From The Editor’s Desk – How Can We Help?

Dear Readers,

It’s been a muddy couple of weeks for our Community – even at the expense of sounding repetitive, I have to say our Community has been dragged into the national media yet again for all the wrong reasons. The BPP Trustees’ issue doesn’t seem to be heading out of the woods anytime soon. And though this causes immense embarrassment and sadness at the sorry state of affairs, let us not underestimate the high level of stress that the Trustees themselves have to deal with.

While it is easy to blame and target the BPP, even if with reason, maybe it’s time we asked ourselves what we could do to help, even in the most seemingly minuscule way. Our responsibility needn’t end after the vote is cast, and as for those who didn’t bother turning up to vote or are ‘indifferent’ to Community affairs, this would be a good time to justify all that ‘entitlement’ and ‘snoot’, that we secretly and/or openly harbor, about being born Parsi. Let’s take a step back and ask ourselves, how can we help?

The first and immediate answer that hits anyone with a modicum of sensibility is to grow a sense of ‘Social Media Responsibility and Accountability’. One of the most integral human urges is to communicate – but just because we have an unmonitored platform in Social Media that guarantees zero truthfulness of information or related consequences, does that make it alright for us to irresponsibly forward non-truths and bilge? We need to desperately develop a sense of responsibility and resist the urge to forward every spiced-up or fabricated piece of information, especially one that brings down another. Let our first reaction be to check for the validity and authentication of a forwarded message, as opposed to unwittingly becoming its mule. Gossip/information that is forwarded without the name of the writer or its origin should be deleted – from your phone and your mind. As a Community we need to build a sense of checks and balances, and we need to build it NOW.

Another way we can help is to be patient and play it fair. The current BPP Board has proven its dynamism and has been actively working toward the welfare of our Community. It has encountered hiccups in the past, as it will in the future – let the current hiccup not misrepresent it as an asphyxiated Board. This Board comprises committed and respected personalities, who we chose as our Trustees. Let’s show some trust by being patient and let’s have some faith in our choice, and then some more in their ability to tide things over and resume their good work, hopefully in an amicable manner… to emerge stronger and more united than ever. Wishful? Yes. Possible? YES!

Hereon, let’s respect their privacy as a Board, and hope they do the same because respecting privacy, in this case, is a two-way game. It would be preferable for our Trustees to communicate in one, unified voice with the community and the media, as that could end any and all speculation and leave no scope for mischief mongers to twist truths.

Everyday, I get numerous mails from well-meaning community members with ideas and suggestions of how the BPP can work better for the Community – this week I look forward to receiving mails as regards ‘How Can We Help?’ the BPP and the Community.

Have a good weekend!

– Anahita