RescueRanger
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
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- Sep 20, 2008
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In a small smoke filled room surrounded by brooding ex-military types, I sit watching the news on an old CRT television set. A noteworthy analyst from a mainstream news channel is dissecting the response of an ambulance crew attending an emergency incident.
The mixture of pontification and the manner in which the two hosts verbally sparred with each other was a bizarre display of oppositional conversation you can only witness on Pakistani television and that got me thinking.
As a people we have mastered the art of shrugging off responsibility and sneering at the efforts of others. Pakistanis are blessed and some would argue “cursed” with the analysis “keera/worm”.
This is a country where we are fascinated with scrutinizing the gastric contents of our heads of state and oblivious to the matters that deserve our immediate attention, such as that gaping open manhole down the road.
Applying our analytical skills introspectively is not so easy for us. Everything from silence on the regressive treatment of women in society, through to our continued denial of the enemies within who shamelessly don the guise of cleric and preacher, sullying the sanctity of our faith.
In more ways then one we are like the damsel in distress, locked helplessly in a tower, awaiting a hero to deliver us. To quote Dr. Allama Iqbal:
“The tou aba who tumhare hi, magar tum kay ho?
Hath par hath dhare, muntazir-e-farda ho!”.
Painfully ironic then that these words echo true today as they did when our great poet penned them in 1913.
Every single one of us has the innate talent and power to be an agent for change, and change needn’t come from on top of a container or a global pedestal, rather from the families we are part of, the communities we live in and the streets we inhabit.
For example, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics an average 15 people die as a result of traffic accidents every day [1]. WHO statistics show that on average 4 people die of heart attacks [2] and it is estimated that fire costs 400 billion rupees of financial loss every year.
It is also worth mentioning here that out of the 74,383,794 calls received by Rescue 1122, 1,030,641 were road traffic accidents and 1,302,998 were classified as medical calls. Now consider that the volume of emergency calls has risen from 90 calls a day in 2007 to over 230 a day [3], there simply will never be enough ambulances to cover every call.
On terrorism and public security, the Pakistan security report published by the Pakistan Institute of Peace studies revealed that in the year 2015, Pakistan witnessed a 48% decrease in terrorism related incidents from the year before [4].
However as recent heart wrenching events have shown us, we cannot afford to be complacent, vigilance and situational awareness does save lives as we have seen in countless examples in Pakistan and abroad with programs such as the US Transport and Safety Administration: First Observer®[5] which trains school bus and truck drivers to identify, observe and report suspicious behavior.
It is true that the state has the overall duty of safeguarding the nation and has a duty of care to it’s citizens. It is also true that you cannot have a solider, police officer or rescuer on every street.
This is where ordinary citizens can make a real difference, not only by helping reduce the demand on emergency services but also preventing loss of life and protecting property.
In an increasingly digital world where information is literally at our fingertips we cannot afford to feign ignorance and exempt ourselves from our duties as citizens. According to a report published by Ansr.io Pakistan has 31 million internet subscribers, 15 million of which have twitter accounts. [6]
Simple actions like sharing alerts on twitter, reporting suspicious behaviour, learning CPR and first aid, printing safety signs and sharing these with family members and co-workers or reminding yourself and loved ones to drive safely, use a seatbelt or wear a helmet make can make a huge difference.
This is just food for thought as to how simple steps can drive measurable and tangible change in our homes, communities and cities, helping us pay back our debt as citizens of this great nation.
Thank you.
References:
[1] http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/58036-traffic-accidents-kill-an-average-15-people-in-pakistan-daily
[2] Pakistan: WHO Statistical Profile http://www.who.int/gho/countries/pak.pdf?ua=1
[3] http://www.rescue.gov.pk/Performance.aspx
[4]http://pakpips.com/securityreport.php
[5] https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/firstobserver
[6] http://www.slideshare.net/siimteller/pakistan-mobile
The mixture of pontification and the manner in which the two hosts verbally sparred with each other was a bizarre display of oppositional conversation you can only witness on Pakistani television and that got me thinking.
As a people we have mastered the art of shrugging off responsibility and sneering at the efforts of others. Pakistanis are blessed and some would argue “cursed” with the analysis “keera/worm”.
This is a country where we are fascinated with scrutinizing the gastric contents of our heads of state and oblivious to the matters that deserve our immediate attention, such as that gaping open manhole down the road.
Applying our analytical skills introspectively is not so easy for us. Everything from silence on the regressive treatment of women in society, through to our continued denial of the enemies within who shamelessly don the guise of cleric and preacher, sullying the sanctity of our faith.
In more ways then one we are like the damsel in distress, locked helplessly in a tower, awaiting a hero to deliver us. To quote Dr. Allama Iqbal:
“The tou aba who tumhare hi, magar tum kay ho?
Hath par hath dhare, muntazir-e-farda ho!”.
Painfully ironic then that these words echo true today as they did when our great poet penned them in 1913.
Every single one of us has the innate talent and power to be an agent for change, and change needn’t come from on top of a container or a global pedestal, rather from the families we are part of, the communities we live in and the streets we inhabit.
For example, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics an average 15 people die as a result of traffic accidents every day [1]. WHO statistics show that on average 4 people die of heart attacks [2] and it is estimated that fire costs 400 billion rupees of financial loss every year.
It is also worth mentioning here that out of the 74,383,794 calls received by Rescue 1122, 1,030,641 were road traffic accidents and 1,302,998 were classified as medical calls. Now consider that the volume of emergency calls has risen from 90 calls a day in 2007 to over 230 a day [3], there simply will never be enough ambulances to cover every call.
On terrorism and public security, the Pakistan security report published by the Pakistan Institute of Peace studies revealed that in the year 2015, Pakistan witnessed a 48% decrease in terrorism related incidents from the year before [4].
However as recent heart wrenching events have shown us, we cannot afford to be complacent, vigilance and situational awareness does save lives as we have seen in countless examples in Pakistan and abroad with programs such as the US Transport and Safety Administration: First Observer®[5] which trains school bus and truck drivers to identify, observe and report suspicious behavior.
It is true that the state has the overall duty of safeguarding the nation and has a duty of care to it’s citizens. It is also true that you cannot have a solider, police officer or rescuer on every street.
This is where ordinary citizens can make a real difference, not only by helping reduce the demand on emergency services but also preventing loss of life and protecting property.
In an increasingly digital world where information is literally at our fingertips we cannot afford to feign ignorance and exempt ourselves from our duties as citizens. According to a report published by Ansr.io Pakistan has 31 million internet subscribers, 15 million of which have twitter accounts. [6]
Simple actions like sharing alerts on twitter, reporting suspicious behaviour, learning CPR and first aid, printing safety signs and sharing these with family members and co-workers or reminding yourself and loved ones to drive safely, use a seatbelt or wear a helmet make can make a huge difference.
This is just food for thought as to how simple steps can drive measurable and tangible change in our homes, communities and cities, helping us pay back our debt as citizens of this great nation.
Thank you.
References:
[1] http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/58036-traffic-accidents-kill-an-average-15-people-in-pakistan-daily
[2] Pakistan: WHO Statistical Profile http://www.who.int/gho/countries/pak.pdf?ua=1
[3] http://www.rescue.gov.pk/Performance.aspx
[4]http://pakpips.com/securityreport.php
[5] https://www.tsa.gov/for-industry/firstobserver
[6] http://www.slideshare.net/siimteller/pakistan-mobile
