October 3, 2004

‘Social injustices, sense of deprivation and an extremely materialistic attitude towards life are the main reasons for the problems that the world is now facing. Those who wield power must address these issues,’ opines Dr Unaiza Niaz

WHEN people are deprived of their basic rights, they get frustrated and resort to extremist behaviour. Terrorism is one manifestation of such behavioural deviance, says Dr Unaiza Niaz, who is a consultant psychiatrist and adviser to the Pakistan Commission on Women on psychiatry.

In an interview with Dawn Magazine, Dr Unaiza Niaz discussed how the catastrophic events of 9/11 have globally affected the psyche of many a man. Following are the excerpts:

Q. How would you define the phenomenon of terrorism?

A. Whenever justice is not done to the people and they are stripped of their fundamental rights, they fall prey to frustration and resort to ways and means that cannot be identified with their real self. Frutstration of this kind can create many problems. Recently, two persons took their own lives in our country. One of them was a lawyer, who immolated himself in front of a judge because his house had been demolished and he was left homeless. He had been running form pillar to post to get things sorted out, but to no avail. When whatever he possessed suddenly vanished into thin air and he found no other way to make his problem get acknowledged by the authorities concerned, he burnt himself in protest. So this kind of desperation can cause even a very stable, educated person to resort to extremist behaviour. Terrorism falls into the same category.

Internationally, we know why it is happening. It is because of the socio-political developments that have been taking place in the world for the last few years. As far as Pakistan goes, what’s been happening here is the mirror image of what’s going on in and around the world. Pakistan, as you know, is the place where all sorts of frustrated people took refuge after the Afghan war. As a result we have the Kalashnikov culture and the people who are well-trained in using arms. They are here. All of them joined different desperado groups in the recent and distant past.

Aggression, foreign occupation, ethnic conflicts are on-going realities affecting men, women and children in nearly every region of the globe. War is a multi-faceted problem that affects the developing countries more. The aftermath of the Afghan war took its toll on the Pakistani people. Fire arms were openly brandished in public and used in political and ethnic conflicts.

The most horrific turn took in the years following the events of September 11, 2001, when the US began to bomb the suspected terrorists in Afghanistan.

Later on, approximately 300 Shia doctors, bureaucrats, educationists were killed in Pakistan in mindless attacks; their families, and the public in general, felt devastated. To boot, the Taliban wreaked havoc on Pakistan.

It has to be mentioned here that for nearly 20 years, the Afghans suffered the dire consequences of armed conflicts and human rights violations. The refugees who tried to escape such an environment faced similar kind of problems. Basic necessities like proper nutrition and clean water was a rare commodity there. Women, in particular, faced hardships having no access to important healthcare services. Many pregnant women were malnourished, psychologically traumatized, underweight, physically exhausted, and highly susceptible to different kinds of diseases. In addition to that, rape and other sex crime were rampant in the war zones. US bombings to kill the terrorists just compounded their miseries.

The factors which are important with regard to Pakistan are the lack of employment opportunities, injustice and red tapism. Here, bureaucrats have become demi-gods; the justice system is either overloaded or displays an indifferent attitude. Society has become so sick and so materialistic that everybody has started to fleece everybody.

Sometimes, I shudder when I think about what the lessons our new generation will learn from all this. In fact, two trends are already very noticeable. People are becoming more religious. Young people coming from abroad are now religiously inclined. In my view, that is very good and InshaAllah this generation will hopefully steer Pakistan to greener pastures. However, there is another group of people, who don’t know or don’t want to know about the other way of dealing with life. Since some of them have money, they use unlawful means to serve their interests.

Q. Does this mean that social injustices are the root cause of the problem?

A. It is basically social injustices, extremely materialistic attitude and not getting your basic rights that cause the problem. Those who are associated with the human rights campaigns always talk about the Kashmiri and Palestinian people. They must also think about the Pakistani people and their basic rights. If nothing is done about these social injustices, people are going to get more and more frustrated and the phenomenon of suicide bombing will not stop.

Q. How do you analyze the psyche of the people who are constantly bombarded or denied their basic rights, like those in Palestine and Kashmir?

A. It drains the person and leads to mental disorder. If you are constantly under stress and depression, your immune system goes down. People living in places like Palestine, Kashmir and Bosnia live in extreme terror. They suffer from panic attacks. Their faculties often go numb. They cannot perform normal routine chores. Children are in a state of shock and unless some help is provided, their natural growth and development gets affected.

The generations of children that’s undergoing such ordeal will not be a normal one. In cities like Karachi, in the last 15 years or so, we haven’t had a normal life. Cancer is becoming such a common ailment. Even among the doctors its rate is very high. Auto-immune diseases are becoming so common. Even well-off people are falling sick, leave alone the poor ones. Strangely, women are suffering from heart attacks. So, all these things suggest that all is not well.

Q. Are you suggesting that unless the root cause is addressed, this problem will aggravate?

A. Yes, definitely. The root cause has to be addressed, particularly where international issues are concerned. Domestically, the root cause is social injustice and I think the government alone can’t tackle the issue. We should take it upon ourselves too. One good example was the way our mayor (city Nazim) has shown. I think this local body system has worked. Karachi is an example. In spite of everything, the roads are better now and things are improving.

Q. Why is the rate of suicide going up, despite the fact that people in power claim that they are doing their best for the people?

A. It is happening at the top; but the middle deck is not doing anything. The president and the prime minister may be very genuine and honest men and may have made efforts, but what matters to us is the price-hike and day to day happenings. The electricity system has to get better, the telephone lines have to improve.

Q. Human behaviour is conditioned by external and internal factors. We, as a society, in the international context, are going through a phase in which a perception has developed that our way of life, our belief, is threatened. And there is also the theory of a ‘clash of civilizations’, though the West has rejected that perception. But whatever their actions are, the Muslims are suffering all across the globe. Don’t you think that there is some genuine basis for that perception developing in the affected countries?

A. There is no doubt that there is a clash of civilizations. That’s what it is. They are bullying us. We were feeling very insecure and desperate. But at the same time, a lot of awareness is developing in our part of the world. We need to unite and stick to our guns and make it very clear that if this goes on, things will go out of control and people will be more frustrated. The general public is now no longer willing to go to the western countries. They are coming back because they know that over there they don’t stand any chance. Instead of running away, we need to build our own countries.

Q. The world is not going to be multi-polar for some time and we will not become self-sufficient overnight. In that transitional phase, when the biggest power is getting impatient with the world and it does not want the others to come on a par with it, how would our society react if the US opens a new front against Iran?

A. It will give rise to militancy. Even the sane, non-violent people will ultimately realize that there is no way out. I think the West has to discern this fact. The world has reached a stage where man is eating man. I don’t know what will happen to these people who claim they are doing good to their country by blowing themselves up. But, in a way, it is suicide. Taking one’s life is not very easy. This is making the West very perturbed because for them life is very important and the Muslims are used to jihad. It will go on and on and become worse and worse and a stage will come when nobody will be able to contain them.

Q. Some people have suggested an inter-faith dialogue so that a process of moderation takes place between the West and the Muslim world. What’s your opinion on this?

A. You see, dialogue is not the only way to solve the problem. It will in some ways help the people of these countries to talk and understand each other’s problems and in some other ways can influence the governments. But governments on their own have to do something about it. Unfortunately, there is not much of a rapport between the people and their governments.

Q. How has 9/11 affected the mindset of the general public?

A. The incident, in a way, was a lesson for the Americans that no matter how much power they wield, certain people will always fight for their rights. And that nobody is all powerful. Justice must prevail at any cost and things must not be allowed to go astray.

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