Terrorism literally hits home
I called home today to find out that a blast had taken place near our residential area. Wardah, my sister, said the blast made the house windows shake. It occurred outside the Naval Complex in Islamabad. One guard died while two others were injured (inna lillahe wa inna ilaihe raajioon). My family lives opposite in the PAF complex.
Hearing about the blast, my first thought was “Where is Zunu?” My sister Zunaira studies at the university inside the Naval Complex where she was at the time of the blast. To my surprise, their classes went on as scheduled and she was still in university at the time I called a few hours after the blast. Thank God no one was harmed but I’m surprised there was no evacuation of students.
What really surprises me about my reaction was how calm I was. A suicide bomb blast occurred less than a kilometer away from my family and I after the initial shock and sadness, we quickly progressed on to other topics even laughing and joking during the course of the conversation. Now I feel there must be something very inhumane and almost inhuman about that. Have we reached such a high level of desensitization that we are no longer shocked at anything? Has the constant turmoil and bad news made us apathetic? The fact that only one person died is considered good news. One person DIED. How is that good news? To keep sane and go on with life, have we become stripped of the basic attribute that makes us human– empathy?
Everything has now become relative and the day that passes by without a bomb blast is considered out of the ordinary. That more than anything really disturbs me.
10 Responses to “Terrorism literally hits home”
December 2nd, 2009 saat: 4:06 pm
Glad to hear everyone in your family is okay. I remember, almost two years ago when the series of bomb blasts and terrorism had just begun a friend’s house was reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds. I have yet to recover from that shock, thankfully no one was hurt from his family but many people died that day. Yes it hits home and then we realise how dire the situation really is however the frequency of these attacks has numbed us all. Turning inhuman I still believe is a strong statement. We are where everyone is counting their little chicks like an OCD affected chicken every twenty seconds and simply them being okay is a relief
December 2nd, 2009 saat: 7:42 pm
I agree that when there is no way out, people become desensitised after a while. Hareem – ‘Inhuman’ might be a harsh word but highlights how we’ve started valuing a human life – it doesn’t matter if this conclusion is being forced on us by the circumstances.
The terrorists are from amongst us and we must strive to defeat this part of us that plays in the hands of our enemies. We need a cure and an important part of it is a high dose of ‘humanity’ antibiotics.
December 3rd, 2009 saat: 1:14 am
I agree with Tamreez, we have lost the basic attribute of empathy bcoz of the frequent attacks out country is face everyday. Its true when we find that our relatives or loved ones are safe it doenst stike us that there must be others who have lost a loved one or a relative. The country is in a very state at the moment. You might be on to something here Tamreez. We do need to revive this feeling in all Pakistanis that enough is enough. We should feel the same grief that the dying person’s relatives must be feeling. That one person who died, who knows might be the only bread winner of the household n the whole family might be dependent on him. This way these barbaric terrorists have not just killed one person but a whole family. May Allah give them the power to come out of this grief soon, Ameen. And we all Pakistanis need to try and finish this menace to society(terrorist) once and for all. Allah Merey Mulk Ko Shaad Rakh, Abaad Rakh, Ameen.
December 3rd, 2009 saat: 4:09 am
Glad that your family is safe. Perhaps your laughter afterwards isn’t so much inhumanity, but resilience of your humanity.
December 3rd, 2009 saat: 3:33 pm
I agree with Charlotte. Although it is a must for us to stop and grieve with those whose loved ones died and condemn the dastardly acts in every way, we must not be bogged down for that is what these perpetrators of inhuman acts want.
Dark times as they are, only resilience will take us through.
December 3rd, 2009 saat: 11:04 pm
I agree with you, whenever I hear crazy news about a familiar place in Islamabad that my family and I have spent time at being blown up, I have heard it too many times before to the point where I already expect my family, as long as they are safe, to just keep going on with their normal lives. Shouldn’t I be begging them to leave, to get somewhere safer, less risky, to do SOMETHING? They don’t even feel like it and it’s their own lives. I guess it’s true what they say, as human beings, we can get used to anything, even something criminal can become mundane. It’s a sad fact of humanity.
December 9th, 2009 saat: 3:54 am
hey tamreez. im glad someone raised this issue. frankly, ive learnt from past experience, that unless it directly involves you, your family or someone you know or knew, the issue doesnt really hit home(no offense to anyone). i remember hearing about scores of earthquakes, with hundreds of thousands left dead or homeless, over the past so many years, yet it was over for us in the click of the remote when we changed the channel. yet when the same happened in muzaffarabad, in october 2005, and my best friend’s family were trapped in their home for 3 days with no way of informing the outside world that they were alive but trapped, that is when the gravity of situations like these hit home for me. so im sorry to admit it, but yeah, our lives have become bequeathed to so many different issues, that we often get comfortable as long as our daily routine is not directly affected by a catastrophe. im sure many of you will disagree, but that is my humble opinion. allah help pakistan.amen
December 9th, 2009 saat: 11:01 am
Hey guys, thanks for your comments and prayers.
Hareem, your last sentence is so apt! Unfortunate but true! hehe “everyone is counting their little chicks like an OCD affected chicken every twenty seconds and simply them being okay is a relief”
Waheed, thanks for the comment. I don’t think it’s possible for us to experience the same grief as the family members who lost something, but you’re right what I was trying to emphasize was that at least every once in a while we should stop and try to at least imagine or even inquire who the people were and what their families might be going through. We can’t all constantly be mourning, but once in a while we should.
Charlotte and Irtiza, that’s a nice thought and perhaps a better and more forgiving way of looking at the issue. I agree with you.
Mishi, it’s a very chilling thought that even “something criminal can become mundane” but that does seem to be the case. A few years ago we would look at countries like Palestine, Iraq or recently Afghanistan and think “poor gone cases” and now our own country has reached the brink. I really don’t think the situation on the whole is as bad as that only because the development/urbanization/population levels of some parts of Pakistan are high, but in places like Waziristan we do seem to have reached that point. Unfortunately, many Pakistanis living in the cities don’t think that’s really Pakistan until it happens in Moon market, Lahore or Parade Lane mosque, Pindi.
Usama, you’re absolutely right. That’s how it is. And unfortunately it’s not realistic to expect that we should feed sad at every tragedy.
In the last few days there was an incident every single day and I made a little prayer when I heard about each. But that’s it, after that I guess we all need to move on otherwise life seems very depressing.
And I’m not even in the country. For those in Pakistan, perhaps they need to block everything out just to retain some sanity. It’s very unfortunate and I’m sure living in such circumstances does affect our psyches, but at the moment people are just living without thinking too much about it. And sometimes I think that makes us very callous. The attitude becomes “we will go on with our lives no matter what”. Which I don’t think is healthy.
December 10th, 2009 saat: 9:27 pm
To me it appears that media, politicians and everyone is joined in a conspiracy to make us insane. There is no rating on the media coverage. They make sure not to miss any gory details. There was this instance in which they were doing a verbal autopsy with graphical aids of a suicide bomber. WHAT GOOD WOULD IT DO FOR A COMMON MAN TO WATCH ALL THAT FOR GOD’s SAKE. Think of the children who are growing up in these times. It scares me to think of all the violence to which they are exposed.
As far as suicide bombers are concerned, its not very difficult to find such pawns in Pakistan. The extreme ignorance, poverty and injustice provides a ripe ground for exploitation. But then, every country has its share of pawns….in most of the countries they are called “good citizens”…..you can lead them where you want.
December 11th, 2009 saat: 5:17 pm
Hafsa, you’re right. Our media can be quite sensationalist and there really are no standards they adhere to. Also there is no respect for the privacy of the victims or those present on the scene.
On a positive note, recently I read something which pointed to, hopefully, our media getting more responsible and self-critical. At least there seems to be a realization both on the part of viewers and some media personnel that it’s time that our media came of age, especially considering the huge influence they have on people. In the absence of a lot of forms of entertainment and increasing security threats, I think people spend even more time infront of their teles in Pakistan. Have a look at this: http://changinguppakistan.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/the-media-holding-the-media-accountable/
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