Recently, a document of protest demands made by DHA residents has been circulating around the internet making people extremely angry. Due to the recent rains that caused a massive electricity outage and left water standing on the roads for days, the people of Karachi have been frustrated, and rightfully so. It led to them coming out on the roads and demanding accountability from the cantonment board.
One of the demands asks for the removal of beggars from every street signal and Pakistanis have been quick to condemn what looks like elitism disguised as a legitimate concern.
I am trying to make sense of how beggars on “every street signal” caused the urban flooding and infrastructure failures in DHA Karachi. pic.twitter.com/R7gE28jESC
— Dawar (@theLahorewala) August 31, 2020
People were quick to point out how this looks like elitism by DHA residents
Many pointed out that the removal of beggars seems like a demand that’s irrelevant to the issue at hand. By putting that in, it seems like the residents are acting in a superior manner and treating underprivileged people as a nuisance and showing disrespect.
Ahahahhaha. Man. DHA Elitiyas can't get over their privilege even when asking for reform. Meri problem problem, teri problem kuch nahi.
— Nuzhat S. Siddiqi (@guldaar) August 31, 2020
#11.."international standards" ..wow!! well in that case there's a lot of other stuff that needs "int'l standard" upgrading too… but oh yeah what was i thinking duhhh this is for our dear elitists in DHA only. this doc is quite pretentious tbh🤔
— ImmuneDoc (@ImmuneDoc) August 31, 2020
So these entitled ducks will actually get out of their homes and protest. 🤣🤣🤣
Can't wait to see that.
— Maaz 🚩 (@MaazPervez) August 31, 2020
Normal protestors: "Zulm ke zabtay, hum nahi mantay".
Elite protestors: "Tum sala ghareeb log hamari jooti ke neechay".
— Mustafa T. Wynne (@mustafa_wynne) August 31, 2020
They also called the demands out for being hypocritical
Some netizens were quick to call out these demands for the apparent hypocrisy. One of the clauses in the document emphasizes “All lives matter” but at the same time demanding to remove beggars from the street and potentially snatching their livelihoods goes directly against this sentiment.
In number 14, is there an awareness of the context of “All Lives Matter”? I assume some since it’s capitalized but not sure how much
— Cory Smith (@politicory) August 31, 2020
Point 14 ‘all lives matter’ WHO WROTE THIS 😂
— 🙂 (@faiqabelike) August 31, 2020
Many questioned the authenticity of this document by DHA residents
Many people thought this document was a complete hoax and did not properly represent the residents of DHA. They claimed that whoever wrote this did not capture the right sentiments for the society as a whole for the demands felt pretentious and lacked consensus.
if this is from the ‘leaderless’ Facebook group, I’m not surprised. It’s a nightmare of toxicity and muscle flexing from some admins who have no idea and probably no experience in how to nurture consent and equity, which is necessary for healthy community building.
— Sahar Habib Ghazi (@SaharHGhazi) August 31, 2020
Sigh…DHA residents – a shame to be associated. Clueless af. Also, who are these residents and why are they representing DHA residents?
— Osman Siddiqi (@OsmSiddiqi) August 31, 2020
A growing resentment was also highlighted
One key issue that came under discussion after this incident was the growing disparity between the rich and poor. Pakistanis discussed how a lot of wealthy people view the underprivileged with contempt and how this mentality is spreading beyond DHA and prevalent in many other areas too.
You should see some of the posts on Karachi centric fb groups. Residents from all over the city have unbelievable contempt for the poor and want to 'kick them back where the came from'
— Ibrahim (@Ibrahimandkhan) August 31, 2020
This type of discourse is prevalent in all Karachi centric fb groups and people say worse things while being supported by others. Its easy to pinpoint dha for privileged rants but mindset of residents from all areas is becoming depressingly hateful and narrow-minded
— Ibrahim (@Ibrahimandkhan) August 31, 2020
Pakistan is made of its citizens, regardless of social status. In order for the country to thrive and be successful, it’s important for us to come together as a joint community and stop the bias against those who are less privileged than us. What are your thoughts on the matter? Let us know.
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Cover image via @thelahorewala/Twitter and tribune.com.pk