It’s clear something is awry when those who've devoted their lives to heal people, go on strike and stop the work they spent years sweating for.
With disputes over contract changes which would actually increase basic pay but remove extra pay at weekends, junior doctors have vented their fury at the government by striking for the 4th time in this dispute. And with further strikes and a full walk out planned later this month, A&E services will be without cover. It’s a strange situation when doctors who pledge to care for patients leave them hanging. It’s even more perplexing considering their actions harm not the government who their dispute is with, but the NHS and the sick. Over 5,000 operations have already had to be postponed due to the strike and the planned strike on the 26th and 27th will bear heavily on other NHS staff who will have to be drafted in to cover for the absent doctors. The government is adamant to impose their new contract which at face value isn’t so bad. Basic pay will increase by 13.5% which is a lot! That means the starting salary which is currently around £23,000 will go up to almost £26,000. The only downside being that working unsociable hours like nights and weekends will reap no significant extra benefit. For doctors that is. For the NHS and the government it’ll be cheaper to provide doctors on weekends. And there’s the crux of the matter. The health secretary wants to improve care on weekends and by making a seven day week he can do so. Having been resigned to a hospital bed myself last year, I can testify that more doctors on weekends are needed. There were none when I was struck with the rare but painful eczema herpeticum infection on my face. It left me with spots and crusts covering my eyes. I was seen on Friday night and prescribed medication. Then was told there’s no doctors on the weekend to oversee my healing. It was on Monday morning when a doctor came around to see how I had improved. To be fair, doctors work hard and have a difficult job. I wish the government could do more to support them. Everyone working in the NHS deserves a pay raise plus some. What is unacceptable though is taking the government to ransom by striking out. Negotiations can continue and legal action by the British Medical Association is being taken. If junior doctors feel so strongly about this issue then they should take such steps. However neither side should be so rigid and the government imposing the new contract seems a little dictatorial. By the same coin, junior doctors rebelling is almost childlike, as if they’re not getting their way. We live in a sophisticated modern society and strikes are no way to go about protesting a supposed injustice. Medical leaders at the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges made the most sagacious points saying that patient care must come first and the planned strikes be suspended. Further they suggested that the government hold back from imposing the contract and for both parties to re-enter the negotiating table. It’s the only viable option to find a compromise but it starts with junior doctors going back to their jobs and not holding the government ransom by risking patient lives, burdening the NHS more than it already is. Junior doctor Calum Miller similarly believes that strikes aren’t the way to go. He goes to the extent of calling them ‘embarrassing’. It’s as if working on weekends for less pay is a dagger to the heart of junior doctors. Lest we forget, workers of every sector and students have had to endure cuts and changes. I still remember having to forgo my EMA payment and the £9000 tuition fees made my eyes water. But with apprenticeships and a plethora of other opportunities, it may turn out to be better in the long run. In essence, what Hunt is seeking to do is for the benefit of patients who are the primary concerns here, not the salaries of doctors. If I had it my way and the financial situation allowed it, I would certainly increase pay and give bonuses to doctors and nurses who are invaluable to the well-being of the nation. I might even knock some coins off of certain ministers who are paid excessively. Imagine the outcry. However, with increased threat of strikes and the fierce dispute over the proposed contract, junior doctors and not ministers for once, face the risk of becoming the pantomime villains.
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It’s not something we imagine dignified leaders in first world developed countries and civilised nations doing. Or is it? For some time now we've known there have been suspect dealings going on right from the top and how money leads people to commit illegal activities. The 2008 economic downturn exposed the fraudulent practices of bankers and traders. The 2010 MP’s expenses scandal revealed how MPs had been cheating the system.
We've known how money drives people to kill, to commit fraud and to carry out theft. What we didn't bet on was how widespread the problem actually is. Surely there were honest, decent, selfless leaders and righteous figures out there, you’d have thought. Mammon and the worship of material gains has crippled entire nations. Pakistan’s corrupt politicians is just one example. As is the suffering millions faced (and still do) as a result of immoral dealings with money which reached great depression levels in 2008. Greece’s economy still hasn't recovered and civil unrest inevitable follows. The Panama Papers brought out the secrets which lie hidden underneath the powerful, international magnates of the world. Hiding money from authorities can only lead one to assume illegitimate gains, unethical usage or tax evasion. True, there may be legitimate reasons to hide your money, like to save it from thieves or opportunists out to get your wealth. But the resignation of Iceland’s Prime Minister over the scandal smells of wrongdoing as does the anxiety ripping through the wealthy elite. At the heart of financial scandals is lust for money, power and coveting of material goods. Mammon and its worship rules and corrupts the world today. Money doesn't make the world go around, only the wealthy in their over priced yachts. Many will highlight (and justifiably) the hypocrisy and sanctimonious talk of politicians over budget cuts and tax evasion. Little did we know how far involved the world's financial elite were in the same things they bid citizens not to do. With 11 million documents leaked from only one offshore law firm, God knows what will be found when others are opened up. The undue lust over it and excessive thirst for it has created corrupt leaders and immoral behaviours. To curb such injustice it’s imperative we give money less value than it deserves. It won’t buy you happiness or intelligence. It can’t give you comfort or joy. It doesn't solve as much problems as it creates, unless used wisely of course. It’s not a commodity which can be useful in the long run. Inflation reduces its worth and our greed towards it only increases it. The more we demand it, the more it’s supplied. That’s not to say money isn't important or beneficial. It’s a vital and convenient medium of exchange. It keeps our economy ticking and our lives easy. What is detrimental though is our excessive love of it which leads to wealthy people hiding it, hoarding it and hankering over it. The more you have the more you want and the less you want to give away. But that's no excuse for illegal or illegitimate practices which have pervaded world institutions and personalities for some years now. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, It’s imperative the following is said to those who misuse and unlawfully hide, hoard and hanker after wealth: Dear wealthy individual, If you are one of those who have been implicated in the Panama Papers or any other type of questionable financial practices, please think about what you’re doing. We live in a global village and our actions affect thousands of people who may even be sitting on the other side of the world. I know wealth is something alluring and it seems our entire lives and well-being depend upon it. But while a necessary function of modern society, it has detrimental effects if misused. By forgoing mandatory tax contributions and earning unlawful income, you deprive the nation of essential money which it desperately needs for its maintenance. Through such dealings, you harm the very people and system on which your successes are built. Many wealthy people use their honestly hard earned income to benefit humanity at large. Take Bill Gates, self made multi billionaire. He uses his wealth for philanthropy and like others has joined ‘The Giving Pledge’, a pledge by the wealthy to dedicate the majority of their wealth to charitable purposes. True happiness can’t be found in the superficial figures of our bank accounts or temporary assets around the globe. True joy and prosperity is in using those resources to assist and help those in need, and there’s a lot of them in the world today. And more than enough wealth to go around. Yours faithfully, Me A concerned citizen Airports are notoriously known for their high levels of security checks and precautions. It makes an attack at an airport all the more shocking, frightening and inscrutable. If a place so heavily guarded can be attacked, are we safe anywhere? What people forget though is that security at airports is primarily meant to safeguard planes and their passengers onboard, not airport terminals necessarily. Don’t be surprised then if we see more security at airport entrances forthcoming. No matter how much precaution we take or security measures we make, if we don’t look while we cross the road or poison ourselves with an unhealthy diet or drive recklessly, we’re bound to be hurt. Let alone giving our enemy the means to attack us. The point being, we can be as careful at our airports, train stations and public buildings as we like but until we stop handing our enemies the means to attack us, until we stop letting our own youth be contaminated with exaggerated images in the media and calls to join the pseudo caliphate online, until we look to the core reasons for the problems and stop blaming the religion of 1.6 billion peaceful adherents, the situation will only continue to be exasperated. That’s not to say we shouldn’t take precautions or heighten security. Of course we should, it’s the only logical, albeit short term but necessary response to an attack. All viable steps need to be taken to protect the innocent and disrupt plans of extremists. But if we really wish to stop these attacks from happening, all across the globe, in Turkey, Belgium, Paris or Nigeria, and God knows where else, a long term plan and accurate, considered action is essential. Daesh would love to claim responsibility for every terror attack, the opportunists will strike fear by attributing such terrorist attacks to themselves heightening anxiety of their enemies and increasing legitimacy amongst their supporters. Ironically they’re the illegitimate issue of Western intervention and hardline rebel extremists. They’re so far removed from Islam that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (on whom be peace) disassociated himself from Daesh and the like 1400 years ago. He prophesized such heinous people calling themselves Muslims will be born and warned the Muslims not to estrange themselves from him by killing others. But that won’t stop power-hungry Daesh in using Islam to gain power, wealth and influence. Studies have shown not religion but anger at foreign occupation and revenge as the real motivations for suicide attacks. The media has its part to play in all this as well. It’s always striking, the double standards of the news. Paris and Brussels are attacked and we have grandiose displays of solidarity and outpours of sympathy, rightly so I may add. But where is that same unity and goodwill when Ankara or Beirut are bombed? In the global village we live in, such apathy and duality is unacceptable. No doubt we feel more grief and shock when those near us geographically or culturally are hurt. Every undue loss of life through terrorism, wherever in the world it happens, casts a dark shadow over humanity and makes one reel in horror at the depths of human depravity. So if we must condemn one attack, we must condemn all attacks and show solidarity with all countries since it’s the only way to defeat the germ that is ISIS. And why all this anti-Islamic rhetoric only when a European country is attacked? Don’t people realise that Muslims and Muslim countries are also victims of Daesh who purposely misconstrue teachings of Islam? There are steps we can take to stop such attacks though. It’s quite easy for us to place sanctions on Iran and Russia in a heartbeat but when it comes to shutting off the supply lines and funding of Daesh, our MPs lazily rather vote to bomb cities and towns as if macho men looking to come to the rescue. Perhaps applying pressure on the 40 countries in business with Daesh to cease trade would help. Putin knows who they are but apparently we don’t like talking to him much. We can attack countries on the pretext of liberation, we can support murderers and exporters of terror with the excuse of keeping diplomatic relations (I’m talking about Saudi Arabia) and we can pay billions to countries to keep refugees out of our own backyard. When it all comes back to bite us on our doorstep though, suddenly we’re left wondering, analysing as to what just happened and why. A few days ago one prominent Muslim leader in London addressed dignitaries including Dominic Grieve, Zac Goldsmith and Justine Greening who were in attendance. The annual Peace Symposium was hosted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK and their Caliph, Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad made a call for all leaders to exercise justice in world affairs since it’s the only way to maintain peace. Justice is being abandoned for worldly, materialistic desires, even by those pretending otherwise or using religion (which is the antithesis of materialism, vanity and avarice) as a cover for their illegitimate conquests. On the one hand, when oil is at stake, all sense of humanity, decency and justice goes out the window in blind thirst for black gold.
On the other hand, all teachings of religion regarding honesty, truth, equality and fairness are ignored when it comes to land, power and influence. Instead Daesh cherry pick violent verses outside of their context to further their own motives disregarding all verses of peace, justice and goodness which constitutes the majority of the Muslim holy book. It was further stated by the aforementioned Muslim leader that the media shouldn’t give excessive coverage to extremists or sensationalise stories. The fact is that news companies have a vital responsibility in reporting the news in a fair, balanced and truthful way. Despite this important obligation, most prefer to gain viewing figures and sales over contributing to maintaining a peaceful society free from hype and sensationalism. The case and point is right before our eyes. While many criticise Muslims for not doing enough, Muslims speaking out against these atrocities are as if non-existentto the media. No wonder many think Muslims are silent and don’t condemn these terrorists. There are perhaps millions of Muslims ready to speak out against Daesh and in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association for example, thousands gather every year to pledge loyalty and allegiance to this very country. When a handful go to join Daesh though, suddenly we have the news story of the year. It won’t be fair to say the media is completely biased though. Many do interview peaceful Muslims and present both sides of the story. However, unless we stop giving terrorists free publicity and stop overly prolonging coverage of their heinous crimes while overlooking all the good Muslims out there, it’s not likely these attacks will stop any time soon. One shouldn’t be too surprised over the endless pursuit of issues regarding Muslim women by our leaders. Considering how our society strongly stands for freedom of expression, justice and plurality, it’s ironic that the very thing which Muslim women use to express their identity and liberty - the hijab - is the exact reason they are highlighted so much more.
It’s almost as if they say, ‘these Muslim women aren’t conforming to our ways of freedom, liberty and sexuality, they must be stopped and brought under our idea of freedom!’ Of course, this xenophobic assault on Muslim women is done under the pretext of security and liberty. Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, who I wish all politicians would emulate (I’ll have to hold my breath for that) expounded the folly of Western animosity against the Hijab saying, ‘It is a cruel joke to claim you are liberating people from oppression by dictating in law what they can and cannot wear.’ If only Cameron and the many other European countries opposing the Hijab would pay attention. It’s little surprise. If we’d go to war on the pretext of freedom, liberty and democracy, using that as an excuse for anything else is fair game. Perhaps Muslim women should themselves be asked, whether they choose to wear the Hijab or someone else forces them to. I’ve not known many women who have their dress sense dictated to them and certainly shouldn’t be by the state far less than by their own family. Islam isn’t a rigid or restrictive religion which can be forcefully imposed. Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Caliph of the largest organised worldwide Muslim community stated it clearly saying, ‘men should remember that they have not been given powers to police others and should restrain themselves. It is not for them to cover the heads of women from outside. Men are commanded to restrain their eyes; they should fulfill their own obligations. There is not even any commandment to forcibly cover the heads of Muslim women.’ He then went on to reprimand such men saying it is these types of men who have hardline ideas. This can work the other way around also, if Muslim men aren’t permitted to forcibly cover the heads of their women, other men, who aren’t Muslim anyway have absolutely no right to prevent women covering their heads and faces. Now, if there is a legitimate security concern or situation which requires women remove their covering, then that isn’t disallowed by Islam. In fact Islam teaches that one must always act according to the exigencies of the occasion. So while courts or airports can request women to reveal their face, enshrining oppressive laws preventing women from wearing the veil is an attack on freedom and plurality. As for classrooms, Muslim women aren’t required to cover up in front of children anyway. And while schools already make their own policies regarding dress codes, Muslim women have for many decades been effectively teaching in classrooms, caring as nurses in hospitals and being productive members of society - with the Hijab! And Nadiya Hussain, 2015 Great British Bake-Off winner is proof of that. Which brings me onto to Cameron’s plan to teach women English. We’re all for education and one must learn the language of the country one lives in to contribute to it effectively. However, Cameron’s shortsightedness and the West’s obsession with Muslim women overshadows what could potentially be an effective programme to teach people the language. The ESOL course already exists though and perhaps Cameron should think about investing more into existing programmes which essentially do the same thing rather than singling out Muslim women. Suffice to say, women have always been oppressed by men in history. It wasn’t long ago women in the West were refused the right to work, divorce, inherit and even vote - rights Islam gave women centuries ago. The Hijab gives Muslim women dignity, allows them to carry out their tasks without the leering looks of men and reminds men to guard their own modesty and afford greater respect to the opposite sex. Far from being oppressive, for women in my life, the Hijab is a major liberating factor and rarely if ever limits them from the work they wish to do, apart from when others try and dictate to them of course. In 2016, isn’t it about time we leave Muslim women alone and let them continue the great, productive and essential work they do in society? Follow Atif Rashid on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tif_49 |
AuthorAtif Rashid writes about faith, extremism & mental health. Categories
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