Pulpits of terror and fear
WE are luckier in Bangladesh. The civil society here does not subscribe to the terrorism narrative. In spite of being polarised on many issues, we stand united in our war against terror. We don't have an Imran Khan calling for “negotiations” with the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP); we don't have terrorist groups operating in the open like the ones in Peshawar; we don't have religious leaders like Maulana Aziz of Lal Masjid airing their views on national television. We also don't have young people being churned out of seminaries and training camps believing that the vision of Jihad is the future of our land. In one form or the other, we are way better than most of our neighbours. But for many winters, the world shed tears for the 132 children and their teachers in Peshawar, who were killed in retaliation by brutes. In spite of stressing on terrorists having no religion, nationality or home, deep down inside, most of us know that most of these terrorists are Muslims and are housed and fed well for their religiosity.
Who are these terrorists? Alan B. Krueger, an economist at the Princeton University in his book, 'What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism', wrote about a conference in 2002 where foreign ministers from over fifty Islamic states had agreed to condemn terrorism but “could not agree on a definition of what it was that they had condemned.” Reality is, the face of a terrorist is always well protected by a few mullahs at the pulpit and very rarely do we get to recognise them in full exposure. Hence, 16th December 2014, a day of celebration for Bangladesh, has just been turned into a day of national mourning by “fidayeens”, who stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar and killed children in apparent retaliation to army operations. The threat continues as terrorists supervising the Peshwar attack have promised more attacks if the military and the intelligence agencies continue with their anti-terror operations. Unfortunately, there are many “Khalifa” Umars in Pakistan, calling shots from the region of Darra Adamkhel, an arms-manufacturing region in Peshawar, who are responsible for many massacres. Luckily, for us, the days of the “tamarind” dictates are fast approaching demise, while for Pakistan, the war against terror is far from over. Just a day ago, the airport at Islamabad was closed down for a few hours and while your columnist pens this column the reason has still not been specified. But it also seems that Pakistani government while steadying its focus on battling the evil, may also be stepping into quick sand. A torture victim convicted of involuntary manslaughter at just 14 years old will be hanged in Pakistan on the 23rd of December. Research from Reprieve and Justice Project Pakistan (JPP) has revealed that a black execution warrant has been issued against one of the six prisoners, Shafquat Hossain who was only 14 when he was sentenced in 2004 for involuntary manslaughter. Shafquat was tortured for nine days to confess and finally the Sindh High Court reviewed his conviction for murder and quashed it by replacing with a conviction for involuntary manslaughter – accidentally causing death. Is Pakistan overusing the Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act? According to JPP, 80% of the prisoners who are tried as “terrorists” have no link to terrorism. With Pakistan's decision to lift the six-year moratorium on executions, how many of 8000 people currently on death-rows and awaiting execution will be hanged for being “terrorists”?
While identifying the terrorists is a massive commitment, countries in South Asia also need to identify the perpetuators who routinely drive the vehicle of death and abuse. As much as Pakistan will never forget December 16, 2014, Bangladesh too will have a hard time forgetting July 12, 2011, a day which ended the possibilities of 43 children ever playing in the fields of Abu Torab Primary and High School again and ever cheering for matches or picking a fight on the field. These kids were all crushed under the deadly weight of a truck. ADB reports, 60 percent of the 1.18 million fatal road accidents happen in the Asia and the Pacific. World Bank estimates that 90 percent of the fatal accidents happen in developing countries like ours causing death mostly to those in the age range of 5-29. In spite of Bangladesh becoming one of the 91 signatories on The Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, in May 2011, which aims to avert an estimated 3 million fatalities and 120 million injuries in the region over the next decade, have incidence of accidents reduced? Truth be known, these killers are everywhere. They live amidst our families, within our own circle of conscience.
How else do we kill our kids? The number of children engaged in child labour in between ages of 14 and 18 is distressing. The incidence of child labour causes many children to miss out on secondary education. UNDP states that the secondary school attendance rate of boys – at only 46 per cent – is even lower than among girls. Luckily, child labour has ended in the ready-made garment sector and we don't have to hide kids in sacks during audit and luckily we don't have stories like the ones in India where child labour contributes an estimated 20 per cent of India's gross national product with 55 million children aged from five to 14 employed across the business and domestic sector. India, with an estimated 30 percent of the world's working kids, is also home to the largest child labour force in the world.
Although it's great news that we are doing better than many of our neighbours, we still need to empathise with the tragedies of others as and when they happen. While December 16th will always be a day when we sport our national flag in celebration of our victory, but we also need to take a step further and stand united in regret for the children who lost their lives this year in Peshawar. If prompted by PM Modi's twitter message, children all across India could sport black bands and stand two-minutes in silence, carrying placards expressing solidarity with the people of Pakistan in their hour of suffering, shouldn't Bangladesh do the same? The burden of history plagues us but in times like this, all of us need to be defiantly united in courage and conviction to end the perpetual cruelty that is unleashed by the terrorists, who aim to scare others, succeed even when failing, and are brutally efficient in imposing costs on not just the direct victims but on everyone.
While we collectively remember that there are no consolations for a terrorist attack, while we all remember that the death of these children were only props furthering the agenda of terrorism, we also need to remember the story of the failed attempt of the suicide bomber, Richard Reid, who was unsuccessful in detonating the plastic explosives concealed in his shoes in 2001, on board an American Airlines flight flying from Paris to Miami with continuing service to Arizona. Reid, an Islamic fundamentalist and a self-proclaimed Al-Qaeda operative, lit a match and couldn't detonate the bomb as perspiration from his feet dampened the gunpowder and prevented it from igniting. Moral of the story: while these terrorists are delusional about being united with God in their Jihad, they also perspire in fear. While we spot their arrogant rhetoric of brutality, the nations must all come together, spot their vulnerability and cease the narratives of terror, all at once and in one voice.
The writer is Managing Director, Mohammadi Group.
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