Bangladesh is a country of many extremes. It is a country where the people have achieved success against insurmountable odds. On the other hand, we see nonsensical and idiosyncratic attitudes among the public and students at certain times.
A country that ought to be resolutely supporting the fair demands of the society turns a deaf ear against the outrage and ravenous acts of the mob and students who, at times, take the law into their own hands due to emotional outbursts that defy logic. Their capricious whims often create severe stress and destruction to public and private property, and the outrage turns so fierce that perhaps they themselves lose sight of the wrongdoings they perpetuate.
I am speaking of the aftermath of a deadly traffic accident where, unfortunately, a person is either killed or badly mutilated. The common scenario is repeated like an old record where either the driver or the helper (in case of public transport) tries to flee and the public runs after the alleged criminal(s), and if caught, chances are they are beaten to death or near death.
No level of civil and rational questioning ever dawns in the heads of any person directly in the chase to apprehend the persons on the run. The first instinct is to beat the driver and/or helper to near death. Public outcry fuels the maddening effort in exacting justice then and there, without even taking into consideration the faults, if any, of these poor individuals.
In most instances, the police gallantly arrives at the tail-end of the furore that either nabs or almost crushes the lives of the helpless driver or helper. The only logic that drives the mob into dispensing medieval justice is the fact that the driver or the helper is guilty. Why else would they flee the scene? An innocent person should stand tall and face justice, right?
No. In Bangladesh, emotional uproar grips everyone in seconds and even the most rational person gets hypnotised into thinking that the driver or his associate is at fault. This behavioural outburst has become a systemic malfunction within our people’s psychology. Therefore, special awareness programs by the government, road transport authority, municipalities, transportation associations, universities, NGOs, and private organisations need to be undertaken so that Bangladesh slowly, but surely, moves away from such attitude demonstrated only by ruffians and people of unsound minds.
On the second issue connected to the consequences of the accident, we notice an even more pervasive frenzy orchestrated by the people on the street hitherto not even connected to what transpired between the vehicle, its driver/helper, and the unfortunate person run over or badly struck.
The people in the surrounding vicinity are normally instantaneously gripped by extreme passion, anger, and frustration. They try to attack the vehicle, posing extreme risks upon themselves and other passersby. The vehicle, in most cases, is set ablaze or its body damaged beyond repair, as if the vehicle had a soul and the public are relentlessly beating the soul into submission.
The brunt of this unhealthy and over-exuberant reaction is that the owner of the vehicle, the people within and around the vehicle, and the insurance company all chip into the damage for a cause hopelessly frustrating and asinine to say the least. The public is determined to redeem vengeance for the wrong done on the street by this vehicle without even reflecting for a second that perhaps the person run over was in a hurry and jumped into the street without looking at the movement of traffic and, therefore, tragedy took over.
No one seems to wait for sense and sensibilities to set in. The most disturbing news arrives when the driver is able to abscond with or without the vehicle. The public rises to the occasion and takes every measure to burn and brutalise every vehicle and moving target in sight with fire and every conceivable instrument of destruction and disfigurement.
The discussion above brings me to cite a real life story that took place in Dhaka only a few days back, that augured enough emotion within my soul to actually pen this article. A student passed away due to a collision between two buses recently in Dhaka, and I am deeply saddened. There are no words of comfort for his family. Life is too precious to be lost due to such an accident.
The country truly requires safer travel ways and safer journeys to be introduced with a more effective traffic planning system, proper use of zebra crossings, and footpaths cleared for passersby. Otherwise, the people are exposed to the great risks of walking on the streets where vehicles ply at high speeds.
Additionally, I am also saddened by the magnitude at which the students of Islamic University vandalised 35 buses in a protest against the death of a student of their university in a traffic accident. The emotional outburst was so acute that the students became unruly and set fire to others’ properties.
While the country mourns the death of every citizen in any unfortunate traffic accident, the actions of the students/public in this, and other cases following the accident is downright barbaric and uncivilised. It is high time that the country, its universities, and the administration deal with these unruly students, regardless of their affinity towards any political party.
This form of unruliness has become a national disease and a habit. A cure is necessary. Vandalism laws should be stringent and should also apply to people who destroy the property of innocent citizens. The need of the current society has to be reflected in the penal code, and with severe associated punishment, we will be able to curb the level of unruliness amongst the public.
Finally, it is never desirable that when one bus runs over an unfortunate citizen, the public delivers the brunt of the accident to another few dozen vehicles that took no part in the accident. Why should the innocent fall under this severe punishment, and how are they safe on the road when accidents do happen? And more pertinently, what should the government do to ensure citizens’ awareness against this horrific onslaught of road accidents and subsequent vandalism?
The perpetrators of vandalism should be brought under severe punishment, and unless strong measures are taken, we shall continue to see more burnings of private and public property and even loss of life due to the spreading of fire on the streets, let alone negative country-branding. Let our community rise as citizens to put a stop to this evil behavioural trait.