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August 31, 2006
A changing society
Khuzaima Fatima Haque looks back at the time in Lahore when doors were seldom locked, security guards were seen only outside a few homes, and all walked the streets of the city free from any kind of fear
Setting up a house for the first time is like making your own heaven brick by brick, as placing the sofa on a right location or hanging new curtains have their own joy. This was our first abode, our premiere into independent living and we were very proud of every nook and corner of our home. Although a rented living space, we decorated it with an open hand. We strongly believed that this was our private space and only and only invited guests were welcome. In any civil society, it is an accepted fact that no one should dare enter a personal living area without its owner’s permission. But I guess some people do not seem to know about this fact. Grills in place and shiny new locks gave us a false sense of security that was soon proven wrong.
I had left for the Northern Areas for a few days and my husband went to work as usual. As he returned in the evening, he found the door of our house open. Somebody had broken into our private heaven. All things lay disturbed. Every cupboard had been turned upside down. Even my linen trunks had been thoroughly ransacked. To add insult to injury, my monthly rations had also been scrutinised and all things of daily use were stolen, too. Burgled in broad daylight, we were stunned to say the least. Was it our fault to have left the house empty for these thieves or were they really desperate to have dared to break in during daytime?
We duly informed the police, who reached the scene in a record time of 45 minutes (The Defence Police Station is just a 10 minutes drive from our place). They noted down the details of what was stolen and how the deed was done. As the policeman was about to leave he, sarcastically asked my husband to thank his lucky stars that nobody was hurt and not much was taken. Stunned at his attitude, we decided not to file an FIR, which was sure to bring in more hassle and little results. The policeman duly acknowledged that this was the ‘fifth successful’ event of the day. What we’re paying our taxes for? To be robbed in broad daylight? Were we supposed to stand guard 24 hours of our personal belongings ourselves?
The dust had just settled in when my mother was robbed of her jewellery at gunpoint right outside her house. Waiting to get into the car, she was asked (and not very politely) to hand over all her jewellery by two boys who came out of nowhere riding an old motorbike. Pointing their gun on a guest who had come to visit my parents, the thieves went away ‘successfully’, having done what they wanted to do. The police were informed but could only say, “Madam it must have been a toy pistol!” Need I say more?
A couple of nights back we heard police sirens and gunshots. The whole neighbourhood was on alert. The morning brought with it the terrible news of a murder in the vicinity. And all these incidents, may I remind you, took place in an elite locality of Lahore.
So sorry is the state of affairs in the security department that it has been reported that nearly 30 cars a day are being stolen in the city, which was once a very secure place. It is not a hidden fact that many families from Karachi shifted to the safe and secure environs that once Lahore promised when fear of theft, murder, terrorism and other crimes increased in Karachi. I remember the times when doors were seldom locked, security guards were seen only outside a few houses and only hedges served as boundary walls. All walked the streets free of any kind of fear.
However, the present scenario presents a bleak picture of where our society is heading. The gap between the haves and have-nots is certainly increasing. There is no denying the fact that huge houses loaded with luxuries that one could only have imagined in the past, can be seen in all the elite housing schemes in the city. Many begging bowls can be seen on the streets with no bar to age or gender as well. We have hardened as a society. Security is just an eight letter word and there exists no such thing as one’s privacy. And finally, that we are no more a civil society, is that what we have come to.
Or is it as one of my friends rightly pointed out, “There is so much of poverty around that our locked houses are a great temptation.”
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