What about the non-VIPs?

Why should we sacrifice our time and lives for the VIPs who enjoy the protocol on the pretext of security?

Umer Nangiana January 01, 2011
While on my way to cover an event I was made to deviate from my intended route as the police stopped me amongst a dozen other motorists in order to allow a ‘VVIP’ to pass through.  The first thing that went through my mind was, “Are they really worth my time and my life?” The answer is, no.

I had to travel a good extra couple of miles to get to another intersection where I joined a long queue of vehicles piled up at a police check point.

I stopped myself from delving into a motivated judgment and decided to wait till my mind regained reason. However, the wait proved futile.

Every time I recall the incident it makes me even angrier. The rage was incited more by the reason for the blockade rather than the hassle it caused.

While waiting helplessly among many other travelers, I decided to save fuel and switched the engine off. Sitting idle behind the steering wheel, I thought, what if a suicide bomber decided to act upon his mentors’ longstanding plans to hit a soft target or the all times favourites – the security officials.

The long queue of vehicles was the most vulnerable to any such terrorist attack. On this account, the ‘VVIP’ who was comfortably passing through was responsible for putting many lives in peril.

I could even imagine the VVIP issuing consolatory statements on the loss of ‘precious lives’ if anything untoward was to happen.

At that moment I thought, I do not want to die this way and that too for someone unknown to me who traveled in a bomb-proof vehicle.

Why should we sacrifice our time and lives for the VVIPs who enjoy the protocol on the pretext of either security or attending to some important ‘matters of governance’?

Had these ‘matters of governance’ or the people governing our state actually done any good for me or my fellow countrymen, then perhaps I would not feel this way, or be writing this, for the matter.
WRITTEN BY:
Umer Nangiana
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

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