Of Malala's Triumphs And Our Greivances

When Paul Bloom penned down the article ‘The Baby in the Well’ in May 2013, it might have interested him to study the curious phenomenon of empathy vs conspiracy theory agendas going on in the mind of most Pakistanis regarding Malala Yousufzai

Bloom, a Psychology Professor at Yale University would have noted with interest the question that seems to be ubiquitous on facebook regarding Malala, ‘Don’t the children victimized by drone attacks deserve sympathy too?’ and comments like ‘She is just trying to divert our attention from the real issues facing our country’ would have added to his list of examples that suggest, according to his article that it's empathy that explains why we are captivated by individual stories and numb to statistics. In his own words empathy can account for ‘the reason we were riveted for months by the missing teenager Natalee Holloway, while thousands were being slaughtered each day in Darfur’. In short according to Bloom, the nature of empathy is irrational and plays favourites. His conclusion? "A reasoned, even counter-empathetic analysis of moral obligation and likely consequences is a better guide to planning for the future than the gut wrench of empathy”

Paul Bloom certainly knew what he was writing about. Though I shudder to think how many of these petty squabbles he may have witnessed to get such a keen insight into the strangest aspects of our behavior.

This squabble between Malala ‘sensationalists’ and ‘conspiracy theorists’ may seem laughable to some and callous to others but it points out a very real and significant aspect of human behavior. Our capacity to commiserate and empathize is limited and hence our brain naturally captivates more on individual issues rather than statistical figures. However, our sympathy, no matter who it is directed to will not serve to diminish anyone’s plight. The fact is that Malala Yousufzai suffered much; before the shooting she had to go to school in secret and risk her own life. Afterwards she had to deal with the pressure of being an international icon and according to her UN speech, she seems to be handling it remarkably. She still has a thorny path ahead of her in terms of promoting education espescially for females. Thankfully for her, she is getting a chance to tell her story.

There is also the fact that on our northwestern borders, innocent civilians are being killed. According to The International Bureau of Investigative Journalism have reportedly killed 411-890 civilians from the years 2004—2013.  However while death seems to be the obvious consequence, hardly anyone pauses to reflect over the emotional trauma the survivors have to go through. To someone who has lost a child, a parent, or any family member and is facing the possible prospect of losing another death may seem to be the most merciful thing in the world.

The stories of drone victims however are not being told and they may never be. 

The human brain cannot respond to facts alone. If it did, we all would have been out on the streets a long time ago and taken a firm stand against nearly every issue facing our country today with the same magnitude of effort and passion whether it be the issue of education, women’s rights or  drone attacks 

But all we see here are numbers. Nothing more. No innocent girl urging us in a strong, clear voice to take a stand for a denied right for which her own life had been thrown into peril. 

The same forces that allowed Malala the platform to be heard and inspire others may nt be the same for those who have been victims of drone attacks, physically or mentally. But we need to realize that the time for pointing fingers and criticism has long passed. If it is something we truly feel passionate about, then lets go out there and give the drone victims their own platform. This is not an alien idea. One resident of Wazirtisan, Noor Behram has spent years photographing the aftermath of drone strikes, often at personal risk, just to capture our attention towards the atrocity that our fellow Pakistanis are facing everyday.

 To those on both sides of this squabble: For the Malala sympathizers, if you are inspired by her, that's great. Act like it. Go donate to a school. Help out in teaching underprivileged kids. Changing your facebook profile pictures and dedicating your status to her is not enough. It wouldn't hurt to find out about other people who are also working to promote the same cause either.

 For those calling her a 'drama queen', instead of criticizing and accusing her of trying to divert attention, let’s try and do something more prudent. If Malala is working for something she is passionate about, namely education, why don’t all of us especially, the people who are so prone to criticizing utilize our time and energies to do the same? If we truly care about the drone victims, let’s do whatever little we can. Read about them. Write. Share. Tell others the best way you know how. Stop waiting for others to take a stand. Take one on your own and see through it no matter what.