Finally Pakistan has accepted $5 million aid from its western neighbor India after about week’s consideration. Was it deliberation or was it under the US pressure that the government of Pakistan has accepted the aid?
State Department spokesperson Mr. Crowley had said in press briefings “In terms of responding to a disaster, politics should play no role. You have a country (India) that’s willing to help (Pakistan), and… we expect that Pakistan will accept.”
And Pakistan did accept.
One has to wonder why a government in crisis would refuse assistance, any form of assistance from anyone in the world. The people of Pakistan are suffering. There is no clean drinking water. There is no shelter as floods washed away people’s homes. There is no food or medicines and there is an imminent danger of spread of water borne diseases. Under such circumstances how can a responsible government say no to help for its people. Allegations that charities with ties to militant groups are helping out to provide relief to people have already been reported in international press. Jamat-ud-Dawa is believed to be actively engaged in helping people.
In 2007, when Pakistan was struck with the earthquakes, India offered its helicopters to outreach the affected areas. The offer, however, was refused because, well, Pakistanis did not want Indians to be on board the helicopters and Indians didn’t just want to give out their helicopters.
At the time Pakistan and India were quite friendly, so the much needed assistance was provided in many other ways. Also, it was widely reported by Indian press unlike this time when floods in Pakistan is hardly the headline news in Indian media.
But one also has to stop and think that couldn’t one of the biggest democracies of the world – that is emerging as a world power – have donated more to help. India’s GDP according to World Bank is 8.60% with a growth rate of more than 7 per cent since 1997. As a bigger country, couldn’t India have a bigger heart to help its next door neighbour, to show good will gesture toward people who are in desperate need. India is the biggest supplier of relatively inexpensive medicine. Many Western countries are medically outsourcing to India for cheaper but effective medical care. Can we expect India to open its heart and purse for its neighbours?
We’ll see.
For now at least here in North American, South Asian youth is doing its part. It is fundraising and the pain of youth of Pakistani background is equally felt by youth of Indian background as they have become school mates, college friends and work place colleagues. While the prejudices of the first generation immigrants have subsided to a great degree, youth has become the best hope for the world and humanity within the world. Or perhaps, we live in a humane society where to share and be humane is ingrained in us.
