Are violent protests confined to Pakistan alone?
They came in thousands, burnt vehicles, ransacked property, looted shops, and attacked the police. The economic costs of violent protests ran into hundreds of millions of dollars. While many sympathised with the rioters’ grievances, few, if any, agreed with their methods.
I am not referring to last week’s violent protests, which left several dead across Pakistan. Instead, I am referring to the recurring riots that often breakout after mega sports events or economic summits in the West. It appears that the youth and the disenfranchised in Europe and North America are equally culpable for violent protests. In May 2010, for instance, three died in street protests in Greece. Yesterday, the police fired rubber bullets at protesters in Madrid, Spain, who were trying to break through a cordon around the Parliament building.
Several pundits, columnists, and critics in Pakistan have expressed their disgust over last week’s violent protests against the blasphemous video. Some decreed Pakistanis to be a mob, and not a nation. Others pontificated that this was a result of a lack of education, inferring that an educated populace would have acted differently. While those in the opposition parties accused the government of failing to maintain law and order and protect public and private property.
If the lack of education or literacy were indeed responsible for violent protests in Pakistan, how would one explain the equally violent outbursts in the West? In May 2007, I saw firsthand rioters fighting with the police in Paris, France. It was the same day when Nicolas Sarkozy won the French Presidential elections. After having dinner with some friends who, being left-leaning French academics, were dismayed at the outcome, I returned to my hotel near Place de la Bastille. As I stepped out of the underground platform at the Metro Station, I was greeted by the eye-piercing odour of teargas.
The left-leaning French youth were out in full-force torching vehicles, destroying public and private property, and playing cat and mouse with the police. The streets around Place de la Bastille were filled with shattered glass and burnt vehicles. Fresh graffiti had suddenly defaced the historic Bastille monument and the buildings around it. Small gangs of youth were running through the streets, while the police chased them from one end of the boulevard to another.
It will be hard to argue that the lack of education could be the reason behind the violent outburst of the French youth. The French are indeed proud of their literary heritage, which is rich with libraries, universities, and museums. With a 99 per cent literacy rate, the French are one of the most literate people on the planet who are also proprietors of haute couture. If it is not the lack of education, what else could have motivated the French youth to turn violent?
Such violent protests, however, are not confined to the French youth. In 2010, the streets in downtown Toronto (Canada) were the scene of violent protests against the G-20 summit. The Canadian government spent hundreds of millions of dollars to preempt such violence. On the government’s directives, streets were barricaded, buildings were vacated, universities were shut, the transit service was disrupted, and hundreds of suspects were arrested. Still protesters were able to torch police cruisers and destroy public property. Again, Canada also boasts a 99 per cent literacy rate where Toronto alone is home to three large universities and several colleges with over 250,000 students enrolled in institutes of higher learning.
While the rioters protesting against the G-20 summit in Toronto and other cities were expressing their discontent with the global economic order, others in the west have rioted for much less noble causes. In June 2011, youth in Vancouver ransacked the city after their ice hockey team lost to the team from Boston. The riots left over 140 people injured, including four with stab wounds. Several police were injured, while losses from arson and looting ran into hundreds of millions of dollars. The arrests revealed that several rioters were university students or alumni. Vancouver is also a highly literate city with several distinguished institutes of higher learning. Again, one cannot assume that the lack of education may have fuelled the rage and disorderly conduct of the youth who were incensed after the home team lost to the visitors.
Compared with the grievances of the youth in Vancouver, the protesters in Pakistan were enraged by a video that attacked their religious beliefs. At other times, Pakistanis are on the streets to protest against sectarian killings, shortage of staple foods, power outages and unending inflation, to name a few. The fact that the protesters hurt their own interests by burning public transit and other assets is perhaps indicative of the fact that the disenfranchised in Pakistan no longer see public assets as shared property. When the rioters torched several hundred railcars and locomotives after the assassination of Ms. Benazir Bhutto, they also sealed the fate of Pakistan Railways, which since the riots has not been able to meet the travel demand because of insufficient infrastructure.
It is not education in the traditional sense that would help prevent recurrence of such violent outbursts in Pakistan. What is needed is an equitable distribution of resources, the rule of law and civic education. Ordinary Pakistanis have to believe in the common good. This cannot be taught in schools or universities, this would evolve only when resources are shared amongst the masses in a just manner.
As long as Pakistan’s civil and military elites continue to hoard resources and amass wealth by denying masses their fair share, even the slightest provocation will cause violent outbursts.
Murtaza Haider, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean of research and graduate programs at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Ryerson University in Toronto. He can be reached by email at murtaza.haider@ryerson.ca
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Well done Murtaza for lifting the curtain. Your well researched paper clearly shows that unruly behavior is a worldwide phenomenon, not just an event taking place in Pakistan alone.
Well written
Ignorance and intolerance is definitely a factor. But religious sensitivity cannot be ignored at all. In British India people used violence and destruction of British property to express their anger to the British colonial masters in the past. However, after the British left India, people did not change their ways. They still destroy public property, without realizing that it is their own property.
One aspect most people in west cannot comprehend is that there are very poor people in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan etc…This poverty is unlike what westerners have seen or can imagine. These poor people do not have any processions. They have nothing to lose. The only thing that keeps them going forward is their faith/religion. If someone tries to ridicule or attack their faith/belief, they will fight back and can be very unreasonable & violent. Violence is their hidden anger with the whole system, poverty etc…and not necessarily the issue at hand alone. It is easy for some bad people to exploit the emotions of these poor people.
Analysis is an easy task but resolution is a humungous task that requires leaders with awareness, far sight, just mind and definitely a strong spine.
Well Said
Wrong is wrong,it does not matter who commits toward whom.And two wrongs don’t make right. Since what people did in the past or do at present the result will be the same only innocent and poor or middle class are going to get hurt and most of the time for rest of their lives.
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i totally agree with the writer. the cause of such behaviour is indeed disparity in resource distribution. the cause of the protest was just, yes not the manner but the fact is that events in pakistan are politically given a different face by the rest of the world and they do it because they can. they are no better than us, except for their leaders.
The writer says its not the lack of education which is responsible for last week’s violent protests. And mentions ‘equitable distribution of resources, the rule of law and civic education and distribution of resources amongst the masses in a just manner’ is the solution.
My question is: Is there not an equitable distribution of resources, the rule of law and civic education in West? Are resources are not shared amongst the masses in a just manner in West?
In my view the core cause of the last week’s protests is lack of education.
Then why do people in EDUCATED classes become violent protesters in the west?
Income inequality has increased significantly in the west in the past two decades, which is the reason behind several occupy Wall Street type movements in the west. The rule of law prevents such incidents from happening frequently in the west, and civic education is responsible for parents turning their children in after seeing them in riots on TV.
No, the west has its rich and its poor, just like every other nation
In case you provide the same environment and the same facilities, and the bad governance as is currently in Pakistan, I am pretty sure that people in other countries may resort more to voilance than Pakistani’s who are very resilient people facing all sorts of agony. Any way article provides good comparison. We should not look down on our country always.
That’s rest assured that Pakistanis by nature are very warm heart, generous people, I know by my own experience, since I’m that part of the world and living in the US for over last 43 years, I deal with them almost every day basis. But these are the trying time all over the world and no person or nation is immune, so I except better from them( Pakistanis) not worse. As an individual ,it hurts me deep down. Long live happy, prosperous, enlightened Pakistan that’ my prayers.
‘If the lack of education or literacy were indeed responsible for violent protests in Pakistan, how would one explain the equally violent outbursts in the West?’ – I don’t think author needs to go to WEST to find that literates too can turn violent just try remembering 2007 lawyers protest.
It shows that the levels of tolerance in our society is dwindling..
Thank God finally, a sane article by some sensible and intelligent guy that looks at things in a very realistic and mature way. Wonderful article. Very true, it happens everywhere. We hold religion sensitive, others hold sport events and other stuff sensitive. Thank You writer for not bashing/maligning Islam in this and questioning the outrage of Muslims by that extremely offensive movie. May Allah bless you.
What happens regularly in Pakistan cannot be compared with what happens in the West occasionally. Unfortunately, violence has become an integral of life in Pakistan and one can see this on daily basis. Violence is every where but what happens in Pakistan does not happen in the West, at least looking at the volume of damage and loss of life. I feel more secure going around in West than in Pakistan. Let us not try to justify our actions by talking of problems of the others and face the reality and try to find some solution. Pakistani violence is not just political but it is also a social problem and that for me is more damaging than political demonstration. How many people died as a result of protests after the killing of Benazir Bhutto? Could someone show such a thing happening in the West.
Completely agree with Mac.
Sir, Loss is Loss there is no point of occasionally and regularly.. we should stop criticizing to other and need to develop good relation through ignorance.
Ok agreed , it happens everywhere but we should be worried about first cleaning our house, For us our worry should be of Pakistan, our agenda should be PAKISTAN FIRST.
you do not give us employment….you do not give us electricity…….you do not give us food…… you give us religion, in ridiculous abundance…..and then when someone makes a movie are we not entitled to even a carnival?
Author didn’t mention the response of authorities in aftermath of this violence or better say demonstrations.
So the common factor in these riots is anger and rage. Throw in religion and you got a fire. The differnece between west and us is the number of people killed in west is ususally not that much and then they are all proesecuted to the best of law enforcing agencies. This happened in London and Vancouver. Whereas in our country no one will be prosecuted due to ‘lack of evidence’.
I agree, the writer is playing our politicians game.There is no excuse as to what happened,it is against the teachings of Islam too after all it was all done in the name of Islam.
You miss the point. The point is not that mob violence occurs in Pakistan, as it does in every country on the planet. The point is that Pakistani “state” is helpless in the face of this violence, and actually encourages it.
well written