Rizana, epitome of the plight of marginalised

Rizana Nafeek commanded newspaper headlines and editorial comments on several occasions for tragic reasons. She was an innocent damsel from a rustic rural locale who became the victim of her own pitiful circumstances. She was brutally condemned to death and savagely executed by a rigid system of justice abominably lacking in human considerations. She symbolizes the wretched circumstances in which the economically challenged and downtrodden segment of this country is suffering from untold hardships and abject poverty. Although the enormous hardships undergone by the poorest segment struggling in pauperism deserves precedence in a scale of priority, it is regrettable that it still remains outside the horizons of the ruling elite basking in the glory of the grandiose schemes of fanfare.

If management and channelling of public finances at the disposal of state apparatus could be prudently carried out based on judicious evaluation of overriding socio-economic considerations, with robust mechanisms of checks and balances in place to guarantee transparency and accountability for actions to facilitate the accomplishment of desired objectives, there could be a hope for ending to the tragic tales many Rizanas to recur in future. The innocent damsel who had to silently suffer in solitary confinement for eight long years would have died numerous deaths whilst still being alive, helplessly crying in endless pain, being harassed, frightened and intimidated by the obdurate dreadful and merciless law enforcement system of the oil rich kingdom. Her incessant pleas for clemency over a long eight year period behind bass in an unknown land, many oceans away sadly fell on deaf ears. Authorities with remarkable acumen in blame games or fixing scapegoats may be getting ready for a public spectacle of shedding crocodile tears whilst Rizana has breathed last and departed never to come back.

This is a moment of truth for the echelons of power to touch their collective conscience to ascertain, if

ECONOMIC WHIZ KIDS WHO ARE ADEPT AT WAXING ELOQUENCE ON THE EVER INCREASING FOREIGN CURRENCY GENERATED BY THOSE WHO ARE EMPLOYED OVERSEAS MAY NOT REALLY KNOW THE TRUE NATURE OF THE SAD PLIGHT OF POOR MIGRANT WORKERS WHOSE TALES ARE SOAKED IN SWEAT AND BLOOD

they have genuinely and sincerely risen to the occasion and done all what they could exhausting every possible avenue to do what was reasonably expected of them by the citizenry of this country.

Rizana sacrificed her innocent teenage life on the altar of cruelty in the name of perceived justice in a land where incessant loud wails for clemency could not move obstinate hearts. The heartrending story ended by shattering all the hopes for a better tomorrow of the surviving members of her family who are on a constant struggle to eke out a living. What could at minimum be done in the name of the unfortunate girl would be to look in to the grievances and plight of these marginalized people to bring them some redress. This is an ideal opportunity for well the meaning citizens of this country to contribute their mite for a deserving cause. Meeting humble expectations of the bereaved family may not be big enough to steal lime light. However, such generosity would certainly be rewarded in the final analysis when perpetra- tors of injustice would be facing their day of reckoning. What is needed is an inclusive approach to address the issue of overcoming poverty which propels hapless people into catastrophes accompanying irretrievable losses such as what has ensued. Economic whiz kids who are adept at waxing eloquence on the growing trend of the inward remittance of foreign currency generated by those who are employed overseas may not really know the true nature of the sad plight of poor migrant workers whose tales are soaked in sweat and blood. Those who brag about record level foreign exchange reserves hardly pay any tribute to the scores of unknown Rizanas whose toiling has contributed to build such riches. Million dollar question is how much of those economic riches are sincerely committed to the welfare and wellbeing of the marginalized segments, which are breaking their backs toiling hard to produce them.It is incumbent upon the echelons of power to engage in some genuine soul searching to determine how ethical would it be, if the riches generated out of sheer sweat, blood and toil of the marginalized are permitted to be callously squandered for purposes other than public interest, by the scoundrels donning white garbs of authority.