It is evident that we as a community have become thoroughly accustomed to bad news. There were barely any outbursts at the parent's meeting at my daughter's school today. Despite the horrific bombing that occurred just two days ago, life in a metro is back to business as usual for those unharmed.
Parents debated over the best arguments to stop the construction of a 22 story tower next to Karachi Grammar School. It will compromise security, and pave the way for unchecked commercialization. The city government of Karachi, CDGK, approved a change in zoning from residential to commercial at Khyabane Saadi without conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA). An EIA is required by law, and is essential for all parties to assess whether commercialization is desirable. By neglecting this very important step, the CDGK has violated the law and illegally commercialized a road which was residential and housed schools.
An article in the Express Tribune attracted comments that accused the school of elitism.[i] They contended that lower income areas routinely suffer the detrimental impacts of commercialization-- pollution, noise, traffic, congestion, a heightened burden on infrastructure -- without so much as an outcry, why should the public support the right of elite schools to circumvent the same urban curses in a city of voracious developers, pervasive land speculation, where more than 5 million people live in slums.[ii]
Truth is such accusations should be cause for introspection, rather than tactful rebuttals, and knee jerk reaction such as ---why do they hate us? It should be an opportunity to examine our own social interconnectedness with the rest of the city. (or our hypocrisies, if necessary)
While a handful of individuals link themselves with causes that affect the working poor[iii], most avoid it, and restrict action to when their narrow interests are threatened. They do not see their rights as entwined with the rights of the rest of the city's residents.
And they'd prefer action be limited to hitting up contacts in the government and higher judiciary to achieve their objective rather than democratic resistance (i.e. attending public hearings and holding a sign on the street.)
This is less than ideal.
And they'd prefer action be limited to hitting up contacts in the government and higher judiciary to achieve their objective rather than democratic resistance (i.e. attending public hearings and holding a sign on the street.)
This is less than ideal.
24,400 families were evicted for the construction of the Lyari Expressway. According to Urban Resource Centre, the building of this road adversely affected the education of 26,000 children, and their families’ livelihoods.[iv] Builders encroached Gutter Baghicha, a large public park; a leader of their movement, Nisar Baluch, was slain in a tactic to scare activists who dare oppose the “horror parade” of commercial development.[v] Makro-Habib, a large supermarket, was constructed in direct flagrance of a 2007 High Court order that stated it must be retained as an amenity plot for a playground.[vi]
Perhaps more people should support such causes, perhaps we boycott Makro, light a candle for Baluch, perhaps committees can be sent to support similar actions against schools in middle income areas. For examples, Generations, a school recently opposed a similar zoning change in Nazimabad, and some parents openly supported a show of solidarity with such cases. Perhaps, we should build sister schools in slums?
As an extension, we can't be oblivious to the changes the city has seen on a structural level -- rising unemployment, poverty, inflation, “third world wage structures”, housing insecurity, poor being driven to peripheries, artificial growth through increase of loans available for cars and consumer items, government privatizing industries, deregulating, and cutting subsidies for the poor.
Analogous to (but a more cancerous) version of zoning changes from residential to commercial are the set up of export processing zones (KEPZs) in Landhi where private foreign investors are wooed by the pimps of neo liberal development who promise that there will be no unions or strikes, inexpensive labour available in abundance, and various concessions of taxes and duties.[vii] (Thus rampant violation of the law, generosity to capital, cruelty to labor, and a race to the bottom.)
It is the same liberal policies that seek to eliminate traditional grocery stores and butcher shops, in lieu of massive air-conditioned super markets and boutique meat-stores that keep the blood and gore out of sight. They also seek to eliminate street hawkers and vendors from the city landscape, except as cute tourist attractions.[viii] Arif Hasan writes about the evictions of pappar and chana walas from a strip of the beach so people are forced to purchase Walls ice cream and more expensive fast food items. One, bunder wala (whose monkey was named Aaloo Master) had performed on this beach for 25 years, and was suddenly thrown out.[ix] He has also talked about the sea shell jewelry vendors near (the venue for the recent blast) Abdullah Shah Ghazi Mazar who were evicted after tenancies of generations, and thus stripped of a source of livelihood.
Instead, I see a disappointing attitude. One otherwise okay opponent of the 22 floor building (a commenter on the Express Tribune article) unnecessarily confuses the commercialization by unethical builders and the corporatization of the city in line with investor interests, with another kind of "degradation" – one where poor hawkers are part of the insufferable buzz and filth of big city life. The comment is as follows:
The law must be applied to stop this wretched encroachment by stealth which lowers the tone of the area, ruins domestic peace and encourages other elements, hawkers, general public and one might as well be living in Saddar with the whole gamut of commercial activity and not what was supposed to be a designated “residential” area.”[x]
Switching one twisted argument for another, she continues that the building in place of the Mideast Hospital would facilitate terrorist activity against the new American embassy at Mai Kolachi with the help of a rocket propelled gun (RPG).
What? What a reason to save the city from a high rise!
On the positive side, one can at least celebrate in the fact that as we embark on a protest for a (yes!) worthwhile cause, we rely on the show of street power (never mind that it is powered by bottled water and ray bans, not burning tires and effigees) – instead of substituting it with solely behind the scenes negotiations -- and of course the charmingly city domicile activism of showing up for the EIA public hearing.
To a more holistic activism!
[ii] Challenge of Slums Global Report on Human Settlement, UN 2003.
[iii] A cross section of society but mainly the middle and upper middle class publicly opposed Waterfront Development Project where builders sought to construct high rises on 14 kilometres of land from Sindbad (Old Casino) up to the Golf Course in Clifton Beach.
[iv] Arif Hasan; Livelihood Substitution: The Case of the Lyari Expressway; Ushba International Publishing, Karachi, 2006. See http://www.achr.net/UAC/Arif%20World%20Class%20City.html.
[vi] ttp://www.shehri.org/Marko%20Habib.pdf
1 comment:
For the last one and a half months here, I have noticed that in the suburban areas of the U.S. people take deep interest in town hall meetings. All hell breaks loose even on issues like the number of days garbage should be collected from homes. Notwithstanding the adverse consequences of indifference towards national and international affairs, the general interest of Americans in town politics keeps municipal corruption in check.
Personally speaking, I never tried to know who my area councilor was. I never read the details of town meetings in papers.
Without trying to belittle the grand struggle against bigger evils, I am saying that the local community should take the lead and safeguard its interest.
Though with a party like the MQM at the helm, it seems unlikely in the immediate future.
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