Horror story

Regarding Gwynne Dyer’s column Chaos raises a question: Was Pakistan a mistake? (Aug. 3).

The answer is a resounding “yes.” The viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten, should never have acceded to the demands of Muslim League leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who only lived a short time after partition between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan has floated on American aid for decades. Appalling mass slaughter occurred on both sides as thousands of uprooted families made their way across the new borders.

Similar scenes of slaughter occurred during exits from Pakistan and doubtless were repeated on the Bangladesh side. In 1962 West Pakistan attacked Bangladesh causing similar slaughter.

It was a horror story from the outset. Women’s rights are negligible, and a female president was assassinated, as were others. Additionally, there have been several wars with India and a continuing dispute over Kashmir.

It was a grave mistake, and the consequences continue with refuge granted to Taliban forces.

Mary McKim London, Ont. you feel comfort, security, belonging and peace. When you haven’t a home that affords these basic necessities of life, you can get lost. You don’t even have to go anywhere. You can be lost and stuck at the same time.

Our focus on mental health needs an overhaul. The pharmaceutical industry and traffickers have a pill for every mental illness, but where is the healing in that? The numbing is becoming more and more lethal. Able-bodied people are becoming crippled by their homelessness and lack of security.

Mental wellness will require getting to the bottom of despair so that the “lost” no longer need to escape.

Jan Mishriky Komoka, Ont.