Stop getting cheated anymore
And many more sentimental, touching, instigating and exciting slogans followed in the next lectures. Till the completion of the course, I and my classmates took it as an academic lesson on the topic that would have nothing to do with practical life. However, soon after stepping into the practical life, we appeared convinced that creating, selling, using and practising the sentimental slogans, remarks, messages, etc. are very much a vital part of the art of advertising and publicity. An expert in this discipline earns millions in a month as tycoons, business concerns, political and social campaigners, NGOs and many other clients offer exorbitantly high charges for such invisible bullets that could pierce through the hearts of their ‘targeted lot’. Not surprisingly, the strategy works and we see that it has long been a global phenomenon.
Although attaining expertise in this discipline involves years of training, practice and experience after acquiring the relevant education, all these studies, efforts and achievements are for a respectable career in advertising.
In every day life, however, we may find a lot of people, less educated and even illiterate, with the same expertise and they capitalise on God-fearing mankind’s will and determination to help out the poor. Most of such unscrupulous elements are seen hoodwinking those gathered at some public place or travelling in a bus. It is astonishing to note that kind-hearted people happily get cheated.
The elements in question would start addressing the crowd or passengers like this: “My mothers, sisters and brothers (never ‘fathers’)! I am not a beggar but circumstances have forced me to seek your help…” Then they would go ahead with their ordeal, sufferings or a pathetic story very briefly.
The story-telling appears to be a fine blend of event and artistic messages that listeners may feel their hearts exploding in grief. The episode ends with a call for financial help and many people are seen tossing at them whatever amount of money they could give away for God’s blessing. Each of such a ‘destitute’ would have a unique story to tell and, more surprisingly different heart-piercing messages to add. I call it ‘expertise’ because their messages do have magical effect.
Each of the self-campaigners would board a bus and disembark immediately after collecting money from the convinced passengers. By the end of the day, an individual may have visited as many as 50 buses and collected a handsome amount before returning home.
Women are also very much in. Rather, they do even better because of being ‘special gender’ already having a soft corner in men of our society.
What agitates one’s mind is that this kind of self campaign is as old as this is and everyone has a pretty good idea about the modus operandi of such skillful swindlers, but the entire society has turned a blind eye towards their practice.
The people who show generousity of helping them out, are often heard arguing: “He may be lying, hoodwinking or cheating us, but what if he is really a deserving case? God may not forgive us if we did not help him despite having the strength!”
And this approach has perhaps encouraged the evil. It is not that all of these help-seekers are cheats but it is an undeniable fact that a very little number of them deserves to be helped. And, of course, most of the others work for the same mafia that operate a chain of begging business elsewhere in the country. Such people either do so under some compulsion or have fallen in the mafia’s trap.
Just look at a particular group of young girls who would board a bus or train with small cards inscribed with a two or three paragraph story, stating: “She is a deaf and dumb girl without parents and has five/six younger brothers and sisters to rear. She has no source of income. She is the most deserving case for your charity…”
You may find the same printed cards carried by each girl in the group. The cards are distributed among passengers and collected again with anticipation of donation.
One may not suppose that a person in such a pathetic condition may ever be in a position to get new cards printed out of the meagre charity amount she is believed to be able to collect in a month or so.
Another unbelievable claim is that all the girls in the group are deaf and dumb. Moreover, it is not just a small group of girls travelling across the country but a well-organised lot at work in almost all cities and towns and no wonder their total strength runs into several hundreds.
One wonders if any competent authority would be able to banish this business of playing with the sentiments of the God-fearing. Is there any way to be rid of the phenomena? Yes there is: Stop getting cheated anymore, stop encouraging cheats.
So close yet so far
Modern urban life can be blamed for a multitude of problems which increases manifold if one resides in an apartment complex.
It is a package deal, more security but less privacy. We live packed together divided by thin concrete walls. The noise from a next door neighbour during the day is borne with patience but we need peace in the night.
Last month, as I was prepared to go to bed a little after midnight, the tranquility of the night was shattered by loud music coming from an apartment celebrating a wedding. Muttering words, I would rather not share with readers. Sleep did not come as the music kept me awake most of the night and I wondered where had our eroding values had gone.
People make as much noise as they please and we allow ourselves to suffer silently.
There were times when neighbours were like extended family but not anymore. I am not against progress or modernisation, but we need to take measures to preserve our fast-fading values.
Derailing peace
Fanatics destroy innocent lives when they want their demands met. It can be anything from disintegration of a country, cancellation of an international agreement, release of their associates or removal of a government. Every now and then, the people of Karachi have borne the brunt of their (fanatics’) wrath losing life and property.
Being the seventh largest city of the world and the major economic hub of the country, the city and its residents are targeted to convey a chilling message.
This time it was the Samjhota Express bringing scores of Karachiites back home, which was targeted. More than a hundred residents of Karachi travelling on the 14-coach train were targetted and a dozen killed and wounded as the inferno caught them asleep just after midnight.
Ten bodies were flown to Karachi, six were of the same family. Besides, scores more returned with burns. There were touching scenes at the railway station when the survivors collapsed in the arms of their loved ones who had come to receive them.
But like all other tragedies, the city has witnessed, time will heal these wounds till another tragedy strikes. Its not that the fanatics enjoy a free hand in our society, they are being reined in, but can we check fanaticism with aggression? And why does this society breed fanatics? Huge budgetary allocations and foreign aid will do no good, neither can security measures alone address the problem as one should not expect a balanced approach from the deprived.
— Karachian