#PanamaPapers : things that are, unfortunately, not being discussed yet
- Why wait a year? Why not leak to public all across world while dissecting the 2.6 TB of data?
- Why not leak all data now? Aren’t there lots of technology options to choose from? Access won’t be restricted everywhere & journalists can still dissect/ report on data found.
- Will we ever know where all these fancy rich offshore accounts people got their money from? Is it within legal parameters in any country to ask these questions of a citizen, if money is stored in a land far far away? Does the best existing legal system in the world allow for this?
- Why aren’t US news organizations in on this? NY times published an article that makes it seem like they doubt all sources & want their readers to do the same. This behavior exists despite ICIJ, the supposed leader/ coordinator of this leak, being based in the US.
- Why are names of US citizens kept out of news stories? Are there no US citizens dealing with Mossack Fonseca?
- When will we start to get excited about this leak?
There is a lot about this data that is vague and stands to be discussed but in the few hours since the first news story came out, a few things have come out as a shock for me. Most important being that the proof of corruption or money laundering doesn’t shock anyone. Any shock brought on by this evidence is what’s most shocking for the people around me. “Of course this happens, why are you surprised” is the standard initial response I hear and read.
Do we live in a world where all hope is lost? No one in my circle of friends in Pakistan cares that our current prime minister has been, and might still be, stealing money from all of us? That our first and only female prime minister, the beloved Benazir Bhutto might also have a few corrupt skeletons in her closet? Most importantly, is it not possible at all, that with legitimate proof available now, leaders in our country can finally be held accountable for their fraudulent actions; locally and internationally?
One could argue that this leak portrays just how tricky times today are, when the biggest criminals live in the fanciest houses and the poorest people are not those without money but those in millions of dollars worth of debt. But I hope that’s not what most of us end up focusing on.
I hope we collectively try to understand where the current systems of governance and justice are failing all of us.
I, for one, hope that this evidence will be used against all heads of states who have cheated the public that relies on them.
