Compensation Caricatures in Afghanistan
“Fear the hungry lion & the wrath of an Afghan” says the military parable about the war ravaged, violent Asian continent. As a matter of fact, Afghanistan has stolen the screen numerously, most of the time for the wrong reasons. Albeit there are hard feelings, it is ridiculous to learn that Afghanis are receiving an average compensation of less than $60 from Australian government for gross loss of life and property by the hands of Australian troops. The Australian government has been paying compensation since 2009, and has shelled out $84,836 to 1,474 civilians until this January. It is, however, still unclear as to how many cases are pending, and how much money is outstanding. The Australian government is washing its hands off with this “no liability” payment to civilians who've suffered losses from altercations with their army.
It wouldn’t be right to come to a quick conclusion and label this as justice meted out to the warmongers, and neither is it very sincere to shed bitter crocodile tears about the diminution of human rights. When it comes to compensation in any third world country, however, things are definitely bleaker than the rest of the world.
Firstly, the illiteracy level is on the higher side, and people are unaware of their rights. There are policies and procedures in place, but the amount of communication necessary to convey these policies are severely undermined. Secondly, due to the humungous corruption prevalent at every level of third world nations like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the purpose of government aides and compensations are very often defeated.
On the contrary, if we take a look at UK or USA compensation claims, the very first thing that comes to mind is the sheer weight given to human life. Life is considered to be precious, and all possible means are taken to safeguard this gift of nature. Types of accidents and associated benefits are stated transparently in clear unambiguous terms. There could be car accident compensation, compensation for slips, trips, falls, medical negligence and dog bites. Unlike third world nations, claiming is easy, hassle free and takes less time without a trace of procedural bottleneck. Victims of unfortunate accidents can check the compensation calculator provided online to know for sure the amount of compensation he or she is eligible for.
This is something which can only be dreamt about in India or Afghanistan. As a matter of fact, had this been the Afghanistan government’s own compensation plan, there could be serious doubts whether those 60 dollars would have ever made it to the needy hands.
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