A disease called Benaziz

It's chronic, it's infectious, and as in the case of any other dangerous disease, prevention is better than cure. Once the contagion spreads its tenacious tentacles, it is often beyond cure. It squeezes the lifeblood out of all ethics, integrity, honesty or any such values and principles. This is the deadly disease, Benaziz.

Given the avalanche of news reports on the almost "iconic" corruption and crime of Benazir and Aziz, it seems only befitting to dub this contagion with the moniker "Benaziz", like the name-mergers of Hollywood couples -- Bennifer, Brangalina, TomKat and so on.

We are gasping at the amount of wealth and property that the former police chief Benazir Ahmed has amassed. We are shocked at how low the former army chief Aziz Ahmed has stooped to aid and abet his criminal brothers. But are we really all that shocked? Don't we all firmly believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg, that there are innumerable Benazirs and Aziz-es all around us, minting money, making mansions, mixing and mingling with multimillionaires around the globe?

This is not a column about either Benazir or Aziz -- there is a continuous deluge of news about them, and every day a Pandora's Box opening up and spewing out the likes of Anwarul Azim, his friend-cum-killer Akhteruzzaman, other criminals and crime, large and petty, white collar, blue collar, multi-collared and no collar at all! While each and every one of these vermin needs to be caught, tried and punished, it  is most important to get to the roots, to uproot and evil once and for all. We sanitised our hands throughout the Covid outbreak, now we need to sanitise our souls.

The term 'moral turpitude' gained currency during the Ershad era. He had been seen as the epitome  of corruption. Not to condone his misdeeds, but the corruption-practitioners of today must scoff at his "petty larceny". Not only has corruption become all-pervasive, but the sheer figures that appear in the media about the wealth that has been amassed, the capital that has taken flight, the assets that have been accumulated and the liabilities that have been shrugged off, is mind-boggling.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry seems to have a second  home in Malaysia, Canada, America and now the hotspot Dubai. (It's the Jodu-Modu who still struggle on the streets back home). And back home too, the properties of the rich are taking on massive proportions of luxury and opulence. The vehicles in car parks of the five-star hotels and the classy cafes and restaurants of the affluent neighbourhoods range from Rolls Royce to Jaguars, Ferraris and you name it.

But the divide between the rich and the poor is growing, it's growing fast and growing wide. In Bangladesh, the wealthiest 10 per cent of the population controls 41 per cent of the nation's total income. The bottom 10 per cent receives a pittance of 1.31 per cent.

This disparity in wealth is deepening and is starkly visible, embarrassingly so. The juxtaposition of capital Dhaka's upscale Gulshan-Baridhara-Banani areas (sardonically referred to as the tristate) and neighbouring Korail slum, the sprawling biggest slum in the city, is a classic cliché. But a sad one. Sad, because the wealth of these ultra-wealthy hardly trickles down to improve the lot of the poor. Their wealth is siphoned to destinations  around the world. Sad because all too often this wealth is ill-gotten.

There was a time when we would scoff at Bangla movies in the past where there was "virtue in poverty" and all the rich people were bad. There certainly isn't virtue in poverty and all the rich certainly are not bad, but when it comes to a section of the "filthy rich" in a country like ours, the source of wealth is certainly questionable. Non-performing or default loans, capital flight, bank scams, over-invoicing imports, under-invoicing exports, cheating, fraud and forgery are almost open secrets and many of those involved in such practices of moral turpitude are even framing our laws, formulating our policies, dictating our banks and leaving the rest of us high and dry.

What is the magic lamp that allows the criminals and the corrupt to get away scot-free? How do unscrupulous civil servants boost their bank accounts with bribes and still remain unaccountable? How do law enforcers break the law, break the bones of protestors and break all rules and then go sailing on the Riviera? How do power-mongers rake in revenue for electricity which their quick rental power plants don't even generate, while we go around switching off our lights and fans so the electricity bill at the end of the month doesn't send shock waves up our spines?

Impunity. That's the magic word. That's the magic lamp, more mysterious and magical than even Aladdin's.

When the criminals do not have to pay for their crime, why will they change such a lucrative way of living? When the money launders can pay 15 per cent tax for their undisclosed wealth or "black" money and honest taxpayers pay 30 per cent, does that not encourage the honest to be dishonest? Does that not equate honesty with foolishness and dishonesty with acumen? Does not all of this threaten our basic ethics, integrity and values. What message is it giving to our younger generation seeking to make a good life for themselves and their future families?    

There is a big fuss and flurry about the retired general Aziz, the former police chief Benazir, but no one is holding their breath in anticipation. Until punishment is actually meted out in concrete terms, the people will remain skeptical about whether justice will be done. And say, hypothetically, Benazir is brought back, Aziz is brought to book, what about the others who have emptied the bank coffers , who evade paying taxes, who exploit the poor, grab their land, who commit heinous crimes including rape and murder? They remain in the hallowed halls of the rich and famous, basking in the servility of their obsequious sycophants and impervious to the angst the common people.

Literally speaking, a surgical strike is a swift and effective military attack to damage only specific targets with minimal collateral damage. Figuratively speaking, that is what we need to bring an end to the rampant crime and corruption that is destroying our nation, our people, our collective soul.

The million-dollar question is, who will carry out this surgical strike? It is not that we don't have the will, it is not that we don't have capable persons among our huge population, it is not that we don't have people ready to risk their comfort and safety to carry out war against evil, but how do they get into the position where they can wield the power of the righteous against malevolence all around?

Therein lies the question of democracy. Therein lies the question of elections. Therein lies the opportunity for people to choose people who will strive for the people. The debate over democracy and development is obsolete. Development that benefits the majority requires democracy. Let's remain vocal for democracy, justice, human rights and for the people of this land. Our liberation war wasn't just for a 148,000 square kilometres of land, it was for our rights, for equality, economic emancipation and a life free of exploitation. We have won the geographical map and a red and green flag, now let's strive for the rest. Let us be cured of this disease called Benaziz once and for all.