At the blow of a whistle

Many things happen at the blow of a whistle. The policeman brings traffic at a halt, military personnel are warned of infiltration, motormen are able to communicate with each other, and boys signal their girlfriends...all this achieved at a simple blow of this small piece of instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air, which we famously call a 'Whistle'.

Well, this loud-mouthed whistle has varied and pretty interesting roles to play…Isn’t it! Even more, when recently whistleblowers have come out to blow the whistle upon the diplomatic world to expose the not-so-good deeds of dishonestly and unfair practices by global governance.

Changing the course of diplomacy
Yes, you are right; I am precisely referring to the leaks from the secret Wikileaks website that has been making headlines since the past two weeks. Fearlessly exposing the vicious policies made by diplomats, the 39yr old Dean of Wikileaks, Mr. Julian Assange is causing a stir across the globe. Personally, I like the style in which Julian kicks off leaked confidential documents on this secret Wikileaks website. Even this time, before he published some serious internal diplomatic cables, he gave his website customers a teaser by releasing information about how US nicknames global leaders, like the Iranian President is referred as "Hitler"; French President Nikolas Sarkozy as “an emperor without clothes”; Afghani President called a "weak personality" who was "driven by paranoia". I’m sure this guy must be wittingly humorous!

Subsequently, Wikileaks published some explosive secret diplomatic documents that not only left the common man speculating, but has also left the global governance shaken and stirred.

Being politically right always
It is well received and accepted when diplomats are being diplomatic! But then today, most from the corporate world, the fourth estate, and a layman like you and me are also learning and implementing the art of being diplomatic in our day-to-day living. We are busy being tactful, discreet, cautious, and selfish in all our dealings with the world, whether it is with our colleagues, our managers, media, or for that matter even our family and friends.

So then, why do we do, what we do? Why do we keep quiet and act ignorant, when we observe and witness swindles and unethical behavior & practices happening in front of our eyes. Why do we snub people at less powerful positions and exploit them to the fullest to accomplish our personal goals. Is it because we want to become Mr. Popular in our circles or is it to simply earn quick promotions to the top.

Like my good old friend always said that “to increase your knowledge, you got to share it”. Well said…isn’t it! But then, does that really happen in today’s world? Commonly, we see the so called Mr. Popular bragging about his essentially ‘bankrupt knowledge and expertise’, skyrocketing his way to the top. While the ‘humble but intelligent’ Mr. Unpopular scores no points because he can’t yap and sing his own praises like Mr. Popular. So you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours seems to be the new way of life!

Whistleblower rights
Every time a whistleblower speaks out…he is murdered or falsely put behind bars or sacked from his job for being vocal and upfront. For instance, if the diplomatic and corporate world believes and is convinced that Wikileaks is publishing inaccurate and forged documents on its secret website, there is no need for anyone to break out in a sweat. This kind of fiery situation can simply be seized by discussing with the whistleblower face-to-face…at the same time bringing in global transparency as the dialogue is unfolded.

A plumber is certainly required to fix this leaking tap from which secret information about dishonest diplomatic agendas is made public. But then, in this case, it is not the whistleblower who should face the wrought of the spanner…but it is the diplomatic world that should face it and take corrective and preventive actions to live in harmony.

Global corporations have a full-fledge highly competitive and resourceful customer care centre to handle customer feedbacks and concerns. So why not also encourage incorporation of a ‘whistleblower hotline’ and ‘protection of whistleblower policy’ as part of the corporate and governing strategy. One such unique Japanese company called ‘OMRAN’ has built-in the hotline and the whistleblower protection policy encouraging its employees, its customers, and the public to be honest and upfront. Take a look at this company’s fantastic and elaborate CSR report at (see page 215 for whistleblower rights) http://www.omron.com/corporate/csr/pdf_inquiry/pdf/omron_csr_report_e.pdf..

Indeed, it is time for global corporations and diplomats to accept whistleblowers as disgruntled stakeholders who in their little way want to make this world a better place to live in for you, for me and for the entire human race. And, we need to stop considering whistleblowers as activists who are determined to spoil relationships and peace…because there is more to what actually meets the eye.

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Before I sign out, as I always say take very good care of yourself and God Bless!