The deluge of massacres unfolding almost every other day at some part of the world is mind boggling, and not to mention, heartbreaking. While no one can really stop the devastations brought forth by natural disasters such as cyclones and earthquakes, one can surely do enough to curtail man -- made disasters, such as gun violence and ethnic cleansing. There is a lot that the USA can learn from Bangladesh, a small country that has in one of those rare instances been in the spotlight for the right reasons. What Bangladesh did was the only logical, sane and humane thing to do - extend a hand of compassion to the Rohingya refugees flooding in from neighbouring Myanmar!
The Rohingya people, an ethnic minority group, are descendents of Muslims living in Myanmar since as early as the 12th century. However, during the British rule (1824-1948) when the region was ruled with the broad lens of an Indian subcontinent there were many internal migrations which were declared illegal later on. Rohingyas eventually were considered illegal immigrants and were subjected to systematic discrimination. They have been fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh for over decades. However, the latest exodus is unprecedented and has followed horrific incidents such villages being torched, women being raped, and men and children being murdered on a scale that has been described as 'ethnic cleansing' by the United Nations.
In the face of social media storms and footage of covert visits to the Rakhine state by investigative reporters, criticisms flooded in, denouncing the ambivalent position maintained by the country's Nobel Laureate Leader Suu Kyi. She eventually made a statement but avoided the term 'Rohingya', and denied any atrocious activities that the Rohingyas were being subjected to.
In the meantime, the torture continued and Rohingyas refugees continued their trek to Bangladesh. Now, imagine that Bangladesh, struggling with a population of 160 million people in a geography roughly the size of Illinois, is sheltering the poor refugees. What if the government and community in general decided to sit atop their high glass towers and merely sent prayers and made speeches, terming the Myanmar perpetrators as 'pure evil'? To what extent would that have served any purpose? Thousands of people lost their lives to law enforcers and local vigilantes in Myanmar, and many more would have faced the same fate.
The people of Bangladesh, who are eager to act on a compassionate cause and possess vehement loathing for the atrocious activities, would take immense pride in the compassion that the Bangladeshi government displayed. Honestly, Bangladesh is a country that is far from perfect. Glaring issues that need to be addressed have gone unnoticed by policy makers for years. And right now sentiments dividing the Bangladeshi netizens into two poles - those cheering the noble act of opening the border to Rohingyas and those calling this action a publicity stunt - are both understandable. Yet, when giving a hand to a hapless victim would help them survive, then the initiative of the government deserves kudos, whatever the motif is!
And the support is not only at the government level. Countless people from Bangladesh have jumped in to help the Rohingyas. Everybody is acquainted with an individual - a colleague, friend or industry acquaintance - who has set out for Cox's Bazar with bags of rice, lentil, mosquito repellents, oral saline, and other basic necessities to help as many Rohingya families as possible. No (NGOs) have taken initiatives to set up tube-wells and latrines for improving conditions on the ground for the refugee guests.
Compassion of the commoners fortunately seems to transcend boundaries. In the wake of the Nevada shooting incident, support from the average Joe type American citizens have gushed forth. There have been donations of money, water, food, blankets, and blood.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the decision makers. The ardent desire to jump forth and take a reasonable action eludes them. There are talks of not politicising this shooting and speeches of sending prayers and love, and denouncing 'the act of pure evil'. Really? The fact that a 64-year old man, who gambled and otherwise led a quiet life with his girl friend, could amass 47 guns, carry them to the 32nd floor of a happening hotel building, gives a powerful indication! Acquiring a weapon and opening fire is just too easy!
On the other side of the planet, Australia in the wake of the Port Arthur massacre, banned weapons that are used for mass shootings and bought back those already owned by people. Gun laws were tightened as well. This happened back in the 90s and in the decades that followed there was no incident of gun massacre and significant reduction in firearm-led homicide and suicide rates.
If history is anything to go by, there have been 47,057 incidents of gun violence in the USA in 2017 alone, killing 11,764 people of whom over 3,000 were children and teenagers, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Are these deaths less painful than the civilians being slaughtered in the Rakhine State? Or are these lives any less important?
Quite evidently, the lives are not important enough, since in the face of glaring evidence, guns can still be obtained quite easily in the USA. 22per cent of gun owners in the USA obtained their most recent guns without a background check, as was reported by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. Unfortunately, there really is no concerted effort towards reining in the acquisition of weapons by 'commoners' such as Paddock! Far from adopting best learning practices, the US Congress with lobbying from the National Rifles Association, has in fact put into effect the Dickey Amendment, preventing research on gun violence! And the cherry on top is guns can also be used silently!
But this is really no time for silence. If the government of a country can open up borders to save lives of refugees ousted from their own country by their own government, why would a country not lift a finger to amend a few laws that would ensure safekeeping of its own citizens? It's a naïve question but one that needs to be addressed.
Narmin Tartila Banu, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, School of Business and Economics, North South University. [email protected].
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