Britain: The Sick Man of Europe
Britain is top of the league in the European Covid 19 table
Covid 19 has laid bare the incompetence of the current UK government. The British press is still in thrall to the government and it has been left to the foreign press to ask the questions that unfortunately is never asked at the daily government briefings.
Over the past fortnight, there have been several critical pieces about the UK government’s abysmal handling of the pandemic ranging from the Sydney Morning Herald’s “Biggest failure in a generation: Where did it all go wrong?”* to Al Jazeera’s coruscating article titled “Coronavirus and the banality of evil.”**
Finally on the 10th of May, The Guardian published a scathing article penned by Simon Tisdall titled “Covid-19: isolated and alone, Britain has become the sick man of Europe.”***
My immediate reaction to this was why it has taken more than 4 months for the press to take the government to account for the repeated failures and its standard response that ‘the government is following scientific advice.’
I shared my thoughts with Uncle who solemnly replied:
Baba Raihan,
‘Coronavirus and the banality of evil’ makes poignant reading. I am reminded of the days when we followed the story of Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem with rapt attention. This trial and subsequent execution of Eichmann was an episode which demonstrated the singular determination of the newly created state of Israel and spectacular efficiency of Mossad with which they pursued Eichmann and succeeded in smuggling him out of Argentina where he fled to, and lived in until 1961.
During the process of the trial, Eichmann attempted to take refuge under the excuse of executing the orders of his legally constituted superiors and, therefore, criminal charges against him were not sustainable. He was legally bound to obey the orders of his superiors and, so, no criminality could be attributed to his actions.
The banality of evil was invoked that defined, among other things, an official must apply his sense of judgement in a manner which distinguishes between good and evil. Illegal orders encapsulating evil intentions of the order giver have to be resisted, flouted and, shall not be carried out in any event. Orders to put thousands of innocent people of the Jewish faith into the gas chambers and kill them shall not mean and construe legal orders.
Covid 19 has unravelled spectacularly how the British Government responded to the crisis of unprecedented magnitude in a pathetically slipshod manner. Tragic deaths of several thousand innocent people could have been averted if the Boris government would come out of their cozy slumber. From undertaking testing measures to the acquisition of ventilators, to the strengthening of NHS, they have displayed negligence, ineptitude, incompetence and, above all, sheer lack of respect for human lives.
It is not true that these characteristics of British government have awfully surfaced recently. On the contrary, woeful lack of respect for human lives has been the hallmark of the British government and their policy direction for quite a long time. They are ill-equipped to fight a crisis of this magnitude. Adequate resources and logistics, strong morale, unflinching faith in themselves, and above all, resolute national unity are inseparably connected with any war effort.
In the current fight against Covid 19 all of the above requirements are conspicuous by their absence. To add to this grim spectacle is the vulnerability of those economically marginalised, those belonging to the lowest rung of society who are considered not by their identity as British citizens but by their ethnicity and the colour of their skin. So the pep talk about equality, liberty and humanity are nothing but part of a vocabulary aimed at making the common man believe something which is mercifully non-existent.
Is the overwhelming dominance of Wasps (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) coming back with a vengeance?
A sharply divided nation can ill-afford to fight any war much less the war against Covid 19. It is divided not only along political lines, but sadly along ethnic and economic lines. Unity can be hardly achieved without achieving some semblance of equality in matters of living and livelihood.
When a country is seen to be involved in letting loose an orgy of blood bath, in the wanton destruction of life and property abroad without batting an eye lid, are you sure you can invoke the concept of banality of evil in the assessment of the actions or, the lack of them of your leaders?
However much you hide under the prophecies of the weird sisters of Macbeth, you cannot obliterate “Stars hide your fires: Let not light see my dark and deep desires.”
I did mention to you earlier that according to the mullahs anybody who acts hastily is a follower of Satan. Milton in his inimitable way has glorified Satan when he declares “It is better to reign in hell than serve in heaven.” If one tries to ascribe to you the attributes of Satan you can find some solace in this statement.
You have to remember what happened in the not-so-distant past. When the forces of Hitler had already surrendered, surrender by a badly mauled and grievously wounded Japan was a matter of time. Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 8th of August respectively in 1945. In a matter of a minute, not days or years a few hundred thousand unsuspecting humans perished. The wanton destruction caused by nuclear radiation beggars description.
The destruction of Iraq, numerous other destructions of life and property being unleashed across the globe are grave issues to ponder on. Ragnar Redbeard proclaimed ‘might is right and ever was and ever shall be so’?
These are complex legal issues of profound significance. It is a domain of the jurists and legal experts. We as ordinary observers can only assume that politics plays the most important role in the determination of what is legal or lawful in the life of a nation.
I don’t know why but Simon Tisdal’s piece took me back to my nursery days when we were taught to memorise and sing: “ and everywhere that Mary went the lamb was sure to go.”
To follow somebody blindly however great he or she may be, does not augur well for a right-thinking person. One is at a loss to understand what ennobling traits of President Trump have irresistibly drawn the Britons to Boris Johnson. One could argue and vociferously at that, Boris does not necessarily represent all the Britons. But one should not forget ‘ you have a leader whom you deserve’.
When Turkey was given the label ‘sick man of Europe’ in the middle of the nineteenth century, she was under the Ottoman Empire. The concept of one Europe as it has assumed the meaning today was a tent at that time. Now it is clear that this inglorious title has been thrust upon Britain not by any hostile destiny, she has earned it by sheer dint of incompetence, ineptitude, inertia and inconsistent policy decisions of their leaders; pathetically amateurish and uninformed foreign policy ignoring the dynamics of politics and dynamics on the ground. Britain appears to have blissfully forgotten the maxim by their past leaders — there is no permanent friend or foe in the life of a nation; what is permanent is its national interest.
Kowtowing to Trump or the US is not a novel feature in the policy and security architecture of Britain. The discerning observers both at home and abroad have not forgotten how Britain under Blair meekly and shamelessly tied up with Bush and in their nefarious designs of dislodging and overthrowing Saddam on the pretext of possession of so-called WMD. A Nobel Laureate Economist has remarkably calculated that the war that was let loose not only cost a trillion dollars but also inflicted colossal losses in terms of property and infrastructure besides taking away thousands of innocent lives. From then on almost the whole region has witnessed unprecedented chaos and anarchy with no tangible signs of a return to normalcy. The bogey of WMD did not cut much ice with the world public opinion; the later disclosures have unmasked the diabolical intentions of Blair and Bush.
In an attempt to assuage the public mood Britain instituted the Chilcot Enquiry whose outcome was a foregone conclusion. Nothing of substance happened, nobody indicted, none compensated; the only benefit that accrued was vindication of public distrust.
Chilcot Enquiry failed miserably in its attempt to have the people duped and deluded. Even the amnesiac will tell you B&B (Blair-Boris) are no different in matters of mimicking the US be it under Bush or Trump.
Difference of opinion is a necessary phenomenon in a healthy climate of democracy where the interests of the people and the nation reign supreme. Incompetent leaders show ingenuity in taking shelter under jingoism and arrogance to obviate and divert constructive criticism
Dunderheads as they are, they are incapable of acknowledging their own faults and weaknesses, the dangers of pursuing wrong or lopsided policies; any detractor is considered an enemy; conveniently forgetting that none is a permanent enemy or a permanent friend in the conduct of national policy. Honest criticism angers them most for” in all perplexity there is a portion of fear which predisposes the mind to anger”.
A deep recession is looming large on the horizon, trade is likely to nosedive, investment will be hard to come by; China is on the prowl to collect new friends and explore new areas of investment. Britain looks forlorn ‘as though of hemlock it has drunk’. She is blindly and consistently clinging to a friend who is proverbially unreliable, notoriously arrogant and eminently selfish.
Tisdal has questioned the calibre of the current crop of cabinet members. Perhaps he has forgotten to mention that lack in calibre can be gainfully compensated by dogged determination, indefatigable energy, brutal honesty, genuine sincerity of purpose and complete unity of people. Political leaders of all hues must come together and realise that concord, not discord, is the need of the hour. Convergence of opinion based on the supreme national interest can alone salvage Britain.
Tisdal hinted that Britain was alone, ploughing a lonely furrow during World War II. He needs to be politely reminded of the great contribution made by the Empire (India-Pakistan-Bangladesh-Nepal) in the war effort of Britain. A staggering number of more than 2.5 million soldiers fought against the Axis forces during World War II of which about 87,000 thousand soldiers died. In terms of resources the contribution was of gigantic proportions, colossal losses were caused to Indian economy and Indian polity. The infamous Bengal famine caused as a consequence of the war and Churchill’s utter neglect resulted in three million deaths.
11 May 2020
“In war, truth is the first casualty” according to the ancient Greek tragedian, Aeschylus. The British government has failed to speak truth to its people and the daily press briefings have exemplified that they take the public as utter fools. Governments across the globe have failed to act in time resulting in thousands of deaths that could have been prevented.
However the British governments failures have surpassed the rest of the world and Britain can proudly claim that they indeed are amongst the top two of the Covid 19 league table!
