The compassion shown by the nation is unprecedented and made many to heave a sigh of relief as they had lost hope in the society terming it morally declined and decayed. The response to the misery of the compatriots pleasantly surprised many and it seems that all is not lost and a whiff of fresh air is always there to rejuvenate the decaying fibre of our society.
The euphoria did not last long as news of avarice, selfishness, cruelty and inhuman behaviour has begun to come in. The affected areas have seen people stealing the relief trucks, storage of the relief goods for sale and pilferage of food items and medicines.
Reports of kidnapping children and violating modesty of women have also appeared in the press. It makes one shudder to think that we have such heartless people in our society whose hearts did not melt to the agony and helplessness of their own people.
Professor Adib Rizvi, the renowned urologist from Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), put it in nutshell, when he said, "What can we hope for if such colossal tragedy can not change these people. It is pathetic and heartbreaking."
The Professor has just returned from an odyssey of the affected areas where he had gone with his team from the SUIT to heal the suffering people. The dust from the hectic travels was still settled on his face but he was planning another sojourn with a bigger team and more resources.
The armed forces, social organisations, many individuals are striving in the affected areas to reach the stranded people in the far-off villages and hamlets. Rugged terrain and hilly area have not cooled their missionary zeal. This is a vital sign of the robustness of our social fibre where good Samaritans are abound.
On the other side it is painful to see the undisciplined and self-centered people, who were affected from the natural disaster but remain unchanged. They do not allow children, women and old men to get their relief in peace. They pounce upon them and collect relief items, to be sold later.
The teams returning from the disaster areas are aghast over having seen these unfortunate spectacles. They cannot comprehend the depth of such greed and cruelty. Some say that perhaps the doomsday is not far away. The doomsday may not be far away but such parasites and criminals must be dealt with iron hands without any compassion for them. The evil should be nipped in the bud.