what we can do?

During the different visits to interior Sind and Karachi Flood relief camps for the last month, I personally experienced few things that had shaken me when I thought about them in detail. I want to discuss these things with you all and ask for the advices if anyone has better ideas and we can solve this issue.

We visited several different camps even without the fear of security we approached to the affected people who were not registered in any camp and just set their fragile and unreliable shelters wherever they got place. They were needy, hungry, thirsty for clean drinking water, kids wanting milk, showing so much desperation that went to mismanagement and disordered things. They do not want to wait till their number to come, instead they want to get the things and aid at first and for doing this they do not hesitate to crush others' rights who are also needy like them.

Many of us at different places, when observed the same situation found hard to work in these circumstances and felt miserable for the people who could not wait just a little till their turn. But then we felt that it's so natural.

They do it because they do not trust that they will get and aid will not be stopped till their turn. They have experienced much hunger and thirst that have brought a sense of insecurity inside them. They have experienced the injustice during the distribution of relief goods by the government and even from certain organizations.

Someone when remarked that these people are criminal minded and do not have any ethical and moral values, just want to snatch everything in their reach. The most simple answer that I heard from many of us was that if this is a standard to check the criminal mind of someone, then I think three quarters of the total population of this country are criminal minded.

What behavior it will be called when people rush without any ethical law towards the meal in a wedding ceremony and pushing each other like they have never been to eat anything. What attitude it will be named when people do not want to stand in a queue and wait till their turn but they break the line rushing towards the counter without caring about the rights of the people who are standing and waiting before them. This is the very usual attitude of our society that everyone seems in a hurry and move fast than other but not on his own foot instead by crushing other's foot.

Although, they are poor and misconduct with people many times even with them who have come to help them in this worst condition, but this is a truth that the major reason for that is their sense of insecurity, they consider us untrustworthy who can betray them anytime and use them for our own purpose.

There is good and bad, genuine and impure, everywhere in this world. We have to discriminate it on our own and if we can not then we should not leave good and genuine due to the only reason that there is bad and impure which also exists and can cause problems.

For this reason, we found out the solution and first after approaching any camp, try to convince people that they should follow some rules and ethical laws for pure distribution of goods and stuff. Dr. Kashif being very useful in this matter, as he can speak Sindhi frequently, tried to mange things and was successful at most of the times.

So, if we can do something for them that it is hope that should not die among them and we can keep hope for them alive by changing our attitude towards them and providing goods and stuff by making a trust with purity and justice. Also, please try when anyone of you people who are working for flood relief camps and face the panic and rushing situation during the process of distribution, do not throw things to them instead stop providing things till a specific time and try to convince them that control and management is necessary and they should follow some ethics. You will find some troubles initially but then people will understand and believe you and when they will believe you, they will not extend their hands except they will wait for you to reach them on their turn. Believe me, it is not impossible we can do it with a little more struggle. If they are illiterate, we can teach them ethics of life. If they are misbehaved, we can change their behavior. If they are insane, we can enlighten their senses. And this all we can do just by treating them as we treat our brothers and sisters got a trouble and behaving not well, and we still want to help them. Give them respect a human deserves, speak politely and they will respect you in a way you can not expect. Try it once, change the scenario, avail this opportunity to aware them.