Robin Iqbal
Pakistan got its first patient of Coronavirus on February 26, 2020.The bull was
taken by the horns; measures adopted, awareness imparted, the bullet dodged and
international eulogies gathered. The life sprang back to normal. All the SOPs
were joyfully thrown out of the window and around end October, the government
announced the advent of second wave of the monstrosity. As per the data released
by National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), the Covid-19 national
positivity has surged up to 7.01% (at the time of writing). Despite, all the
social moratoriums, the lessons accrued post first wave, improved healthcare
facilities, easy availability of cheap face masks and sanitizing liquids etc.,
the second wave hit us hard. This begets the question ofdeconstructing the
social behaviours in our country; behaviours that could have easily foretold the
arrival of second wave.
Dr. Geert Hofstede’s “Cultural Dimension”, should explain the current state of
affairs rather accurately. One of the Hofstede’s dimension is “uncertainty
avoidance”. The uncertainty avoidance index deliberates the extent to which
uncertainty and ambiguity are tolerated in a society. This dimension considers
how unexpected situations and events (read global pandemics) are handled. A low
uncertainty avoidance index indicates a high tolerance for uncertainty,
ambiguity and risk-taking. The unknown is more readily accepted, and rules and
regulations are followed to a certain level only. Another dimension called the
“Individualism vs. Collectivism” considers the degree to which societies are
glued together into groups and their perceived obligations and dependence on
groups. Individualism indicates that there is a greater importance placed on
achieving personal goals.
Both of the above stated dimensions explain the attitudes of our society at
display in the face of the current pandemic. While the government did an
exceedingly good job at formulating policies, their implementation by the public
remains hauntingly shallow. The ‘uncertainty’ is tolerated by obdurately
referring it as ‘the Will of Allah’ and ‘Destiny’. “If its one’s time to go, he
will; otherwise nothing can harm him” is a widely accepted ethos. This
acceptance of lack of adherence to government directives and procedures results
into an appalling rise in fatalities, that we are witnessing today. Secondly,
when the individual interests superseded the group interests, the society as a
whole is not prepared to handle the challenges like faced today.
While, on the surface the Pakistani community is strongly bonded in bradari,
caste and clan systems, underlying is the individualistic approach that leads to
majority seeking personal gains, temporariness in all ventures and myopic
self-centered credos. Every shop has a poster at entrance that reads that entry
without facemask is forbidden. However, inside most of the shopkeepers do not
wear the mask themselves let alone the customers.Every public place has good
markings for maintaining prophylactic social distancing; almost none of them
follow the protocol. Mostly the merchants dim their lights at 10:00 p.m. and
continue their business. The cafes teem with consumers late into the night. And
if that is not enough, some schools blatantly refuse to close down; schools that
we entrust for shaping our posterity for the betterment of society. In nutshell,
every individual is willing to continue his business for his gains, regardless
of the health impacts on society at large.Viewed from a distance, the onset of
second wave seems inevitable. It had never been the question of government’s
will but of its inability to execute.
To top that all off, it is unlikely that the government would be able to dole
out any further significant grants in R&D of Corona Vaccine. The vaccine itself,
will not be available before autumn next year. As Ali Salman notes, the public
debt-to-GDP ratio has crossed 87% thus violating the constitutional limit of
60%. The increased foreign remittances and Roshan Digital Accounts are proving
to be helpful; these channels are also seemingly going to come under pressure
because of the fast changing Middle East geopolitical situation.
In face of such daunting odds wherein a society tolerates rules breaking, puts
personal interests first, and still refers to it as ‘novel’ Coronavirus,a mere
fine of Rs 100 will not suffice. The government machinery at grass root level
will have to be shaken for implementing the larger policies. Heavy fine levied
against infractions has to be ensured regardless of their magnitude i.e. whether
a shopkeeper is wearing mask on his chin (instead of mouth and nose) or some
political movement is organizing public rallies to save democracy. Additionally,
local clergy needs to be brought onboard for encouraging self-sequestering,
particularly for the geriatrics and people with exiting medical conditions and
discouraging mass-gatherings. The wedding ceremonies will have to be curtailed
altogether and all schools need to close down.
While the government apparatus has once again been actuated for a timely action
against the spread of the virus in the country, the situation still remains
exceedingly fluid and warrants a cautioned approach. If the third wave is to be
avoided, the government’s decision of saving both lives and livelihoods (via
micro-lockdown) needs strict observance across the country.
(The writer is freelance columnist)