| September 1, 2002 | Sunday | Jamadi-us-Saani 22,1423 |
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Justice for Bhopal victims
Neglect of folk artists
PRESIDENT General Pervez Musharraf made some pertinent observations about the potential of Pakistan’s foreign trade the other day while speaking at the 25th Export Trophy Award ceremony in Islamabad. He is confident that by shifting the focus from the traditional to the engineering sector Pakistan could raise its annual export earning from the present about $ 10 billion to $ 80 to 90 billion. Incidentally, this has been the recurring refrain of successive governments as expressed in terms of five-year plans, annual development programmes and public sector development plans, all stressing the vital role of the engineering goods sector in the economy. There have also been instances of generous budgetary concessions and incentives for this sector. But at the end of the day, we have invariably found ourselves back at square one, promoting, instead, sun-set industries like sugar and cement. One reason for this has been the continuing neglect to develop the necessary human material and technological base to promote and sustain a sound engineering sector.
Secondly, the Pakistani entrepreneur being a product of licences, political connections and influence has always played it safe and gone for only those risk-free enterprises where he could make a killing even before investing a single paisa of his own. The import substitution policies of past governments had provided him the needed cover for confining himself to the consumer goods sector. Thirdly, there is a class of economists in this country who believe that since Pakistan does not possess any comparative advantage in the engineering sector, it should not waste its energies and resources on this sector and instead focus more on agro-industries and warehousing (transshipment) for the region by dismantling all import and export barriers against engineering goods.
In their opinion, the first step towards making even ware-housing activity profitable, the government will have to turn the Karachi Steel Mill into a viable project by expanding its capacity from the current 1.1 million tonnes to at least three million tonnes to make its products price competitive. Our efforts to more fully explore the Chinese markets for our goods can also prove highly rewarding. Indeed, one cannot but agree with the president that by diversifying our trade in the huge and rapidly expanding Chinese market, we could reap rich dividends. However, South Asian markets will remain out of our reach unless we pay greater attention to the cost and quality of our products and their greater interaction between the countries of the region. African markets are largely unexplored, but their limited buying capacity renders them less attractive in the short run.
Pakistan can benefit from globalization only if it begins to dismantle all barriers against imports from all countries as required by WTO rules. This will be a major move, and before we do that the nation will have to be made aware of all the pros and cons of such a policy. As of today a perception is gaining ground in the developing world that globalization only helps the rich countries become richer at the cost of poor countries. Finally, there’s the law and order problem, on which President Musharraf asked the business community to have patience because the steps his government had taken to improve the situation would take time to produce results. But the question is, how much time do we have before we come face to face with a bottomed out economy?
THE ruling by a court in India that a former chairman of the US-based Union Carbide corporation must face charges of culpable homicide has been greeted, understandably, with great satisfaction by those seeking justice for the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster. The court rejected the government’s plea to have the charge watered down to that of negligence. The former Union Carbide executive could now be extradited to India to face charges — a long-standing demand of those affected by the calamity at the company’s Bhopal chemical factory. However, 18 years after the incident, the case is still being heard in the lower courts and could drag on for many more years.
The Bhopal gas leak tragedy was perhaps the most catastrophic industrial accident in recent history. At least 3,000 people lost their lives instantly because of gas poisoning. Some 15,000 more are believed to have died since then as a result of the poisoning, and half a million remain seriously ill. New Delhi’s attempt to have the gravity of the charges against the former chairman reduced caused dismay among victims’ groups. Campaigners allege that the government was bowing to pressure from Washington and acting out of fear that future foreign investors would be frightened away if a senior multinational executive was hauled up before a court.
The truth is that the already formidable clout of large multinationals over developing nations has been bolstered in the era of globalization. With foreign investment seen as the economic panacea for the ills of poor nations, large corporations can literally dictate terms to Third World governments. Lawyers for the victims argue that violations of human rights by large corporations and acts of corporate criminality are issues that must be faced head on. While Union Carbide had accepted ‘moral responsibility’ for the Bhopal incident and paid about $500 million in compensation to the Indian government, the victims claim that the amount was wholly inadequate and that many of those affected have yet to receive any money. As the case runs its course in India’s lower courts, human rights groups the world over will be keenly following its progress because of its implications for the accountability of powerful corporations.
THE passing away of Sindhi vocalist Shafi Mohammed Jumman in penury and neglect must have shocked many people. One of the province’s most illustrious folk musicians, Shafi Mohammed lived the last few years of his life in extreme poverty and ill health with no one except his immediate family to look after him. That he died in Karachi’s Civil Hospital on Tuesday without any food or medicines is as much an indictment of the way we treat our cultural and artistic talent as it is of the way we run our government hospitals. What is perhaps even worse is that taking note of Jumman’s ill health, the Sindh government had announced that it would provide him with financial aid, but the singer died before he could receive any help.
Unfortunately, we have a terrible history of treating our musicians and artists with extreme indifference. This is especially so in the case of those who have chosen to work in the field of folk culture and have thus failed to attract the attention of the elitist media channels. Shafi Mohammed Jumman is just one in a line of gifted folk musicians — like Pathaney Khan and Mai Bhaggi — who have died with little public notice. The ease with which many Pakistanis can now access all kinds of cultures, and the increasing commercialization of music, means that local folk musicians and entertainers have an even harder time making ends meet. And that is precisely why the government, the various arts councils, and perhaps philanthropists need to step in and set up a mechanism, say, a permanent fund, to provide support, encouragement and recompense for artists in need.