hospital due to the VIP movement of Bilawal Zardari. The desperate father was shunted from gate to gate by the police guarding the scion of PPP who, as it so happens, was there inaugurating the new trauma center. By the time he got admittance he was told by the doctors: “We are sorry .Perhaps if you had come 5- 10 minutes before..” Ironic much?
As a common citizen of Pakistan, as a woman, I am heartsick but perhaps my outrage is increased tenfold as a doctor.
These VIPS have a habit of ending a doctor’s career if he/ she so much as arrives 10 minutes late to give an enema to their great grandmother admitted for a common cold. The same doctors are vilified and derided for going on strikes for their rights and denying the poor patients their services. And the same doctors today are being investigated for diagnosing the cause of death of a sick innocent baby: arriving a little too late for medical help.
As a doctor I can assurance you 10 minutes mater greatly in the scheme of things when dealing with a serious patient. Most of the pediatricians would further agree that 10 minutes can be the difference between life and death in a seriously ill infant’s case. In the critical situation often faced by us on the emergency floors of hospitals, every second maters. We do our best in our capacity and leave the rest to Allah.
The politicians giving the above quoted, contrary, statements to the media are not unaware of this fact; they simply choose to disbelieve it in this instant. Their protestations over a 10 minute time frame being made a big deal isn’t just a testament to their ignorance, it’s a glaring proof of their insulating arrogance.
In a decisive case of common poor man vs the protocol deservers/VIPs/ political leaders their aides their cousins etc. the common man’s life clearly does not rate as highly as Nisar Khuhro said: “Bilail Zardari’s life is the most important to us”.
The blaring message that is being broadcasted in this instant to every Pakistani is: not only are we discriminated against abroad but, we the people of Pakistan’s life is rated on the importance ladder by the amount of money we have , by our political clout, by our status perhaps even by our sex.
Miss Nadia Gabol acted affronted and was clearly furious at the “political Hoopla”( her words) that is being made of this incident, as the argument offered is that leaders such as Bilawal Bhutto, important to the integrity of Pakistan, are in constant danger and need to be kept safe.
The only danger Bilawal Zardari seems to be in is free tuition from Urdu language fans, which are fed up with his butchering our national language on a regular basis. And the integrity of Pakistan seems to continuously hinge upon people occasionally visiting our country rather than people of this country. Is his life really worth so much more than yours or mine or 10 month old Bismas?
Is the need for such elaborate protocols necessary? Is there really such a threat to all the VIPs? Or is it the thrill of zooming by in a bullet proof Mercedes with an enclave of siren blaring vehicles, looking down on the “common people” scrambling to get out of the way.
These questions are up for debate but what is not is the value of life of a common Pakistani. We are all equal with across the board rights. We are the ones who have empowered these runaway ruling elite in Pakistan to an extent where they write away a little girl’s death as “a regrettable incident” with impunity. It is time to step up and ask for accountability, for justice for our dignity and say “No!” to elaborate unnecessary VIP protocols.
This time it is not us Muslims vs non-Muslims or brown vs white or Americans vs Pakistanis. It is the bourgeoisie vs the proletarian, politician vs a common employee doing their job, us vs them. And it is time to say yes in our case, as in any serious patient’s case, 10 minutes matter.
