BLOG: PIA, the goat and the media

All of Sunday, my twitter and Facebook timelines were flooded with pictures of a black goat being slaughtered as a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) ATR turboprop stood in the background. People were having a field day terming the sacrifice as the airline’s new method to ward off any untoward incidents.

One news outlet even cropped the image to hide a wall behind the ATR aircraft, had they not, the notion that the sacrifice took place before the flight took off would have been hard to digest. For the record, the pictures were taken while the aircraft was still inside the hangar. 

Since the media in Pakistan has often misreported facts and then conveniently forgotten to admit and rectify mistakes, it came as no surprise as I read that the sacrifice was “a telling example of lack of trust in the fleet of ATRs” while another leading daily termed it an “effort to seek divine intervention to keep a flight safe and secure” – luckily the responsible sections of the media attributed the sacrifice to the turbo-prop successfully clearing the shakedown test and not as an offering before the plane took off.

Most news outlets carried the statement issued by PIA spokesman Danyal Gilani, clarifying that the sacrifice  was a gesture of gratitude by staff members, but yet many news outlets did not bother carrying the official’s statement.

The Sacrifice Culture

Growing up in Pakistan I am only all too familiar with the rituals that are observed here. My favourite and most bizarre ritual was seeing the evil eye being warded off by a handful of chilies. I cannot remember if the chilies smoking when roasted on the fire meant the evil had been warded off, or was it when there was no smoke. 

The ever growing number of beggars on our streets is a testament to the prevalence of the ‘sadqa’ or charity culture that majority of Pakistan adheres to. The elite in their luxury cars absolve themselves of their sins and ward off evil eyes by giving alms to the poor.

The number of ‘deghs’ (cauldrons) distributed outside the shrines, the handful of notes given to the transgenders who shower you with prayers for a ‘chaand si dulhaniya’ or a ‘bari gaari’ or whatever it is that will make it easier for you to part with your money.

I don’t think anyone in Pakistan made fun of the politician who was sacrificing many more black goats on a daily basis, to ward off the evil eye.

To my fellow countrymen, especially those who advise others to offer ‘sadqa’ for surviving a mugging or to expedite recovery when unwell and even when you are tormented by nightmares, please do not make fun of something you and your loved ones adhere to.

Finally, to my fellow journalists, it takes one phone call and five minutes of your time to confirm the authenticity of a version of a story, spare those five minutes. Thank you.