The news coming out of Pakistan continues to get worse. The most devastating floods in the nation's history have already killed at least 1,600 people, forced millions of people to flee their homes, and wrecked large tracts of the country. The number of deaths is almost certain to climb, and unless urgent measures are taken, an outbreak of disease will remain a disturbing probability.
The international community, lead by the United Nations, is trying to provide whatever help it can. Aid groups are already hard at work, and the U.N. and Western nations are trying to raise the necessary funds to mount a sustained recovery effort. This is not only demanded of us by our basic human values, but is necessary for strategic reasons, as a total breakdown in government authority in northwest Pakistan would allow the Taliban and its allies an opportunity to recover from the military offensives that have targeted them in recent years.
However, one nation that seems conspicuously absent from the list of those trying to help Pakistan is its neighbor to the east: India. Aside from a letter of condolence, India has not sent any funds or emergency assistance of any kind.
India and Pakistan, of course, have been enemies since they both gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1947. Their rivalry over the disputed territory of Kashmir and India's repeated protests over covert Pakistani support for terrorists that target India have kept their relationship extremely tense down to the present day.
The enmity between India and Pakistan is a cause for grave concern throughout the world, for this is no ordinary international dispute. Both India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons, and it is on the Indian Subcontinent that a nuclear war is most likely to break out.
Considering the wrongs India has suffered at the hands of Pakistan, including the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008, it is perhaps understandable that they are not eager to help their afflicted neighbor to the west. But if they were to do so, they would be making a powerful statement on behalf of peace. They would also, in a sense, be the bigger man.
In the late 1990s, Greece and Turkey were still enemies, and often seemed on the verge of armed conflict over territorial disputes in the eastern Aegean Sea. But that year, Turkey was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed thousands of people. Greece immediately dispatched rescue teams, supplies, and other forms of help, which was greatly appreciated by the Turks. Indeed, when Greece was struck by an earthquake itself later that same year (albeit less devastating than that which had struck Turkey), the Turks immdiately reciporcated by sending help to the Greeks. These demonstrations of basic humanity between two ostensible enemies set the stage for a surprising improvement in relations between the two nations over the next decade.
India has an opportunity to follow the Greek and Turkish example. If it were to dispatch assistance to Pakistan and help raise funds to assist those unfortunate Pakistani civilians who have been affected by this natural disaster, it could be a useful step in improving relations between the two sides. And that is something all Global Citizens could get behind.
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