The practice of mistrust in our society

We haggle all the time in the market, not trusting the seller. Photo: Mehedi Hasan.

It is typical for a Bangladeshi shopper to question everything in a bazaar. Let's say you have 10 things to buy. One kilo of rice, half a kilo onions, 250 grammes of green chillies, one dozen eggs, one watermelon, one litre of milk, half a litre mustard oil, 100 grammes of turmeric powder, half a kilo potatoes, and one dozen bananas. Generally, as a shopper, you will ask, does this rice boil properly or get sticky? Are these onions old or new? Are these green chilies hot enough? 

Will there be any rotten eggs? Is the watermelon sweet and red inside? Did you mix water with your milk? Is this ghani-bhanga mustard oil? Did you mix something else with the turmeric powder? Did you soak the potatoes in water? Are these bananas naturally ripe, or did you ripen them in the store?

I used to get really confused because of my lack of basic skills. If I returned home with a few bundles of red spinach, my mother would scream, "Like a father like a son, brought home only the old spinach. What do I do with this useless spinach?" I don't know about my father, but I couldn't tell it apart. For me, I only look at leaves, which look reddish. 

After becoming an adult, I tried to be cautious. Pretending to inspect the leaves, I carefully judged the quality of the leaves and asked the temporary vegetable seller, "Did you pick these spinach from the field today?" He would definitely say yes while sprinkling water on his spinach display. 

Now, even then, my mother at home would say, "Excellent, what do I do with this dead spinach?" I thought of saying, "Sprinkle water, maybe?" But I was way too ashamed to say anything. Some days I would rebel and say, "Why don't you go to the bazaar and shop? Always drive us to shop when you are this know-it-all!"

Is there any item in the bazaar that we would take home without hesitation or asking any questions? Probably not. We cannot trust the bazaar and the people who sell. What does it make us?

Were the Bangladeshi people always like this? Was there any point in history where people just believed in each other and were never mistreated because of their faith?

When you do not trust any vendors in your bazaar, it should cause a ripple effect of mistrust in society. It will impact our trust in general. We won't be able to trust anyone in any position unless we have to. 

For instance, the medicines we buy from a pharmacy are totally based on faith. The customers generally cannot take the medicine back home and inspect its chemical composition. They may ask for a particular pharmaceutical company's name, but even then, it is totally up to the pharmacy owner to supply authentic medicine. A patient taking medicine can experience long-term or short-term side effects. 

Not all patients can read the guidelines properly. There is no option for claiming that the medication did not work, and you need compensation. But still, people trust pharmacies. At least more than the people who sell groceries.

Do we trust doctors? Bangladeshi people often look for affordable and better doctors. If they can afford it, they will go to Singapore for their routine checkup. Those who visit Singapore might say doctors in Bangladesh are just fakes pretending to be treating patients. People who can afford specialists in big cities might claim that those who treat patients in smaller towns are just quacks, fooling patients. 

In reality, there is no effective feedback loop between patient and doctor in Bangladesh. There is no way of telling whether a doctor was ever successful in treating a patient by only visiting that doctor. People depend on other people when they are choosing a doctor. 

Some would say, "My doctor listened to my story." For them, the treatment did not matter. Others would say, "My doctor quickly diagnosed what was wrong with me. I am totally cured now." This will create faith in the potential patient. Now, these feedbacks are not available in the public domain and are not peer reviewed. One believes in them either because they can afford it or because they must.

When it comes to choosing an educational institution, people rely on the products. Graduates from those schools. They don't care much about the existing teaching faculty, learning environment, curriculum, or assessment process. 

Parents are quite busy affording education; they cannot go and audit each and every school to find out the best ones. What about those who cannot afford to attend the best schools? Are we expecting low-performing schools to accommodate the unfortunate students? 

Generally, parents sending their children to a reputed school end up paying for their tuition as the children do not learn much while in school or the parents want the children to outperform others. There is somehow a faith in the educational institutions, but not much in their capacity; hence, the teacher comes home.

Anyone seeking any service from a public office can call themselves lucky if they get their desired service on time and without hassle. I remember when I had to go to a district court to acquire a certificate of succession after the passing of my father. It took almost a year for the application to be processed. 

At one point, I thought I should study law and then apply for the succession certificate. If you do not know certain people from your district court, the chances are that you might not receive your desired service in time. If you are visiting your local land office, brace yourself for a language you have never heard of. 

You might feel like you are abusing someone else's land or property in that office. The number of documents that are required and the way they want them is quite challenging for a novice. People generally find someone who can do this for them. They cannot afford to trust people who work in those land offices.

How long and how many generations will it take for us to trust each other in this country?

Rabiul Islam, studying MA in Language and Education, The University of Sheffield, United Kingdom

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.