Children’s plight

FOR decades we have ignored the plight of this country’s children who continue to be victims of poverty, exploitation and violence in all its manifestations. In fact, such has been the disinterest in their lot that the government has not been able to make up its mind about the age marking the end of childhood. As pointed out by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), an applicant for the national identity card must be 18 years or older while according to the Employment of Children Act, a child is one who is under 14 years of age. Meanwhile, Pakistan ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which stipulates that a child is anyone under 18. Without clear thinking on the issue, how can Pakistan hope to legislate and implement reform — in this case the Child Protection Bill that has been pending since 2006 — aimed at protecting children and their rights?

Never before has state involvement been more needed to provide relief to millions of children who remain deprived of their rights and are routinely subjected to violence in their homes, schools, places of work and in the streets of Pakistan. True, there is need for a change at all levels so that society is sensitised to the vulnerability of its young ones as well as made aware of their rights. But it is incumbent on the state to take the lead by enacting comprehensive laws that criminalise any form of violence against children and actions that deny them their rights. This is no mean task considering the many ills our children are subjected to: corporal punishment in schools; sexual abuse; long hours of labour at the workplace; and certain social customs such as child marriage. However, action must be taken now to give the children a better deal before the abused of today turn into the abusers of tomorrow.

It is also time to make children themselves aware of their rights and to provide them with forums they can turn to for help in times of difficulty. In the current scheme of things where social pressures of all kinds abound, a child is without a voice, and in many cases even unable to turn to his or her family for solace after undergoing trauma at the hands of others including school teachers, relatives and employers. Educating children through the media and at school can instil in them the confidence to approach the necessary quarters for redress. However, this can only work if the state sets about reforming institutions like the police and the judiciary so that corrective action can be taken to provide relief to affected children and to protect them from further violence.

Friends’ reluctance

THE visiting American official couldn’t have been more blunt. After attending Monday’s Friends of Pakistan meeting in Islamabad, Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a news conference, “It is not going to be a cash advance for Pakistan”. Similar sentiment is said to be filtering in from Saudi Arabia and China at a time when Pakistan needs at least $4bn to avert a balance-of-payments crisis. The Saudi oil facility, which we had taken for granted, is not going to be available, at least not in the near future and most certainly not in the way we want — for us ‘deferred payment’ means a write-off. The visit to China by President Asif Ali Zardari last week may have fetched two nuclear reactors but not the kind of cash handout he probably expected. That should not serve to dilute the results of the Beijing talks. One should, however, show some understanding of the Friends’ position, for they themselves are grappling with the most severe financial crisis the world has seen since the Great Depression. All of them are still willing to help Pakistan but they would not, to quote Boucher again, “throw money on the table”. This may sound negative, perhaps even discourteous, but factors other than the purely economic may also be contributing to the Friends’ reluctance to give cash to Pakistan.

There is no doubt the political crisis beginning with Pervez Musharraf’s dismissal of the chief justice in March 2007 and ending 17 months later with the general’s resignation last August did enormous damage to Pakistan’s image and exposed its political weaknesses, especially the cleavage between the military and the political leadership at a time when a full-scale insurgency was raging. The general election, the assumption of power by the democratic government and the constitutional change in the occupancy of the President House have served to partially undo the damage. But it will take some time before the world will view Pakistan with a degree of equanimity.

The donors, to wit, want to satisfy themselves with Pakistan’s own programme for meeting the economic challenge and mobilising national resources to enable the country to stand on its own feet. Their concerns about aid use are not baseless, for the lending agencies and governments have often found foreign assistance falling victim to mismanagement and reckless spending. Foreign aid no doubt helps, but more important is our ability to plan methodically, carry out structural reforms, set the right socio-economic priorities and develop a leadership in which the nation and the world have confidence.

Missing the boat

IT was in August, when the monsoon season is at its peak in Sindh and the Aedes aegypti mosquito at its deadliest, that the provincial health department called for an allocation of funds for preventing and dealing with a possible dengue outbreak. It was envisaged that the money would go towards the provision of mega-platelet units, shifting of patients to a focal hospital and the launching of awareness activities. However, approval of a Rs20m one-time grant was not received from the chief minister’s office until very recently, a clear indication that Sindh’s officialdom failed to appreciate the urgency of the situation. The long bureaucratic processes involved in the procurement of equipment, planning of awareness campaigns, etc means that the anti-dengue initiative will most likely not be in place until the beginning of next year. So even though the health department now has the cash, little or nothing can be achieved in the immediate term. If the funds cannot be utilised at the time they are needed most then someone somewhere is surely missing the point.

When it comes to government endeavours, the profusion of plans far outstrips the capacity to implement them. Often a problem gets out of hand before anything is done about it. In the case of dengue fever, of the 900-odd suspected cases brought to public and private hospitals in Sindh government, at least 300 were confirmed in the last three months or so. Could these have been prevented? As is the case with other diseases, treatment of dengue fever is far more troublesome than prevention. Awareness campaigns and the dissemination of information can go a long way in preventing its spread. If the funds had been approved and utilised in a timely manner the number of cases could have been reduced. Besides the human misery involved, the outbreaks of such diseases put additional burden on a cash-strapped healthcare system that is already lacking in infrastructure, medical supplies and quality personnel. The onus in now on the health department to salvage the plan and implement it as quickly as possible.

OTHER VOICES - Sindhi Press

Riots in several prisons

Sindh

RIOTS erupted in the Malir district jail following complaints about non-provision of facilities under the jail manual and extortion of money from prisoners. Four prisoners were killed and around thirty were injured. Earlier, there were reports of rioting in Sukkur, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Khairpur prisons.

What has caused these riots? Even government officials have admitted that the prisoners were unable to avail of any facilities they are entitled to under the law. Some have been waiting for years to be taken to court…. Another aspect of prisons in Sindh is that they are over-crowded. This has led to the spread of various diseases…. The complaints of inmates of the Malir jail are not different from those of other prisoners languishing in jails all over Sindh.

Successive governments have been trying to improve the prison conditions. Some committees were also constituted for prison reforms. But no practical actions have been taken in this regard. On the contrary, prisoners are not even provided facilities under the century-old jail manual. It is time to take notice of riots in different jails of the province and amend the jail laws. — (Oct 18)

Seeking help from China

Awami Awaz

CHINA and Pakistan have signed 12 agreements and MoUs in energy, agriculture, industrial and other sectors. With the goal of building a “strategic partnership” the two nations have agreed to set up two nuclear plants, launch a satellite and heavy investment by Chinese corporations.

President Asif Ali Zardari’s visit to China came at a time when Pakistan is undergoing an economic crisis. Earlier, the president and prime minister visited the US and were successful in getting financial assistance. Pakistan was also successful in getting some help from international financial institutions.

Financial assistance from the US and international institutions has always proved harmful to the country due to the conditions attached. A sagacious plan would be to seek assistance from friends like China. Undoubtedly, Pakistan is trying hard to overcome the financial crisis. Measures are being taken to attract investment and uproot terrorism. This will appease the US and be favourable for investment. The government should ignore criticism and continue its efforts. — (Oct 19) n

— Selected and translated by Sohail Sangi.

Billionaires feel the pinch

FOR the handful of Moscow pensioners gathered beside Karl Marx’s statue on Sunday there was, at last, something to be cheerful about: Russia’s communists are these days a marginal and increasingly doddering force, but what the Soviet Union was unable to achieve in 70 years — the overthrow of global capitalism — is now happening, including in Russia.

The most prominent victim is Oleg Deripaska, until recently Russia’s richest man. In May his fortune, according to Forbes magazine, was $28.6bn. In April, Deripaska was bullish. His metals firm, Rusal, could soon float in either Hong Kong or London, he said.

Six months later, Deripaska has hit the new economic reality with a crunch. Like many Russian oligarchs, he aggressively expanded his business by borrowing billions against the value of his company’s assets. Since May, however, these have shrunk. Russia’s stock market has tanked — losing a whopping 71 per cent of its value.

Spooked foreign investors have fled, because of the global credit crisis but also because of the war in Georgia and the Kremlin’s interventions in the market.

On Monday, the Financial Times reported that Deripaska was trying to borrow $2bn, which he needs by the end of this month to repay part of a $4.5bn loan from western banks that he used to buy a 25 per cent stake in the world’s biggest nickel miner. Suddenly, Russia’s richest man is out of money.

It is, perhaps, too early to talk about the demise of Russia’s oligarchs or the return of communism. But experts agree that Russia’s super-rich have taken an unprecedented hit. In May, Russia boasted 87 billionaires — second only to the US. At least half were likely to lose their billionaire status in 2009, according to the editor of Forbes Russia, Maxim Kalushinky.

However, some of Russia’s fun-loving elite are insisting that all is well. Stands at next month’s Moscow millionaires’ fair, where you can pick up a jet or space-age piano, are all booked out.

Last week, however, the financial news agency Bloomberg estimated Russia’s top 25 individuals had collectively lost $230bn over the last five months — with Deripaska dropping $16bn.

— The Guardian, London