The other side

Two days back a Medical student from Pokra came visiting. We asked him how are things at his college. He said, the hospital 750 bedded is almost empty. Most of the hotels and other establishments are closed. There is no food available. The cost of transport to the hospital from nearby town which was 300/- now costs 2000/-. People cannot afford the same and so they do not come. Another patient who came shared, LPG is going at 2000/-, if at all in black available. Patients who come to us, cross the porous borders at their own risk, come in bikes, tongas etc. after spending quite bit of time and resources.

We living at the border on the “Big Bro” side, has been observing this deteriorating situation for last one month. Whatever the “Big bro” and “Small bro” country leaders may say or may not say, or the Media decide to ignore in the midst of more colourful stories of Mukherjee’s etc, the fact is that a Nation is struggling. Rather common people of the country is suffering. For the Big bro – it is not our problem! For the small bro – they are caught between politics of two Big Bros on both sides.

Patients are brought in the last minute from the villages far because they could not afford the transport, or the border is closed. Health of people are suffering, economy is struggling, food and regular supplies are becoming scarce, all because some friends of the Big Bro, decided that we will not allow any supplies to enter across the border, unless their concerns are addressed. Supported by the leaders of the Big bro, they are confident that they can arm twist the small bro, though they are supposed to be a sovereign separate independent country!

Trucks can be seen waiting at the border in line for about 30 km distance – may be about 10000 or more waiting to cross?  No media or leader has time to look into this, because it is some one else’s problem and not media worthy! Who is bothered about a small strip of land at our border, whatever might be happening there!

Everyone, including us, are caught up in our small little worlds. Our worlds might be the daily grind of our lives, the economically most viable worlds we need to attend to, the politically most correct statements we should make, the worlds of our "larger than us egos", worlds of pointing fingers and finding faults, worlds of passing the buck.

There is a common root for all this. Me my life, my family, my language, tribe or people group, my nation my position as a nation in the current world or my side of the border! It is all about me me me….

The world is confused by the “Me thinking syndrome” – what ever Me it might be….What the world needs today in Philip Yancy’s words are “Our confused society badly needs a community of contrast, a counter-culture of ordinary pilgrims who insist on living a different way. We can make the world stop and think before pulling a trigger, or exacting revenge, or neglecting the vulnerable, or practicing euthanasia on those it deems ‘devoid of value’.” - Or neglect the pain of the small brother on the other side of the border!