A displaced Swati was told that the government was begging the foreign countries round the clock for charity. He had always known that some Pakistanis are keeping oceanfuls of money in foreign lands. These Pakistanis are the blue-eyed boys of Plutus, the god of wealth. The Swati asked himself: "Why should the government dishonour the country by begging? Why don't the billionaire Pakistanis voluntarily pour a tiny fraction of their gigantic wealth into Pakistan for the displaced persons?" There was no answer. He was shocked. The shock was more shocking than the shock of one's own death. The Swati lamented: "Had I known on the day of my birth what I know now I would have instantaneously committed suicide." Unfortunately the governmental begging has not been very fruitful. But the government is not discouraged. The begging is becoming more and more vociferous. Obviously, the government is concerned with the begging, not with its results. The begging, even if not much productive is in itself a laudable national service. If the displaced persons are dismayed, they must know that the government can only beg. It cannot steal money from abroad. The billionaire Pakistanis are watching the national tragedy indifferently. They can rid the displaced persons of their misery in a jiffy. But no The misery has failed to melt their hearts. Probably, their hearts are made of stainless steel. Or may be they believe that helping the displaced persons is tantamount to interfering in their private affairs. And since the displaced persons do not interfere in the private affairs of the billionaires, the billionaires have no right to interfere in the private affairs of the displaced persons. Millions of Pakistanis have been displaced by the terrorists. But there is nothing unique about it. Pakistan is essentially a land of displacements. Musharraf, as president, displaced Nawaz Sharif. Nawaz Sharif had to live in Saudi Arabia as a displaced person for years. Being scared that Nawaz Sharif might intrigue to displace him out of Pakistan revengefully, Musharraf has displaced himself voluntarily. He has bought a luxury 'tent' in London. The tent would symbolise Musharraf's hearty companionship with the displaced Pakistanis who are living in rotten tents. Nawaz Sharif's displacement was a displacement imposed by Musharraf. The displacements of the Northern Areas Pakistanis are displacements imposed by the terrorists. But there is another brand of displacement which is imposed by some Pakistanis on themselves. Some poverty-stricken Pakistanis keep killing themselves regularly. Thus they voluntarily displace themselves from their huts to settle permanently underground. The government is doing all it can for the Pakistanis who are displaced by the terrorists. But it has done nothing at all for the Pakistanis who displace themselves from this world to the world beyond. As the government has established special camps for the persons displaced by the terrorists, so the government must build special graveyards for the Pakistanis who displace themselves forever from this world. The government has assured that the terrorist calamity is just a matter of days. Let the government be assured that if the current calamity dies, it won't die without giving birth to another calamity. Unfortunately, ours is a land of calamities. One calamity breeds another calamity. Every calamity gives birth to a successor. The successor calamity. Every calamity gives birth to a successor. The successor calamity carries on vigorously the functioning of its predecessor. Almost daily, the newspapers show photographs of young Swati girls carrying rotis in their arms. A photographer wanted to have a photograph of a roti carrying girl. He requested her to spare a moment. The girl was terrified. She had an inkling that she was going to be abducted. She pleaded: "Sir, I've got rotis from the charity centre. Let me deliver these rotis to my aged parents. I won't mind being crushed by death. But I can't bear that my mom and dad should be crushed by starvation." Our defence spending is going up. Suicides are going up. Poverty is going up. Epidemics are going up. Air pollution is going up. Water pollution is going up. Dacoities are going up. Robberies are going up. Only one thing is coming down: bombs from the drones. The air is thick with the rumours that all the charity money is not getting through to the displaced persons. Some of it is getting somewhere else. Where that 'somewhere' is, is a mystery. But never mind Had all the money got through to the displaced persons it would have spoilt them. Once a country was hit by a calamity. The prime minister donated huge sums of money out of the national treasury. But he does not donate even single penny out of his own pocket. The masses objected. He defended himself by asserting: "I have never worn clothes with pockets. How could I donate something out of a pocket which I have never had?" The writer is an academic