Pakistan:Natural disasters and political ballroom dances

In the Express tribune, George Fulton wrote Cry wolf. In my opinion, he gives a good analysis on the current situation in Pakistan. In short, everybody is too broke to help. People do not trust a foreign government.  Many fear corruption and misuse of aid. His analogy to Cry Wolf is sad but captures the international feeling.

Here a good quote from the article: “So why the pitiful response? One reason has to do with the nature of the natural disaster itself. Earthquakes and tsunamis are sexy. They make for good TV. They expose the extent of their devastation for all to see. Death and destruction are instantaneous. And as the pictures are beamed around the world they engender an emotional response. Floods disguise and submerge their devastation. Shots of water do not generate a similar heart tug for the viewer. Floods are silent, and often long-term, killers.” Yes, marketing is the key to everything.

I believe that the crumbling economy does not help. However it consolidates the hypocrisy in vigor. While so called political friends perform different ballroom dances, snobbing and carefully choosing dance partners; we tend to forget that mother earth imposes the tempo. Natural disasters are part of the music, sexy or not, here they come.