On Humanism and Belonging
“If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs.”
― Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . One School at a Time
A recent read, Three Cups of Tea, a book about the revolutionary journey and work of the mountaineer Greg Mortenson in transforming the lives of young children of the remote northern regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan entailed perfectly the sense of humanism in emancipating the people of the war-torn regions and stands as a guiding light for shaping developmental policy in regions like the Middle East, many of the African Nations and the much-disputed region of Kashmir in South Asia, where suffering is still widespread despite many efforts and claims by local and global institutions. The roadmap is clear, invest not in wars but in education, healthcare, and improving the basic living conditions, for the only reason that military warfare can cause only collateral damage which would then model more Al-Baghdadis and Kasabs, but the latter in fact is the only way to ensure that the people here would be secure in all socio-economic ways.
Now, for anyone around the world associated with this cause, they could tell you how many millions have been spent, how many books distributed, and how many refugee camps set up, and these numbers might sound fancy enough to make you believe that everything is gold and roses now, but the reality is far from this because a lot of the work done has been sort-of superficial. With the West at the center of this work, what we fail to do is understand the people in a true sense, something Mortenson tried to point towards, which was missed by many intellectual supporters and critics of his work. Belonging, a human trait at the center of it all, is somewhere ignored in shaping the policies that impact these regions.
The need of the hour is not just to give out money, or distribute ‘x’ number of books or have affirmative action or reservation to live up to our savior complexes, but to actually go to these people, and talk to them, with a will. Being respectful of people’s identity and culture, hearing out their stories, and being sensitive to their struggles, might sound insignificant but can go a long way for understanding the needs of smaller communities and transforming them individually yet creating collective impact. To recognize that we all need to belong and be understood is important. It might need many Mortensons and a whole lot of will to do this and strengthen the sense of belonging for these people, but if we wish for a better future for humanity as a whole, we have to take the right steps and in the right direction.
