2011: The Turbulent Flight by Jehan Naseem

Published in the Pak Tea House on Jan. 3, 2012

At the end of every year or the beginning of a new one, a very dear friend of mine and I repeat the same words, “God-willing, this will be our year,” to give each other a gentle yet positive push looking forward to the New Year ahead.

For some 2011 was a great year, as opposed to the preceding years which seemed far more devastating.  However, for others it had its ups and downs. Last year, I had witnessed many jumps and dips for my loved ones and myself.  It had extreme turbulences which seemed more life changing without any boundaries.

From the many lessons that I had to learn last year, the most important one for me was that to learn to deal with the root of a particular problem, in order to allow change to occur in a healthy fashion. We all know that the severe modification in the socio-economic political level affects all of us.  However, they also create internal conflicts on a personal level, by riling up a rouse or allow us to progress.  The previous year seemed no different from the preceding years in terms of the level of abruptness we all have seen.  These changes made purposely or unplanned seemed to have a different alteration on the train of thought on the large masses.  To me, this abruptness caused a visible shift in the paradigm and on a one-on-one basis.

The appearance of the shift was more apparent to me after witnessing something either devastating or extraordinary where humanity has been replaced by sensationalism. The base of the situation suggested becomes baseless, but very carefully camouflaged with morals. I wonder though, do the players at play ever realize that morals without logic are just that, baseless?  That the gaming preludes to the actualization of fear?  Fear, that makes us question our abilities rather than the choices we make?

There are many types of people in this world, some are the players and others are the ones that get played.  However, there are even those who are well aware that they are getting played yet choose to do nothing and at the same there are those will go to many levels to help themselves.  It is difficult to give the whole blame to the ones that ignited the gaming ploy, since there are so many out there who have seen and heard the truth and choose to do nothing.  I know the truth can be relative to most.  However, that can change if there is evidence and logic supporting it.  Taking out only the negative aspect of what is evident (that to only out of arrogance and pride), just so your own side can be supported isn’t self-righteous, but unfortunately puerile.  Not admitting to what is wrong around you is creating a toxic environment.  A right can not be made with two wrongs, just the way you can’t sensationalize something that isn’t there and throw the victimization card to the party in front of you.

Unfortunately, I have seen this happen many times.  I’ve seen religion, class, creed, ethnic backgrounds and race being slandered in acts of self-righteousness.  I would be defecated on in the middle of these acts, since there were directionless and attacked mostly everyone.  2011 year in particular seemed to be much rougher when it came to slandering or the glorified form of it called “sensationalism”.  A friend of mine said to me that to him, “even sensationalism was a form of fundamentalism.”  I couldn’t have said it any better.

Everything that I have stated affected me on a personal basis.  It decreased my tolerance level and increased my despair.  Oddly to say most of those around me would agree.

In 2011 I seemed to witness a re-run of emotions crashing into people like a terrible freak accident.  People that I know lost their loved ones in blasts and accidents or barely escaping them. They had been lied to out of omission leading to worsen the situation.  Someone would throw the victimization card at them (“you don’t know what I’m going through”) without being informed of what was going on.  Many have had their heart-broken in countless ways.  I have seen and experienced being spoken down to just for being individuals without disrespect and when standing up for yourself you get labeled (for a foul mood or just a terrible person).

However, every negative has a positive.  I saw many positive things come out of these scenarios as well.  I saw people becoming stronger after losing a loved one or barely escaping an accident/blast.  They became smarter after their right being held from them and developed the strength to fight for it.  Instead of allowing themselves to be played by a victim, they became martyr on their own.  Those who had broken hearts, allowed their own to have more surface area.  I chose and watched people standing up for themselves without worrying about being labeled, because those whom actually care without being fickle will never label you.

Something very small starts these train wreck of psychological emotions, which were created by situations that have occurred.  These small elements have been composed into something bigger than they are supposed to be.  For example; the cause behind a terrorist attack may be small, but when it is made into something bigger it literally kills.  You can see the application of it on a personal basis.  When something devastating does happen a part of you dies.  However, even if a part of you dies it is just so that you can be re-born once again.

Even though 2011 was the year of change, hopefully 2012 will be that of change filled with peace of mind and heart.

Happy New Year everyone and God Bless!

The Foreign Robber

Published in Pak Tea House on Oct. 22, 2011

A few days ago, I had gone to the bank to make a personal transaction. I had parked my car a few feet away from the steps heading towards the main door of the bank. All of a sudden, from the corner of the bank building, a woman (who seemed to be in her forties) and a late-teenage girl appeared out of nowhere. The woman did not seem to look like she was from Pakistan, possibly a foreigner and the girl relatively resembling the Pakistani heritage. Both were clad in crisp-clean shalwar kameezes and had drapped their heads with their duppattas.

The older woman, very frantically had stopped me, waiving her hand and hurriedly rushing towards me with the girl right behind her. She said to me “Madame! Madame! Please read this!” She handed me a ratty old note, in which you could even see the crease lines of the folded note tearing. In very opulent and neatly written Urdu, it was asking for help, for charity and to be precise money.

I quickly skimmed the note and while returning it to her I said “This is asking for charity, help.” She looked with a grim face and said in a strong foreign/broken-English accent “Yes, yes. My husband is out of a job and we need money to pay the rent by tomorrow or we will have no home. Can you help us? Can you give us money please?” I was very much taken aback. I quickly tried to make a quick break for it towards the side of the building; she blocked my way and asked me again. I said “I’m sorry I can’t help you.” She wouldn’t let me pass and said “How much do can you give?” I repeated my answer again and she blocked me again repeating the same question with an added “How much do you have?” I very adamantly said “I’m sorry I CAN NOT help you!” The two men walking towards us seemed to have intimidated her. The guard who was outside the building seemed a little startled by slight outburst which made him vigilant and a little more alert. She quickly took a step back and gave a disappointed little shrug and quietly said “Okay.”

This lady was trying to bully me into giving her money, using a bold yet submissive tactics that wouldn’t be too obvious to the public. This way not many people could tell she as trying to rob me.

As being a resident of Karachi, one would think the due to the precarious safety situation of the city, this is something that happens regularly, however it doesn’t. There have been several incidents that have happened very much like this to many other people all over the country. Unfortunately, not all of them have been as lucky as me.

Amir Khan, national correspondent The Education Watch Pakistan (National Weekly) Islamabad, experienced something like this when he withdrew money from an ATM at the G-11 Markaz on his way to a meeting. Unaware that he was being followed, after attending the meeting on his way to the supermarket, a car a couple of men in white corolla called out to him and he approached them. They were posing to be newly arrived UAE residents who were looking for an Arabic bank which they couldn’t find it for money conversion. Mr. Khan told him them he wasn’t aware of the bank and told them to go to a money exchange. They asked him to show Pakistani currency so they wouldn’t get cheated. He took out a few notes to show them and they kept insisting that he keep showing bigger value notes to the extent that he ended up showing them all the money he had withdrawn. After they returned the money, much later when he recounted the money turned out, Rs.10, 000 was missing from the total amount of Rs. 25,000. When Mr. Khan reported this incident to the police they told him that there is a local gang possibly impersonating foreigners that is going around Islamabad robbing people. This gang consists of a young man, another man in his mid-thirties and a younger woman who wore a veil. They speak in a half-broken Arabic-English accent.

After some research, Mr. Khan managed to find out quite a bit of information about this gang. There is a large network of these robbers in the major cities of the country. One of their major residences is in Lahore were they have preoccupied a hotel in which they reside. Normally, a female is used as a front person to make a move on the perspective victim. They mainly stalk and follow from certain ATMs and banks that are isolated. About 50% of the taxi drivers that Mr. Khan had gotten a hold of knew this gang, since they had dropped them. One of the taxi drivers’s even mentioned to Mr. Khan that he had dropped the female (who was apart of the Islamabad network) to Taxila University. Rent-a-car dealers told him that these people some times rent a car that is brand-new or old. Their main preference in the brand of cars is either Toyota or Corolla.

Mr. Khan and I are not the only ones that have encountered this mafia like network.
These “foreign” robbers have been terrorizing various cities of the country for the past 10 years.

Make sure when you do go to ATMs and Banks, that they are not isolated, try to be extra vigilant and that you are not being followed. Hopefully, there will be a sense of safety and security for a start once this gang is caught.

South Asia: Reactions on the New Beginning of Libya

 

Published in Global Voices Online on Oct. 21,2011

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/10/21/south-asia-reactions-on-the-new-beginning-of-libya/

 

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

The death of Muammar Gaddafi marked the end of more than four decades of autocratic rule in Libya. People from all over the world are expressing their views on his reign, the way he died and the new beginning it promises to Libya. South Asian bloggers were also quick to express their opinions.

Shiv Aroor, a journalist from Indian news channel Headlines Today, described his account of a day in Bin Jawwad, Libya. He was only a kilometer from Gaddafi’s forces with his colleagues, trying his best to survive:

It was bitterly cold that night. While rebel ack-acks continued to fire sporadically through the night, the whipping Mediterranean wind would make it one of our more uncomfortable nights. We drove back to the hospital, and asked Dr Altarash if he was sure he could accommodate us, since we didn’t want to stay at the hotel. “Don’t even think of staying at the hotel. That’s the most dangerous place around here. Stay the night here with us. You can eat what we eat, sleep where we sleep. If we have to die, we die together. We are family,” he said. And he really meant it.

Indrajit Samarajiva from Sri Lanka writes:

Ah, Muammar. One of an older breed of amusing psychopaths, something like the Mervyn Silva of the international stage. If you can ignore the torture, the murder, the corruption, the terrorism and the general FAIL, he was a funny guy. Zenga Zenga. Now he’s dead.

In my own blog, I highlighted my family’s experience of living in Libya in the beginning of Gaddafi’s rule:

Libya would never be the same under General Gaddafi’s rule. The Libyan Constitution ceased to exist. Whatever words he would utter, with immediate effect, become the law. No one had the choice to refute it, what he said, was as good as done. Since he had severe ambivalence towards any “western” foreign influences, all foreign languages were removed from the local schools. This was exceptionally difficult for my eldest sister’s education.

Pakistani blogger Kashif Aziz at Chowrangi wonders where the recent revolutions in Arab world will lead to:

I take this recent wave of revolution in Arab lands, labelled as the Arab Spring, as another phase of the New Middle East proposal floated during Bush regime. The wave that toppled the governments of Tunisia and Egypt, shook Bahrain and Yemen and spread anarchy in Syria while Iraq has already disintegrated, Libya has recently fallen down and Pakistan is in the crosshairs.

So what’s next? and to what this chaos and mayhem will lead to?

Indrajit concludes his post with:

From Prabhakaran to Bin Laden, terrorists are being found and killed. While I take no particular pleasure in this, it is probably a net good. War is never good, but wars that end and enable a better future can be. I wish creatures like Gaddafi would never emerge in the first place, but here’s hoping that we’re entering an era where such obvious douchebaggery is either weeded out or never takes root. Good luck Libya. You’re gonna need it.

As the world prays for the Libyans so they can have a start, they battle for their daily lives; hoping that their future generations can have a new beginning with ease.

This post is part of our special coverage Libya Uprising 2011.

Pakistan: Education, The Last Hope

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/08/25/pakistan-education-the-last-hope/

Posted 25 August 2011 20:05 GMT by Global Voices Online.

As the socio-political crisis in Pakistan is getting out of hand, emphasis on education has been stressed by the civil society. This thought mainly is due to the fact and hope that maybe, just maybe, education might be the key to bringing stability amidst the unsettling internal civil war that Pakistanis face on a daily basis.

Pakistani tweep Aly Nasser wrote:

@alynaseer: The education system in #Pakistan must be overhauled immediately with adequate measures for young scholarship programs for (the) middle class.

An education news blog (from Florida, USA) tweeted this shocking yet not surprising information:

@educationblog: Pakistan’s education system is in crisis, where literacy rate is below fifty percent. pcrschool.org/news/?p=30782

In a profoundly written blog at the Express Tribune by Asad Ali, titled “Riaz wanted to learn English”; the writer talks about a newspaper boy and his determination to read and write English. He tried his level best to help this boy and gave him his e-mail address to write back to him once he was able to read and write English. Here is what Asad Ali had to say after 11 years:

“Almost eleven years later (three days ago) I received an e-mail from Riaz for the first time. His determination to learn to speak the language proved to be truly remarkable.

Riaz’s story is a testament to the fact that our youths are thirsty for education. Unfortunately the political leaders have not provided the necessary infrastructure – but that story is old now.

We have run out of excuses to let things be as they are. If only one per cent of us took the responsibility to take one 10-year old from the street under their wing, in ten years we would have 1.8 million more educated people than what would have been otherwise. Ten years fly by. Imagine if two percent of us mobilised.”

Unfortunately not all opinions are motivational and uplifting.  Many blogs talk about how the level of education in Pakistan is not only extremely challenging but also very stagnant.

As Dr. M. Pasha states in his blog:

“I wish our politicians and bureaucracy can understand that educating young people in today’s globalized world is more complex and painstaking task than anything else. It involves caring for the development of students’ intellect, emotional, social and physical growth. Simply hard work, dedication and commitment is not enough. This requires professionalism. Quality education can only be achieved through an uninterrupted execution of intelligently crafted educational processes by a group of well trained professionals equipped with appropriate knowledge, skills and attitude working in a technology enhanced teaching-learning environment furnished with appropriate provisions. A small number of rightly educated students are more valuable for a secure and prosperous Pakistan than a large army of non-productive, misguided, frustrated young graduates. Vice chancellor is always a leader of his/her university. He/she is responsible of managing quality. What could we expect from a university which does not have a vice chancellor? I wish people in Pakistan could grasp the meaning of the latest concept of education in 21st century.”

Kalsoom Lakhani at Changing Up Pakistan highlights a new initiative called ‘Teach for Pakistan‘, which is part of the Teach for All global network (which includes Teach for America).  Here is what she has to say in an article titled “Teach for Pakistan: Bringing Innovation to Education”;

“In Pakistan, the challenges are enormous and they are complex. Most children are not afforded access to a good education. They are innocent bystanders to a fractured education system, where critical thinking is rarely taught, good teachers are hard to come by, and drop-outs are a common occurrence. The statistics may not change dramatically in our life-time. But efforts like Teach for Pakistan are taking innovative steps to getting us there faster, engaging our country’s youth along the way.”

Without a doubt, Pakistan has a long way to go to better its literacy rate.  Keeping in mind that education and literacy are two completely different forms of conformity, if they are not made to work together, “reading and writing itself” can be a futile and a lost cause.

My Family’s Story Part II: Egypt and the return to Pakistan By Jehan Naseem

Got published in the South Asia Pulse Online:

http://www.sapulse.com/new_comments.php?id=3122_0_1_0_C

 

My parents had arrived in Cairo, Egypt in 1977.  They had been given a home by the company in Garden City and they had found out that it was the very same house that Anwar Sadat had been living in before the revolution.  A few blocks away was the Pakistani Consulate.  The building in which the Pakistani Consulate in Cairo operated was given to them by Agha Khan III.  The building was actually a palace which was later divided into portions.  Agha Khan III is buried is in Aswan, Egypt at the Mausoleum of Aga Khan.  My parents visited the Pakistani Consulate on many occasions, such as Pakistan Day, Independence Day etc.

Since there was barely anything available, initially living in Egypt was not easy.  My father had to buy small things such as toothpaste from his visits to Kuwait.  This was a massive change for my family since in Libya, at that time, everything was readily accessible.  There was a time that our family’s housekeeper/cook bought about 3-4 kg worth of butter.  My mother was very astonished and asked her why she made such a huge purchase and told her it wasn’t necessary since our consumption wasn’t as much.  Her reply was “No Madame, it was necessary.  I don’t know when it will be available next.”  When the butter later on started spoiling, she then turned it into ghee to use.  It seemed that Sadat wanted to pay heed to the World Bank’s policies to be able to receive a loan from them; so Egypt’s debts could be relieved.  This was the result mainly due to the liberalization of the economy and ending the subsidizing basic food stuff.  However, when people started rioting, the state then reversed the position.

Shortly afterwards, President Anwar Sadat had made the historic visit to Israel for peace.  In the west, many countries along with Egyptians lauded Sadat for taking such a bold step and encouraged it.  Many Middle Eastern countries, especially Libya; (who were the main supporters of Pan-Arabism) claimed that Sadat as a sell-out.  If you took Sadat’s side, you were a liberal dog.  If you opposed Sadat, you were a radical fundamentalist.  However, prior to him trying for peace in the region, he did make a surprise attack in 1973 called the Yom Kippur War.  So, therefore, the only way to get around was trying to instill some stability in the region through a treaty.  The very day Sadat went for his trip, his wife Jehan Sadat, kept a coffee morning with all the ambassadors’ and government elites’ wives just to keep calm, delay her nervousness so she wouldn’t have to constantly think of the dangerous risk her husband was taking.

Eventually, the situation in Egypt was starting to get better.  Essentials were more available with proper price control.  The economy seemed to stabilizing along with the country’s international relations.  My family and their friends saw Egypt steadily progressing.  During that time period my mother had given birth to me and my eldest sister decided to name me after the first lady. However just a few months later, unfortunately the assassination of  President Anwar Sadat took place.  The Islamic Group; (al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya) was responsible for this;.  Their reasoning was that they were still enraged with the Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty Sadat had signed.  My family remembers seeing the parade on the television live broadcast.  My mother said “Everything all of a sudden in the parade went berserk; we didn’t understand what was happening.  The network all of a sudden turned on Talawat (reciting verses from the Quran), then they announced President Sadat had been assassinated.  The whole day the network played Talawat.  I also remember them showing Jehan Sadat running towards Sadat’s body and her yelling to the bodyguard “What did you people do?  What did you people do to him?”  My eldest sister recalls that when they showed everything on the local TV channel, our housekeeper (different from the one mentioned before) wept terribly as she sat in front of the TV and kept saying in distress “They killed such a good man, he was such a good leader, why did they kill such a good man?” My mother told me that she had a seen on the local television channels a true-story based tele-film/documentary.  In that tele-film, they showed that Sadat was telling his wife he didn’t want to go and he was feeling very lethargic a few hours before his assassination.  Nonetheless, his wife pushed him to go since he had to make an appearance in the annual victory parade in Cairo to celebrate Egypt’s crossing of the Suez Canal.  Little did she know that her husband would be killed.

Hosni Mubarak had taken over as President while the whole of Egypt grieved.  A couple of years later my family and I moved back to Pakistan.  It took my family time to adjust, but they were happy to be back home.  However, till this day they all remember Egyptians as very loving, warm, welcoming and family people.  These people have a very rich culture and strong history, whom very exceptionally loyal to the people that they served.  Time and time again our Pakistani friends, who were with us in Cairo, would return to visit.  After some 15 years or so, one of them mentioned how it is again becoming very difficult for the common man there to buy certain food items, which were apart of their staple diet; for example chicken.  A couple of years later our second time housekeeper came to visit us with another Pakistani family that she started to work for when we left.  I still remember the warmth and love in her voice and gestures.  According to her, Egypt was no longer the same.

I don’t remember anything about Egypt and of course Libya is all stories to me.  Regardless; there is a certain melancholy and a strong sense of relief for my family and I, when watching the revolution happen again.  Tahrir Square was where my parents strolled with my push-chair and my sisters walked on each side.  When we watch of what is becoming of Libya, our heart goes out to them.  All in all, we know and hope that they will get through this ordeal.  Like the Tunisians and Egyptians, similarly the Libyans, have the ability to discipline themselves to have unity.  When they need work done, they manage to keep all the social/ethnical/religious politics aside and keep faith. Unity, faith and discipline; the same fundamental principles Quaid-e-Azam had stated for Pakistan.

When the situation has stabilized in Libya and Egypt, I’d like to make a small visit; just to see how fierce the desert wind blows and how strong the currents of the Nile Flow.

The house that Sadat lived in.

Published in The Express Tribune (Partner with International Herald Tribune), Sunday Magazine, June 3rd,  2011.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/198767/the-house-that-sadat-lived-in/

My parents arrived in Cairo, Egypt in 1977. They were given a home by my father’s company in Garden City and soon found out that it was the very same house that Anwar Sadat had been living in before the revolution.

Every day necessities were not available in Egypt at that time. My father had to buy small things like toothpaste in Kuwait, which he travelled to frequently. This was a massive change for my family since in Libya, at that time, everything was readily accessible. There was a time that our housekeeper bought about 3-4 kilograms of butter at one go. My mother was astonished, and asked her why she made such a huge purchase since our family obviously couldn’t consume that much butter. Her reply was: “Madam, it was a necessary purchase. I don’t know when it will be available next.”

It seemed that Sadat wanted to pay heed to the World Bank’s policies, in order to be able to receive loans from them so that Egypt’s debts could be relieved — policies that meant the end of subsidised food. However, when people started rioting, the state reversed its position.

Shortly afterwards, President Anwar Sadat made a historic visit to Israel for peace. Many western countries and even Egypt lauded Sadat for taking such a bold step and encouraged it. However, many Middle Eastern countries, especially Libya, (which was the main supporters of Pan-Arabism) claimed that Sadat was a sell-out. If you took Sadat’s side, you were a liberal dog. If you opposed him, you were a radical fundamentalist. However, prior to him trying for peace in the region, he did make a surprise attack in 1973 called the Ramadan War. Therefore, the only way to get around this was trying to instill some stability in the region through a treaty. The very day Sadat went for his trip, his wife Jehan Sadat hosted a coffee morning with all the ambassadors’ and government elites’ wives just to keep things calm, so that she wouldn’t have to constantly think of the dangerous risk her husband was taking.

After this, the economy seemed to be getting more stable, along with the country’s international relations. My family and their friends saw Egypt steadily progressing. However, shortly after my birth, the assassination of President Anwar Sadat took place, during a victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate Egypt’s crossing of the Suez Canal. My family remembers seeing the parade on the television live broadcast. My mother says: “The parade went berserk; we didn’t understand what was happening. All of a sudden the network cut to the Talawat, then they announced President Sadat had been assassinated. The whole day, the network played the Talawat and they showed Jehan Sadat running towards Sadat’s body and her yelling to the bodyguard, ‘What did you people do? What did you people do to him?’”

My eldest sister recalls that when they showed this footage on the local TV channel, our housekeeper wept piteously as she sat in front of the TV and kept saying in distress, “They killed such a good man, he was such a good leader, why did they kill such a good man?”

Hosni Mubarak took over as President while Egypt grieved. A couple of years later my family and I moved back to Pakistan. To this day they all remember Egyptians as loving, warm, and welcoming people, with a rich culture and strong history. Time and time again our Pakistani friends who were with us in Cairo would return to visit. After some 15 years or so, one of them mentioned how it was again becoming very difficult for the common man in Egypt to buy certain food items — chicken, for example. A couple of years later our housekeeper came to visit us with another Pakistani family that she had started to work for when we left. According to her, Egypt was not the same anymore.

I don’t remember anything about Egypt, and of course Libya is all stories to me. Regardless, there is a certain melancholy and a strong sense of relief that my family and I feel when watching the revolution happen. Tahrir Square was where my parents strolled with my push-chair and my sisters walked on either side. We hope that Egyptians get through this ordeal.

When the situation has stabilised in Libya and Egypt, I’d like to make a small visit; just to see how fierce the desert wind blows and how strong the currents of the Nile flow.

 

Recalling the Libyan atura (Another version)

Published in The Express Tribune (Partner with International Herald Tribune), Sunday Magazine, June 26th,  2011.

 

http://tribune.com.pk/story/194146/recalling-the-libyan-atura/

 

When my parents arrived in Tripoli, in early 1969, Libya’s economy was thriving. The kingdom was known for its riches, particularly oil. Every necessity was readily available, people were allowed to voice their opinions, and education was at its peak.

International relations with other countries and with their preceding colonial rulers were credible. Historical landmarks made by the Greek, Roman, Arab and Ottoman Empires — that had taken over the region at one time — reminded people of the ties their culture had with the rest of the world.

In its own way, Tripoli was to Libya what Dubai is to the UAE. There was law and order and the constitution maintained human rights similar to Europe and North America, but by declaring Islam as the religion, Libya fell short of being a secular state. At the same time, the constitution emphasised equality in terms of civil and political obligations, opportunities and responsibility for every race and religion.

According to my mother’s recollection, the king had set up many contracts with countries that would import the best of the best to Libya. Argentina and Australia had contracts for halal meat; dairy came from Holland and Denmark; engineering contracts with Britain and the US arranged for arms. Libya’s oil and natural gas products ensured that the country did quite well.

Few Pakistanis lived in Libya back then. The Pakistani expat community in Libya actually swelled during Colonel Muammer Qaddafi’s rule. My parents had made friends with expat Yugoslavs, Britons and some of the locals. On occasion they would go sightseeing to Leptus Magna, on the outskirts of Tripoli, and enjoy the historical structures made by the Greek, Roman and some of the Arab and Ottoman Empires. My mother especially loved the fact that it was peaceful and secure enough for her to roam the streets whenever she wanted. At the same time though, Pan-Arabism was spreading to Libya and there were murmurs of King Idris stepping down. Apparently, a group of young army officers headed by Captain Qaddafi (ranked colonel right before the coup) were trying to overthrow the monarchy. Qaddafi’s main supporters were young men, who would roam the streets — including the one my parents lived on — playing his revolutionary songs and yelling “Atura! Atura!”. (Revolution! Revolution!)

The coup was bloodless. King Idris had decided to step down gracefully and the transfer of power was controlled and planned out. Overnight, Libya went from being a liberal, moderate kingdom to a police state. Qaddafi’s words were as good as carved in stone. The new head of the state wanted to rid the country of all western influence. He made most of the Europeans settled in Libya leave the country and cancelled the import contracts that the previous monarchy had made. But the desire to purge Libya of western influence rested on a weak foundation. Colonial influences pervaded the daily life of Libyans. The shurba or soup they ate had small, rice-like pasta; macaroona or macaroni formed part of their staple diet and the French bread, baget, was popular. Daily life in Libya was evocative of Italian, French and British culture — and so it remains, even to this day.

At the Friday sermons in our local mosque, my father used to have trouble understanding the preacher because of the dialect. Later he found out that there was a Green Book to teach locals about “one state” and how democracy was the devil. Libyans had no choice but to attend these sessions and follow what the leader said.

Around that time period, Pakistanis started coming to Libya to work. My mother’s cousin, who is a doctor, was sent through the Pakistan Army to Benghazi to practice medicine for a while. My father’s eldest brother, also a doctor, was posted at Benghazi and then Misrata, which, though called a developing town, was little more than a village at the time.

After living in Libya for about eight years, my father was posted to Kuwait for a few months and then to Egypt. Libya is the place where my family laid down its roots, at least for a while, the place where my two eldest sisters were born. Now, when news of turbulent times floods our television and newspapers, our hearts flood with memories and we say a prayer for the Libyan people.

 

She and I. (via I will find myself;)

I think that Maida Sheikh is an extremely talented short-story writer. This is a story that most of can relate with our own selves. Regardless of whatever religion, gender, class or creed we may be; we all have our inner demons that we are constantly are at battle with. This is a story of a girl, who does just that.

While you are at it, check out her short stories section in her blog: http://emmefemme.wordpress.com/

We chatted for a while, she and I. She told me how she felt. Lonely but not entirely lonely. 'Why?', I asked. 'Because there's that brick wall around me, and i let people in and then i grow weary and they keep hurting me and hurting me and then i just push people back out to the wall. It gets lonely, but there are people out there.' I wondered what she was thinking when she fell silent for a moment; and then she spoke: ' We're just hypocrites you … Read More

via I will find myself;

Pakistan: The Fight Against The Taliban and The Drones Posted 24 April 2011 19:42 GMT

24 April 2011 19:42 GMT

published: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/04/24/pakistan-the-fight-against-the-taliban-and-the-drones/

and

http://pakistanvoices.com/current_affairs/pakistan-the-fight-against-the-taliban-and-the-drones/

Imagine how it is to live in Pakistan knowing that you can have all kinds of misfortune in a day whether natural or man made. A place where a day without any suicide bombing or drone attack can make a news and every moment the citizens have to deal with emotions like shock, rage, discomfort and a deep sense of helplessness.

In a recent morning, the first tweet that caught my eye, was one by a Pakistani columnist, Fasi Zaka:

fasi_zaka: The last moments of a suicide bomber who didn’t die from the blast immediately

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=201156813237903

One of his twitter followers’ replied to this tweet:

Suprah_: The kid is still alive! He is recovering at a local hospital and even did an interview for BBC later http://bbc.in/gFbx1r.

On an average day many Pakistanis would re-tweet or share in Facebook such news based on suicide bombers, NATO’s Drone attacks and the Taliban’s retaliation to them.

Ali Chishti at Pakistanpal’s blog writes:

There have been a total of 234 drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004, according to the New America Foundation, including 22 in 2011. The estimated casualties are between 1,439 and 2,290 – of which 1,149 to 1,819 were described as militants in reliable press accounts. [..]

The Pakistani response has been full of confusion and contradictions. The military, after having come to an understanding with the United States in 2006, has allowed limited use of force inside Pakistan because of tough conditions in FATA purely for cost-benefit reasons. At the same time, it has constantly used Pakistani public opinion on the issue to pressure the US.

Acceptance of these drone attacks in Pakistan, have made the people of Pakistan an unwilling ally. However, regardless of which one-sided alliance is created, the people will still suffer. The sufferings will either be from, the drone attacks or from the attacks from the Tehrik-i-Taliban. Kathy Gannon, a former American correspondent of Afghan-Pak affairs during 1986-2005, states something similar in her article published in The Journal Gazette:

“Pakistan is frustrated by stepped up drone attacks and accusations it is weak against Islamic militants despite nearly 3,000 dead soldiers, a five-year war in its tribal areas and dozens of arrests of suspected al-Qaida operatives or affiliates.”

In my own blog I shared opinions of people I came across describing how lives in their cities had radically changed out of fear and frustrations.

Fahd Dar, a student from Lahore, says:

“Life’s going on but it’s definitely not the same. People have restricted their outings. Although the famous hang out spots still remain crowded, but the fear of the unknown is still there. With scanning apparatuses installed at almost every corner of the city, even at educational institutes, it naturally gives you a feeling of hesitancy and vulnerability. Lahore doesn’t feel that safe now, to eat your favorite eatables late at night, or watch a nifty play at Al-Hamra. Still, our hopes are high, things would get better.”

Haris Hameed, a manager at an advertising agency in Islamabad:

“A drive from one end of Islamabad to the other meant you had two options. Take the scenic route running parallel to the majestic Margalla Hills or the one that ran through the heart of the business district, fondly dubbed Blue Area. However, that was then. Now, when planning out your route, only one thing is considered: ‘Which route has the least amount of security check posts?’[..]

Understanding that these security measures resembling an obstacle course for mice in a science experiment are a necessity in recent turbulent times, the people of Islamabad have taken everything in their stride. There is always remorse and empathy for victims when there is a bomb blast or terror attack in the city, but with a day or two of caution, the local venture back into their routines. I believe the common thread between the people of the capital (regardless of what section of society they belong to), is that they keep on living. To cower at home in fear and stop leading normal lives is exactly what the terrorists’ want us to do. If we were to do that, it would mean that the terrorists would be successful in their goals, and that they have won. We certainly can’t let that happen. So we live, one day at a time.”

We can only hope that soon things will normalize in Pakistan, but hope seems to be far away.

The People vs. the Taliban vs. NATO By Jehan Naseem

Written November 8,2010

Recently, the new American ambassador to Pakistan: Cameron Munter has said that the drones are essential for the demise of the common enemy in the war against terror.  The rampage to find Bin Laden and the the Tehrik-i-Taliban’s binding alliance with him, are causing both sides to over look the collateral damage, which is essentially human lives.  That being said, acceptance of these drone attacks in Pakistan, have made the people of Pakistan an unwilling ally.  However, regardless of which one-sided alliance is created, the people will still suffer.  The suffrage will either be from, the drone attacks or from the attacks from the Tehrik-i-Taliban.

The drone attacks have significantly increased in Pakistan or even the raids by the American forces from Afghanistan; there has been a much speculation as to the ability of the Pak Army to make any political resolutions.  This speculation is mainly due to the fact that there has been restoration of non-military rule

The Taliban has stated that the aggression will intensify as the intensification of US drone attacks.  There has been news that the Pakistan authority has urged the need to work together in order to enhance global peace.  Regardless of the air strike set by the authorities, NATO still violated the airspace, again recently for the third time.  Therefore, NATO had been told that there is no guarantee of their supplies being protected.

On October 4, 2010, right outside of Islamabad, NATO supply convoys were attacked by the Taliban.  Two days later Foreign Minister Qureshi said that the attacks were an accident and NATO supply convoys will be protected.  A few days after PM Gilani stated that the previous government had made this alliance prior to the civilian rule.  Once again statements were going back and forth.  Futile attempts were being made to pacify everyone.

Regardless of NATO, insurgent activities had taken over Pakistan since the year 2001.  The “war on terror” had heavily affected Pakistan and its people, internally and externally.   The Taliban had taken responsibility for most of them.

Kathy Gannon, a former American correspondent of the Afghan-Pak affairs from 1986-2005, had said that; when the Taliban had been formed by the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, their customs were not of those imposed by the Taliban today.  According to her there was a heavy pressure of village and rural-like practice of how daily life for men and women should be conducted and that Bin Laden has a significant influence in practice of extreme Talibanization  In her statements, “Talibanization”, was completely separate from the ideology of the Taliban and from how these acts are actually carried out today.  Hence, emphasizing the personification of Islamaphobia.  Tehrik-i-Taliban has said that they are separate from the one in Afghanistan but they do have an alliance.  Therefore, NATO insists on attacking not only Al-Qaeda, but all also any strong association with them.  Gannon’s book “‘I’ for Infidel” has many of these similar researched assertions.

There have been many life taking guerrilla warfare-like excursions based on the foreign policies which have affected many of the cities of Pakistan with heavy economic activity.  How have these terrorist activities affected in generalization the locals whom have seen the more peaceful time?  Let’s see what a couple of them have to say.

Fahd Dar, currently a student and living in the cosmopolitan Lahore, says:

“Life’s going on but it’s definitely not the same.  People have restricted their outings. Although the famous hang out spots still remain crowded, but the fear of the unknown is still there. You don’t really feel safe out there, you wonder ‘when will the next bomb attack happen?’  With scanning apparatuses installed at almost every corner of the city, even at educational institutes, it naturally gives you a feeling of hesitancy and vulnerability.  All and all, Lahore doesn’t feel that safe now, to eat your favorite eatables late at night, or watch a nifty play at Al-Hamra.  Still, our hopes are high, things would get better.”

Haris Hameed, currently a manager at an advertising agency, residing in the somnolent capital, describes Islamabad now:

“A drive from one end of Islamabad to the other meant you had two options. Take the scenic route running parallel to the majestic Margalla Hills or the one that ran through the heart of the business district, fondly dubbed Blue Area.  However, that was then.  Now, when planning out your route, only one thing is considered:  ‘Which route has the least amount of security check posts?’

For those who recently shifted to Islamabad, this may seem ordinary to them.  For those who have spent their youth driving through these now heavily barricaded streets, it is looked upon as an intrusion, a disturbance in the equilibrium of the country’s sleepy capital.
Understanding that these security measures resembling an obstacle course for mice in a science experiment are a necessity in recent turbulent times, the people of Islamabad have taken everything in their stride.  There is always remorse and empathy for victims when there is a bomb blast or terror attack in the city, but with a day or two of caution, the locals venture back into their routines.  I believe the common thread between the locals, regardless of what section of society they belong to, is that they keep on living.  To cower at home in fear and stop leading normal lives is exactly what the terrorists’ want us to do.  If we were to do that, it would mean that the terrorists would be successful in their goals, and that they have won.  We certainly can’t let that happen. So we live, one day at a time.”

So indeed, Pakistanis from every corner of the country are living one day at a time.

Tuning Out Reality-Original Version By Jehan Naseem

Published in January 9, 2010

The other day I randomly decided to check a link that a friend of mine had sent me to watch a video clip. This clip was a video report was done by Adam B. Ellick of The New York Times on the influential musicians of Pakistan, who have claimed to be politically involved.

“Tuning Out the Taliban”, didn’t really change my perspective of my thoughts of what was happening in the music scene. However, it did open my eyes up to different issues, pertaining to of what a clash the Pakistani music may be causing and in the media as a whole (since some of these musicians were internationally acclaimed) and to what was actually happening in reality within Pakistan’s youth. Unfortunately, I have witnessed my peers succumbing to witless, repetitive banter of which they so gleefully call intellectual theories. They are actually based on twenty year old clichéd mindless conspiracy theories that our predecessors no longer believe, even though they were conjured up in their time period.

Over the years I have seen many foreign policies being made, which I do not under any circumstances agree with. Therefore, I do agree with parts of the rants and raves made by some of the musicians that: the western countries have indeed meddled into our affairs making life which seems “tactically” difficult.

It shocked me to hear that the Ali Noor, the front-man of Noorie said “the Taliban is probably the smallest problem of Pakistan.” The one of the major according to him is the “WEST”. According to him, Pakistan is not affected by the Taliban; it’s the West who is. Hence, the big hoopla to remove them is being done.

Granted we have our issues as a nation stringing from poverty and corruption. This seems to be on a constant repetition as of on an old stuck record player whose needle needs severe boiling before being put to use again. Without a doubt, bills being passed, past sanctions being made, declaration of a terrorist state, have indeed had a severe affect on our economic and social paradigm. However, to say something as thoughtless without showing any level of considerable remorse, based on how many lives have been lost through these numerous bomb attacks on civilians, makes me concur of bipolar numbness. Especially to those of innocent lives being lost and to those whom on a daily basis are terrified of seeing unbelievable bloodshed and having petrified anxiousness of when they will be next. Be it in the mountainous Northern Pakistan or the posh residential areas of Lahore and Islamabad. The International Islamic University bombings do come to mind.

Ali Hamza the second band member and brother of Ali Noor, went on to give the reasoning, if they were to sing about this extremist group, they would be gotten rid of very easily. At the end of the clip, an alternate emerging band, Coven, stated that the other artists who are far larger in the media scene, should start speaking out in their songs. Hence, they will follow.
Fear is clearly their factor. I cannot blame them for fearing their safety along with their loved ones, for that matter their apprehension is completely understandable. However, I wonder if it came across their minds, that the religious extremist group probably already hates them for the fact they play rock music, which is adopted from the problematic West. Nonetheless, however, they play “the devil’s music”, which music in general is considered HARAM or impure and not permissible by the Taliban.

I would like an explanation of how the Taliban does not affect Pakistan and its people. This is a statement that for the life of me, I cannot seem to understand

There were three people whom Ellick interviewed and were the only three that actually made any sense at least to me. Two of which whom are well-known writers: Fasi Zaka, and Nadeem Farooq Paracha (aka NFP). The third person being, the only rocker/pop star who actually has some grasp on reality and should be lauded on his presence of mind, Shezad Roy.

Even though Roy had very little to say in this video clip, there really was no need for him to say anything at all. Since, his compositions have been saying it all. However, both Fasi Zaka and NFP clearly stated that this clichéd rhetorical garbage has done nothing but made the masses delusional and such music that actually enforces such thought is extremely detrimental for the public. Hence, taking them far from reality and even further away from life.

Between the recordings of these bands in the clip, the infamous Ali Azmat, who is probably known as one of the Rock icons of Pakistan and through the years he has gained immense respect not only for his talent but his outspoken nature and for the ability to speak his mind. His motto always being “Be yourself, because that is the hardest thing you can be.”

Azmat stated how nowadays if you don’t write music and compose songs about what is real and happening within your surroundings, people don’t’ want to listen to your music. The people want things to be based on realism. Hence, it is important that these days songs must be composed on issues pertaining to the country. In his album “Klashinfolk”, he like many other rockers, blames the West for the precedent Pakistan is now under. He blatantly has said he thinks that Taliban is funded by the West and it is their goal in short to “de-Islaminize” Pakistan by using the force of Taliban. That is, in his opinion, the goal of the new-age neo-cons and of course lets not forget the Zionists.

When the reporter, Ellick, asks Azmat, “Would you sing about the International Islamic University bombings?” Mr.Azmat’s reply: “You know, you can’t blame them for these bombings! Who funds the Taliban? The West!”

NOTE: Mr. Azmat did not answer Ellick’s question, his retort with another question. For that matter the question still remains. Would he sing a song about the Islamic University bombings, of where a large number of women who went to receive an education, got killed?

At this point, I’m devastated and completely crestfallen.

Let us just say for one hypothetical moment that the Taliban is getting funded by the West. Does it change the fact that innocent people are getting killed? Does it change the fact that educational institutes were being compromised? Does it change the fact that for some reason the difference between right and wrong is being lost sight of?

At this point I’m reminded of what Shahzwar Bugti had written in one of his written pieces and it seems very apt for me to quote him right now. As it goes like this:

“It is not me who is living in a dream machine, it is you. I’m living in the reality. The reality that explains objective truth. Though for a post-modernist, or for that matter, an ignorant person who doesn’t even know what they believe in, reality is constricted in the material world – they construct their own reality and deconstruct it at their convenience.”

I really couldn’t have said it any better.

The Taliban had banned the production of opium in Afghanistan because it is used by the infidels and is Haraam in Islam: without keeping in mind that opium also has medicinal purposes. The opium trade had been restored by them in the year 2001 in which they take a percentage of profit to maintain their funds.

The emerald mines in the Swat valley (not a tribal area) have been taken over by the Taliban which has taken control of the once ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’ (due to it being a popular tourist area for skiers). While the government did not react to the move and still is slow in perseverance, the Taliban has an agreement with the mining labor of the region wherein the Taliban deduct one-third of the miners’ yield while the costs are shared equally by both. The Taliban does not take part in the mining operations. Another source of funding that the Taliban has found.

Prior to the sugar crisis in Pakistan, there are and have been unfortunately huge bomb blasts in the city of Peshawar killing above 40 people at a time. One of the bombs was made of sugar. By the time the melted sugar reached the browning stage, it was beginning to decompose. Some of the decomposition products are volatile and flammable. It appears that the volatiles caught fire and then set the whole mass alight. Therefore, a massive explosion can occur, a massive bomb explosion.

Any lay man is aware of the fact that sugar burns quickly and heats faster, since it happens to be a household product. Should we blame the Zionists for this or the west for funding Rs.40/50 per kg of sugar to the Taliban?

Did these rockers once try to even do a little research before making such comments without once realizing their social responsibility? Did it ever occur to them that the music they play or the words they communicate have a major impact on our youth and the general public?
They seem very quick on playing the blame game, however, did it occur to them that the western musicians and celebrities that have immensely influenced them, try their level best to remember their moral and social obligations to their fans? For example, Rihanna being one to women in abusive relationships and Bono, well, Bono’s name speaks for itself.

I have always been taught that under any circumstances do not talk without any sufficient evidence/proof or substantial backing to your reasoning. In short “if you talk about the walk, you have to walk the talk.” In this case don’t just strum your guitar and bang your head to the music while being out of tune, because that is the music that will make your ears bleed and drive you insane.

My Family’s Story Part I: Libya By Jehan Naseem

Hosted on South Asia Pulse Online
http://www.sapulse.com/new_comments.php?id=2800_0_1_0_M13

It was the beginning of the year 1969 in Tripoli, Libya where my family’s story had started.  There were rumors dispelling and there were talks of King Idris being made to step down.  Later on it became true that an army official with the name of Captain Gaddafi was one of the main conspirators along with many junior army officers.

The fact that Libya was and still is, exceptionally abundant in oil, was one of the main reasons it remained an Italian and later on a British-France Allied colony for many years.  The influence was not only political, but it could also be seen in daily life.  The local grocery store, pizza shops, patisseries and the way the tailors would master the suits; all reeked post-colonization effects.

Even though oil seemed a blessing for the increase of Libya’s wealth, it seemed detrimental for Libya’s socio-political policies.  Which King Idris himself had helped construct when he took over from the colony and with his advisors, the Libyan constitution had been born.  However, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser had a severe influence on Gaddafi and his ideology of pan-Arab nationalism or Nasserism was slowly taking spreading in various parts of Arab states and North Africa.

My father had taken my mother to the hospital to give birth to my eldest sister.  Shortly after her birth, within less then 24 hours, the coup had been taken over and my mother had to be immediately sent home since there was a great deal of speculation and apprehension as to what would happen next.  The hospital was kind enough to send a nurse with my mother for three days to monitor her and her first-born.  Nonetheless, the coup was a smooth transition, a bloodless carefully planned one; as my mother thoughtfully recalls it.

Libya, from them on, would never be the same under General Gaddafi’s rule.  The Libyan Constitution ceased to exist.  Whatever words he would utter, with immediate effect, become the law.  No one had the choice to refute it, what he said, was as good as done.  Since he had severe ambivalence towards any “western” foreign influences, all foreign languages were removed from the local schools.  This was exceptionally difficult for my eldest sister’s education.  There were already less then a handful Pakistanis residing in Libya (as opposed to the present situation).  However, luckily my parents had found a small British school in Maadi and in another neighborhood there was a slightly bigger American school.  Regardless of the fact that Gaddafi wanted all of the western influences out of Libya, some of the international schools and international companies remained, however, in decreased sizes.

Since my father was with a British company, the size of the office had decreased significantly.  Most of the Europeans had left, hence promoting him to manager.  He then had to do a lot of traveling to neighboring countries such as Tunisia.  He mainly traveled to the capital Tunis.  Tunis was developing very rapidly and was known for its history, development in education, high growth prospects turning it into metropolitan and very clean city.  The Tunisians seemed very happy with the infrastructure of the country since it seemed to be beneficial in the long run.  However, this was all prior to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s 23 year rule.

A few years later my second eldest sister was born.  During that time Gaddafi had become an extreme supporter of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization).  He allowed many of the Palestinians to start living in Libya and make it their home.  He instructed the Libyan people to welcome them.  This caused a great deal of problems not only for the locals but also for my parents.

If Palestinians would see an empty house or and “extra” house owned by a Libyan that there were not living in, and then they would just walk in brashly and aggressively say “we are now living here”.  There was very little the locals could actually do about this.  My parents used to live in a rented house.  Hence, therefore, an “extra” house was being owned by a Libyan.  An old Palestinian man would very fiercely harass my parents to “get out” so he could move in.  Either he would turn up to the house or harass them on the phone.  One day on his way to work my father said to my mother “Take care of it!”  Later on when the Palestinian called and started misbehaving, my mother’s response was “This isn’t our home we have rented it, we have told you many times before we are not moving out of here. Leave us the hell alone!”  The old man was taken aback and wasn’t expecting such a response, his tone immediately changed and he said “I’m sorry Madame please don’t be upset, you see my family is scattered everywhere in different places if I get a place to live we all can be together.”  My mother’s response was “I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do, like we have told you before we have rented this house legally, I suggest you talk to someone else.”  His response “Okay Madame, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you.”  Later on in 1995, Gaddafi has expelled some 30,000 Palestinians living in Libya.  This was in response to the peace negotiations between the PLO and Israel.

The recollections of Libya and its people are done with fondness.  Even though Libyans in general were noted to be a little lazy when it came to the workforce, they were known as very warm, loving, welcoming people and the importance of family meant a great deal to them.

After my parents left Libya and my father was transferred to Kuwait for a couple months and then his got transferred to Cairo, Egypt for some time.  They bid the dessert winds of Libya adieu as the turbulent waters of the Nile beckoned them.

The road less travelled By Jehan Naseem

published in The Friday Times on June 4th, 2010

Jehan Naseem highlights the strength of non-violent protests

In history we have seen many acts of non-violent protests, and such a resistance can be a very powerful thing, with exceptional outcomes.

The very first non-violent protest took place in China BCE 470-391. This was conducted by the followers of Mohism. The Mohist philosophical school did not approve of war. The reason may be because they lived in a time of warring polities. Hence, they cultivated the science of fortification.

In 1919-1922, the “Egyptian Revolution of 1919″, Egyptians from all walks of life carried out a countrywide non-violent revolution in the wake of the British ordered exile of the revolutionary leader Saad Zaghul and other members of the Wafd Party in 1919. This event led to Egyptian independence in 1922 and the implementation of a new constitution in 1923.

Let’s not forget a series of nationwide people’s movements of non-violent resistance and civil disobedience, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) and the Indian National Congress, in (then) British India. The Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920-1922 helped improve the status of Untouchables in Indian society. Almost a decade later in 1930-1934, the Civil Disobedience Movement was marked by rejecting British imposed taxes, boycotting British manufactured products and mass strikes. A decade later, in 1942, the Quit India Movement (Bharat Chhodo Andolan or the August Movement) was in response to Gandhi’s call for immediate independence. This movement led to the end of British rule.

The African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States of America, lasted for more then a decade, from 1955 to 1968. The tactics of non-violent resistance, such as bus boycotts, freedom rides, sit-ins and mass demonstrations were used during the African American Civil Rights Movement. This succeeded in bringing about legislative change, and making separate seats, drinking fountains and schools for African Americans illegal.

There were worldwide protests led mostly by students in 1968. Around the world, campuses became the frontline battle grounds for social change. While opposition to the Vietnam War dominated the protests, students also protested in favour of civil liberties, against racism, for feminism, and the beginnings of the ecological movement can be traced to the protests against nuclear and biological weapons during this year.

Recent protests, some of which are still ongoing, in regards to Palestine from 1919 to date, during which Palestinian groups have worked with Israelis and foreign citizens to organize civilian monitors of Israeli military activity in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Peace camps and strategic non-violent resistance to Israeli construction of Jewish settlements and of the West Bank Barrier have also been consistently adopted as tactics by Palestinians. Citizens of the Palestinian village of Beit Sahour also engaged in a tax strike during the First Intifada Movement.

On May 19, 2010, Pakistan decided to follow many others in history. The “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day” contest drew an angry reaction. This event was to be held on Facebook on May 20, 2010. It is widely considered offensive to visually depict the Muslim Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h). A number of hadith, or interpretations of the Islamic holy book, forbid figural representations. Many people decided to boycott the use of Facebook that day. The Lahore High Court ordered Facebook to be blocked until May 31 – after the date of the contest – when a longer hearing is expected. Hence, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority had to comply with this hearing. Later on sites such as YouTube along with more than 450 links on the internet containing derogatory and sacrilegious material have been blocked.

After the whole New York Time Square bombing ruse, of which the suspect was Faisal Shahzad (of Pakistani origin and an apparent employee of the Taliban), a non-violent protest seemed to be the most sensible thing to do. This would not only calm the moderate and the staunch followers of Islam, but it would also give way to some of the major factors of Islam’s practices: peace, tolerance, charity, goodwill and of course non-violence. Islam and the Quran are against the use of violence in any action where violence could have been substituted for non-violent actions.

We all know that a non-violent resistance is a protest which does not employ violence as a way of getting the message across. Some means of achieving this could be petitions, lobbying through emails, letters or media outlets, or carrying out boycotts. Demonstrations and marches can also be a form of non-violent protest, but often become violent as they progress.

Most pacifists would agree this was the right thing do. Since we all know if further rioting had started in Karachi, things would have gone from bad to worse and you can’t make a right with two wrongs. However, a few questions still do arise: How effective was the message of the ban? Before the non-violent protest had taken place, how well was the reasoning communicated to the masses? Will Pakistan be looked upon as a peaceful Islamic nation with the support of its people?

Freedom of speech without intelligence or wisdom is worthless. No one has the right to be purposely disrespectful to another person or people, regardless whether they disagree with someone’s beliefs. This whole scenario clearly strengthens the theory that, education and literacy are two separate things. Let us just be hopeful that after all the turmoil that has been caused, sanity prevails.

Our days in Libya by Jehan Naseem

http://www.thefridaytimes.com/08042011/page19.shtml Published in The Friday Times April 8, 2011

It was the beginning of the year 1969 in Tripoli, Libya. There were rumors that King Idris was being made to step down. Later it emerged that an army official by the name of Colonel Gaddafi was one of the main conspirators against the king and had had the support of many junior army officers.

Libya has exceptionally abundant oil reserves. This is mainly why it was an Italian and later a British-French Allied colony for many years. These presences were not only political; they could also be seen in daily life. You saw the foreign influence in grocery stores, pizza shops, patisseries and the way the tailors mastered their suits, all of it reeking of colonization.

Though oil brought about an increase in the estimation of Libya’s wealth, it was nothing but detrimental for Libya’s socio-political development. This was undertaken by King Idris himself when he took over from the colony. It was in his reign that the Libyan constitution was born. (Later, Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser came to have a severe influence on Colonel Gaddafi, who was King Idris’s successor, and the former’s ideology of pan-Arab nationalism or Nasserism spread to many parts of the Arab world.)

My father had taken my mother to the hospital, where she gave birth to my eldest sister. Shortly after her birth, within less than 24 hours, Qaddafi’s coup had occurred and my mother had to be immediately sent home since there was a great deal of speculation and apprehension as to what would happen next. The hospital was kind enough to send a nurse with my mother for three days. The coup, according to my mother’s memory of it, was bloodless and carefully planned.

Libya would never be the same under Gaddafi’s rule. The Libyan Constitution ceased to exist. Whatever words Qaddafi uttered, with immediate effect they became the law. No one could refute it; what he said was as good as done. Because he was publicly opposed to Western influences, all foreign languages were removed from the curricula of local schools. This was a big blow to my eldest sister’s education. (There were, at that time, just a handful of Pakistanis residing in Libya.) Luckily my parents found a small British school in Maadi and in another neighborhood a slightly bigger American school. (Despite Gaddafi’s rhetoric about the menace of Western influences, some international schools and companies remained in Libya, though on a smaller scale.)

My father was in those days working for a British company in Libya, and the size of his office was decreased significantly. Most of the Europeans had left in a hurry; in this randomness my father was promoted to manager. He then had to do a lot of traveling to neighboring countries, especially Tunisia. Its capital Tunis was developing very rapidly in those days and was known for its historic charm, development in education, and high growth prospects, turning it into a clean and attractive metropolitan city.

A few years later my second sister was born. By then Gaddafi had become a supporter of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). He allowed many Palestinians to start living in Libya and make it their home. He instructed the Libyan people to welcome them. This caused a round of sudden problems for locals as well as foreigners working in Libya.

If Palestinians would see an empty house or an “extra” house owned by a Libyan, they would just walk in and say: “We are now living here.” There was very little the locals could do about this. My parents used to live in a rented house. An old Palestinian man would very fiercely harass my parents to “get out” so he could move in. Either he would turn up at the house or harass them on the phone. One day, while he was on his way to work, my father said to my mother: “Take care of it!” When the Palestinian called and started misbehaving on the phone, my mother’s response was: “This isn’t our home, we have rented it, we have told you many times before we are not moving out of here. Leave us the hell alone!” The old man was taken aback; he wasn’t expecting such a response. His tone immediately changed and he said: “I’m sorry Madame, please don’t be upset, you see my family is scattered everywhere in different places. If I get a place to live we all can be together.” My mother said: “I’m sorry but there is nothing we can do, like we have told you before we have rented this house legally, I suggest you talk to someone else.” Now he said: “Okay Madame, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you.” Later, in 1995, Gaddafi expelled some 30,000 Palestinians who were living in Libya. This was his response to the peace negotiations between the PLO and Israel.

Despite the harshness of that time, my recollections of Libya and its people are edged with fondness. Libyans, though the stereotype has them down as a lazy and work-averse people, are very warm, loving and welcoming, and give a special importance to the family as an institution.

Message from a Pakistani apologist By Jehan Naseem

Originally published for the e-zine The Green Kaleidoscope on June, 2009; then re-published for The Express Tribune Blog , October 4, 2010 at 5:30pm

A few months back I was having a conversation with an American of Pakistani ethnicity. An American born, however, not a confused desi. She seemed like a reasonably well-educated, knowledgeable and articulate individual. I have always enjoyed striking a conversation with such people. Since I believe it allows me to enrich and broaden my perspective.

This person asked me: “What do you think of the place [Pakistan]?” My answer was: “You can make your place wherever you go, but this is my home.”

It may have its many downsides, but it would be ridiculous of me not to remember its upsides and the fact that, at the end of the day it all boils down to where you come from.

I asked this person the same. Now, normally no matter how badly my country is spoken of I try my level best to remain or act as a pacifist. However, this time I was livid.

According to her Pakistan is a completely unlikable place along with its people. An acquaintance had told her that “Pakistani people are the only people that are willing to give up their culture without hesitation.” Not to mention that this person also thinks Pakistanis have no moral sense left, they are no longer “traditional”. Apparently it is all about the flashy cars, money and not to mention the immorality of Musharraf allowing open alcohol purchasing in addition to the ongoing corruption of locals. Traditions have been forgotten and Islam has been abandoned, after all Pakistan is an Islamic Republic.

I tried my level best to explain to this lady–whom I started to think of as a jaded ABCD, that most of these acts of alcohol purchase, rise of money, power and the influence of the West were triggered in this area way before Pakistan even existed. There were so many traditions that were linked with Islam and done in the name of Islam which have abused the faith and continue to do so on a daily basis. To make random accusations without actually living here is just not permissible. This logic had nothing to do with Pakistan as a nation, rather with the individual acts that affect Pakistan on a daily basis. Yes, there are ways of making things better, but not through lack of faith and hope in which the ABCD clearly pointed out with one finger and the rest pointing right back.

I have never believed in blatant attacks without listening to the other side of the situation and I try my level best to find a solution rather just than sitting there and pulling my hair out while loudly screaming in disdain: “the fallacy, the poor fallacy”!

I tried my level best to change the topic since the ABCD had never lived here. This breed of “our people” don’t know that they are “one of our own”. In lameness and in vain, I tried to end the topic with the statement: “Nothing can be said unless you actually experience it yourself, you haven’t lived here, and I haven’t lived in your country so there are going to be baseless misunderstandings”. The ABCD’s reply was: “You are making it so with logic without any premise that Pakistan is a failure, and your wish to ignore the problems makes you an immature Pakistani jingoist, and your denial makes you a Pakistani apologist.”

I stopped talking to this person and till day refuse to do so. However, this conversation did get me thinking and asking myself: “Am I an immature Pakistani jingoist and an apologist?”

For this reason I started asking a few people if they thought of themselves as Pakistani jingoists and why?

I am going to share with you some of the most interesting replies I received and more importantly I am sharing their replies with you for two reasons: These people have not only lived in Pakistan all their lives, they are also “foreign-returns”. They came back to serve their country in the best possible way as civilians rather then staying back in the UK and USA after completing their education.

Here they are with a slight briefing of their educational background:

1) This person would like to remain anonymous. However, this person has studied in a reputable university in the UK and now runs a well-established trading company throughout Pakistan and various parts of the world. His answer was, “What’s wrong with being a jingoist without harming anyone? (Not in pretext to the literal meaning of a jingoist). I want to run down the streets waving my country’s flag with pride and not harming anyone, then why the hell not? It is our country and we have to not only accept it but take of it and make the flaws history.”

2) Fasi Zaka happens to be an Oxford Rhodes Scholar, who is also a well-known writer and education enforcer. His answer was: “Jingoism implies mindless platitudes. So no, I am not a jingoist. I am a firm believer in my country, warts and all.”

3) Hasan A Gulfaraz, completed his education from Berkley (USA) and then went on to become a lawyer from the University of London. His answer was: “Hmmm…Let’s see here. I am a jingoist, yes to the extent that I am extremely patriotic, but not at the expense of other nations. Pride in your country does not translate to belligerence towards others and why am I patriotic? Well I’m a son of the soil. I think the educated Pakistanis I’ve met are the coolest people on earth and the common man is the most generous. If only we could get rid of the Neanderthal Taliban, this place would be ideal.”

Then it struck me. The ABCD I was enraged by wasn’t much of “our own”. She did not want to come back to help. By making assumptions on what she read, people she met momentarily, stayed in this country for a few days, did not make her “our own”. All in all, her predecessors never lived here and never came back as well. I am sure they have their own valid reasons as to why and why not, but it wouldn’t be fair for me to judge them as they were judging “us”.

This person kept confusing a secular form of State with non-secular. The only country I know that has completely balanced both secularism and non-secularism is Malaysia and has great economic strength in bad times and is a wonderful tourist attraction. We can learn from them, seek guidance and apply it. I am sure all of you agree with me that “we can”. Yes, granted Pakistan is an Islamic Republic, she kept forgetting that we are indeed still developing for the better. It is a long process; however, I am proud to say that with the likes of the “foreign-returns” I have quoted above, we as a nation will get there.

If me believing, having faith and striving as an individual in my very own country, without putting up with rubbish against the State on a daily basis and trying to make Pakistan a better place to live in the future, makes me an immature jingoist (without the harm intended and provoked) and a Pakistani Apologist – then so be it!

A foreign view of Pakistan by Jehan Naseem

Published in the Express Tribune Blog September 28, 2010.

Normally, when someone lives anywhere in the world or even just visits a place, a deep connection  develops between  them and the people of that country.  Sometime the connection is so deep, they adopt certain habits of the residents.  They, at heart, become natives or in our case “desi”.  So how do they feel reading about the multiple crises that hit our headlines everyday?

I asked a few desis at heart, who are no longer living in Pakistan:

How do you feel when you hear news concerning Pakistan?

Tania Briceno

Nationality: Columbian

Karachi, Pakistan: 1991-1994

“It is always hard to read about disasters and deaths in Pakistan.  I guess the fact that you once lived there makes it feel a little bit more like a real tragedy than just a number of deaths in a news article.”

Amalia Judith Nickel

Karachi, Pakistan: 1988-1994

Nationality: Canadian

“For me, Pakistan feels very far away, almost like a dream. It’s when I see images on the news, or hear old friends speak about what’s going on there, that it hits me hard. Like the waters of the Indus, the memories flood into my head and I connect with a part of me that was almost gone. It’s unfortunate that it’s on such sad terms, that it’s only with tears that I remember my childhood home, but it’s also comforting to feel the way I felt as a little girl in that troubled land.”

Philip Lotze

Karachi, Pakistan: 1993-1999

Nationality: American

“Events like those that have mentioned in the news are unfortunate and not-so-subtle reminders of the fact that when all else is stripped away.  We’re all essentially the same; we’re people designed to rely on one another, to cooperate in progress. The Indus disaster is a tragic example of good people who have had everything stripped away. Good people will respond.”

Steve Owen

Nationality: American

Karachi, Pakistan: 1994-1999

“Ever since I lived in Karachi from 1994 to 1999, I’ve seen something very frequently both in person and reflected in news reports, seemingly regardless of which media outlet happens to be talking about anything Pakistani.  What I’ve seen is the broad-based generosity of spirit and sincerity of 99 per cent of Pakistanis (and it doesn’t seem to matter much which socio-economic stratum they come from.- since when I lived there I met people from the most modest of backgrounds all the way up to the hyper-elite.

This was particularly evident in the neglect of infrastructure and the lack of services experienced by “neighborhood folks” who couldn’t possibly afford to protect themselves from the sorts of things that are constantly focused upon when Pakistan is in the news, e.g. political and religious militancy, economic dislocation, and now, since the rainstorms in Northwest, natural disasters.  These “neighborhood folks” are the vast majority of Pakistanis and are paradoxically both the foundation of power and influence for anyone in the country who has ambitions for leadership, as well as the people who can count on their voices, problems, and catastrophes being ignored most of the time.

Sometimes, if the cameras are numerous enough, the military is sent in to assist people in their time of greatest need, but the investment and maintenance that is necessary to cope with, say, terrible floods or earthquake-destroyed homes, will rarely if ever be made and those resources will almost never be aimed at those most truly at risk.  Another thing that always gets into the news is if an angry mob forms somewhere in Pakistan.  It might be a few thousand, in a country of 150 million, but the mob will get the spotlight.

Actually, considering how little their leaders really do for them, it’s lucky that so many Pakistanis uphold faith and patience as virtues. If not, those leaders might see a lot more expression of anger, directed at them and that is when the international cameras would really roll.  But would the necessary investments for a better society be made by those who have the power to make them?  I am skeptical that they would be.  They do not have the best track record, as the millions dislocated by the failure of drainage systems are now experiencing.I do hope that something can be done for all those whose homes and loved ones have been washed away.  My family and I wish all our Pakistani friends safety and happiness as quickly as possible.”

It is unfortunate that Pakistan gets sketched as a country constantly in dire straits but what is truly lamentable is that we fight amongst one another, on a personal level. We can keep blaming the lack of education, the close mindedness or even the national and international media for our problems.  That being said, it may be difficult to differentiate between who tarries by, friend or foe?

Sherpao Basti: bastion of hope By Jehan Naseem

Published in The Friday Times May 14, 2010

Jehan Naseem writes about five brave women on a humanitarian mission

In the middle of two posh localities lies the developing Sherpao Basti. Right in the centre of the Basti stands a firm and solidly constructed building that provides a ray of hope for the common man of Karachi. These “Basti Heroes” go by the name of The Rehnuma Trust, consisting of five amazingly strong and courageous women.

Mrs. Amina Ganny, Mrs. Khurshida Iqbal, Mrs. Maneeza Umar, Mrs. Shamim Taj and Mrs. Zarina Godil started this venture a good seven and a half years ago, in September 2002. Their aim? To make a difference, to educate, increase the literacy rate of the Basti children (our future) and to empower the women by teaching them the value of their independence.

Initially the trust had started with cutting and sewing classes for women. The first venue of the Trust was at the home of one of the trustees’ gardeners. The second venue was a rented place within the Basti which made it more accessible to people. Immediately after this they rented a further six rooms. Then they shifted the trust to a house (which is now a Montessori school). Even though this venue was quite adequate for schooling purposes, with the facility of a playground for the children, it has proved to be expensive.

Now the Rehnuma Trust has its own building, which was constructed with the help of several donations. However, the beauty of the financial structuring of the trust is that no one among the donors has a major controlling share or “owns” the place. The donation is made by a sponsor. This method is called “Sponsor a Class Scheme”, and every part of the building has been sponsored. This way all the donors including the trustees have an equal controlling interest when it comes to decision making for the trust on the whole. They all take and make decisions for the community.

The main focus of the Trust is to increase the literacy rate and provide reasonable education facilities for the Basti children. The Rehnuma Trust Building has three floors which consist of a basement, ground-floor/1st floor and a 2nd floor. The basement has an impressive computer lab. So far they have been able to cater to almost 400 students, in both morning and evening shifts, taken care of by 21 teachers, under the supervision of the Principal, Uzma Razzak, who is the principal of the morning shift. In the evening they hold vocational training for adults, which includes cutting and sewing classes as well as religious studies.

Although it is a private Urdu-medium co-educational school that goes up to 6th grade, English is taught as a mandatory subject. The Agarwala Group provides training and courses for the teachers in order to eventually turn this into an English medium school. Initially Mrs. Shamim Taj started the literacy programme with this group.

In the future they plan to take the school up to 10th grade, and from then on it will no longer be co-educational.

Though they manage quite well with a three storey building, they would like to build a fourth floor by next year. However, unfortunately they lack the funds for this. They had managed to find a sponsor who donated Rs 1.5 million; however, this funding is insufficient. A further Rs 2.5 million is needed for the cost of construction. They also have their hearts set on the 200 square yards next door for playground facilities for the children. Again funding is needed for this.

Even though The Rehnuma Trust School is a charitable institution, in order for the Basti people to maintain their dignity, 50% of the fees are paid by them. These fees amount to Rs. 50 per month, and if there are four siblings a concession is made. However, the uniforms, books, shoes, field trips and melas (carnivals) are free. One of the trustees, Mrs. Muneeza Umar said, “Paying part of the fees allows the students to maintain their self respect.” Mrs. Amina Ganny said, “If someone comes from outside the school to give them free food or free anything, we forbid them to do so. We don’t want any of these children turning into freeloaders or beggars. We want them to know that they have to work hard in order to make something of their lives.”

She went on to add that inclusive of the school facilities there is a sub-scheme or project, in which the school children, parents or Basti people receive about 70% to 100% coverage with the help of the Zubaida Hospital, a charitable institution. The beauty of The Rehnuma Trust and School is that it is placed in the heart of the Basti. This way it is accessible to both parents and children, since they can easily walk back and forth between their homes and the school.

Mrs. Zarina Godil went on to say, “This way it is convenient for working mothers as they can be satisfied that their children study in a safe environment. We also provide assistance if they have any domestic problems.”

The Karachi American School (K.A.S), which is situated just a street away, has a student body that provides community service. They come to the Rehnuma Trust School to play educational games with the students and provide whatever support they can. The community service that the K.A.S students provide, helps the Trust with one of their sub-projects, which is to develop the Basti. This development also includes working alongside The Zubaida Hospital to provide reasonable healthcare.

Another sub-project of the trust, (which is very different from Community Welfare, Healthcare and Education), is the Emergency Action Scheme. This is concerned with the several tragedies that Pakistan has suffered. We all remember the devastating earthquake of 2005, the floods of Sindh and Balochistan and the Swat IDPs. For each of these disasters the Trustees of the Rehnuma Trust have personally visited the affected areas, assessed the situation and then accordingly helped to fulfill the immediate and long-term needs of the victims.

Donors from all around the world have made donations to the Trust amounting to millions of dollars (as the Trust is registered in the US), for they recognize the dedication with which the Trustees fulfill their commitments.

The Rehnuma Trust desperately needs donations. You can look up their Facebook page: The Rehnuma Trust, or simply contact them here:
The Rehnuma Trust
426-B Adamjee K.C.H.A, Karachi- 75350 Pakistan Tel: 92-213 421 9309
E-mail: rehnuma_trust@yahoo.com
Website: www.rehnumatrust.org

This is not about just making a difference; it is about making the right difference. It is not just about doing a good deed, it is about doing a good deed unconditionally. It is not just about one person, it is about all people. It is not just about The Rehnuma Trust, it is about the trust you build with your people. So join hands with this Trust and become a hero. Make a difference, make a change.

Tuning Out Reality by Jehan Naseem

Published with The Friday Times on January 9, 2010
‘Tuning’ Out Reality

Jehan Naseem speaks out against ill-informed musicians speaking for the nation through politically charged lyrics based on contrived ‘realities’ where the West is blamed for all the problems that Pakistan faces today

“Gonna tell the government, to inform the President, he’s been watching CNN, foreign officials have arrived.” Coven, an underground band belts out anti-American lyrics to the tune of alternative rock. The words embody the new trend of music based on current issues faced by Pakistan in its war against terror.

The song, among others, appears in ‘Tuning out the Taliban,’ the controversially named video report by New York Times’ journalist, Adam B. Ellick. It focuses on anti-Western sentiments being spread among the masses by influential musicians in Pakistan. The musicians seem to be out of tune with other Pakistani think tanks, critics, journalists and even moderate Islamic groups.

The clip starts with Ali Azmat crooning to a dead lady love, but then cuts abruptly to him chanting amidst flashing images of terror and destruction in the aftermath of terrorist attacks.

“The Pakistani public who are audience of pop music are not really interested in those love songs any more,” explains Ali. He claims that these days if music does not reflect the times people are living in, they tell you to “take a hike” (in a style ironically reminiscent of Americans). Being one of the most popular rock stars in the country, Ali Azmat has always been known for his outspoken behaviour. His motto being, “Be yourself, for that is the hardest thing to be.”

In his new album ‘Klashinfolk’, he, like many other musicians, blames the West for the chaos in Pakistan. He blatantly accuses the West for funding the Taliban in a bid to “de Islamise” Pakistan by creating chaos. Without a shred of evidence to support his views, he believes that ‘Religion must be killed’ is the main motive behind the attacks on Pakistan.

Ellick points out in his report that the musicians talk about everything from corruption to poverty, but remain conspicuously mum when it comes to condemning the Taliban openly. When he asks Ali if he would ever sing about the attacks on the International Islamic University, he evades the question by saying, “You know you can’t blame them for these bombings! Because who funds the Taliban? The West!”

The shock of these blatant accusations is compounded further when Ali Noor, front man for another influential band, ‘Noori’ says, “We are not going to get up and say we are going to talk against the Taliban, simply because they are probably one of the smallest problems this country has.” According to him it’s the “West that is against the Taliban, because they are very heavily affected by it – we (Pakistan) are not.”

Admittedly, the West has meddled Pakistan’s affairs from time to time; supporting military dictatorships, placing sanctions in the aftermath of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, declaring Pakistan a failed state; which have all had a negative impact on our economy and social condition. But to say something as thoughtless as the Taliban are not to blame for the hundreds of innocent lives that have been lost in the numerous attacks is an abomination; especially, when that terror has seeped from the streets of Pakistan, into academic institutions.

But then Ali Hamza, the second band member of Noori steps up and voices the real reason behind this denial – Fear.

“If we start talking about the Taliban, it’s very easy for them to get rid of us,” he admits. One cannot blame them for fearing for their safety. However, one has to wonder if it has not crossed their minds that the religious extremist group probably already hates them for the fact they play rock music. In the Taliban’s view “the devil’s music” that has been adopted from the West is haram and not at all permissible, so why the hesitation to speak the truth?

The only people who seemed to have anything sensible to say in the interviews were writers, Fasi Zaka and Nadeem Farooq Paracha (aka NFP), and pop star, Shehzad Roy.

Nadeem Paracha clearly dismissed the pop stars’ ranting as clichéd rhetorical garbage, and expressed outrage at their silence when it comes to the Taliban. America or Zionism has nothing to do with the destruction of educational institutions, he explains. Music has a big role to play in Pakistan, says Fasi Zaka, and can certainly make a difference if these people had concrete things to say. The fact that music is enforcing such delusions is detrimental to the public welfare.

In any case, the Taliban have means to fund their activities that are much closer to home. They restored the production of opium in Afghanistan in 2001, of which they take a percentage to finance their plans.

The emerald mines in the Swat valley have been taken over by the Taliban. While the government did not react to the move, the Taliban have acquired an agreement with the mining labour of the region wherein they claim one-third of the miners’ yield. The costs are shared equally by both, even though the Taliban do not take part in the mining operations.

Before these “rockers” take to the mike, they should try to do a little more research, keeping in mind a sense of social responsibility. The words they communicate can have a major impact on the youth and general public. It is unwise and irresponsible to talk without sufficient proof for your assertions. “If you talk about the walk, you have to walk the talk.” So don’t just strum your guitar and bang your head to the music, especially when you are completely out of tune with reality.

Bellyaching laughter- Jehan Naseem has much to laugh about

Published with The Friday Times August 14, 2009

When I was a child there were times when entertainment was a little limited during the school year. Thus on such occasions my siblings and I on lazy Sundays would sit down and read the “matrimonial adverts” section out loud just for kicks.

Our first reaction would normally be “are you serious?” Quickly followed by, “Oh my God! You’ve got to be kidding me!” Then muffled giggles would start and slowly small outburst of laughter would creep in. By the end of just the first column the room would be filled with bellyaching, tears streaming, mouths open but no sound coming out insane laughter, while we would be trying to gasp for air .

Back then I couldn’t quite understand why men and women alike would base everything on a particular personification of a mate. This was very difficult for me to grasp, since I had grown up around people who would come up to my friends, family and myself and say things such as, “You’re so lucky! You have such beautiful olive skin! I have to suntan myself for hours on end, and after three or four days I get that gorgeous tan. Until then I look like a complete burnt red lobster!” Yes, you’ve guessed it. Caucasians or “Goras” as we would put it, would say that to us.

It has been a while since I looked at that section, until a good friend of mine pointed it out to me. We started discussing it and were filled with a sense of déjà vu. She and I started bursting with laughter. However, this time it was followed by solemn silence. Especially when she told me that one of the adverts had asked for a particular nonexistent species of girl (as usual in these things), quickly stating how a shop would be transferred to her name immediately upon the Nikah.

That statement didn’t hit below the belt, it took a direct hit in the face, leaving one with a helluva shiner.

I am well aware that these things happen regularly, for reasons whose validity I know nothing about. Everyone has their reasons, everyone has a list. Such a list consists of qualities for a mate that are more or less unattainable.

Having a list of characteristics that one looks for doesn’t trouble me. It’s the outcome of those characteristics and the peripherals used to achieve them, that saddens me.

“A fair girl, with a good height and slim, with a good family background [in other words has to be well off]” he says.

“A good-looking boy [fair she means], with a green-card, earns good money,” she says.

These are just the ones that are off the top of my head. We all know that there are far more severe adverts placed in the personal matrimonial section.

I wonder why in the world does a man or woman have to have a certain physical appearance or materialistic choices in order to be a suitable mate?

I guess the saying is true: “And we fall for pretty faces and the promises they make.”

Suppose you meet someone who is physically incredible. Or even brings a large amount of money into the relationship, or comes from the particular background that you want. How long will that last?

Even worse, what if you meet someone who fits your list of materialistic peripherals, but you don’t meet theirs? When that happens (and mind you it does happen a lot), the person just chooses to “settle” for whatever comes their way.

Disappointment then preludes their whole life, making everyone else’s miserable. For some it works out and for some it does not.

It would be unfair of me not to point out the fact that it is not entirely everyone’s fault. The “fair ones” in this particular part of the world are considered the epitome of beauty and have been told so all their life. If they are not fair enough, it doesn’t matter, they should be rich enough. So flaunt your money “darling”! Become an exhibitionist! Show the people whatcha got!

What if all the “fair people” in the country stood under the sun and turned a dark chocolaty colour? What if the rich people lost all their money?

Would be there be less marriages? Or would there be more realistic approaches towards companionship? Would the complications and the games cease to exist? Making life more wholesome and generic?

When you’ve been brought to think and act a certain way, take responsibility for only things that you’ve been told to do, it’s difficult for people to be anything but “just that”.

Such grooming doesn’t just necessarily come from family or home. The media is just as much to blame. I know, I know! We’ve all heard how the media targets such ideas and emphasizes them and brainwashes everyone.

Films, especially Bollywood films that attract most of Asia, have certain rules of looks, style and expectations that one should hold.

Advertisements: “Mera rang huwa gora gora, Mod girl cream bleach sey!”

The fashion world: There has to be a good height, and a slim body is a must. After all, the clothes should not be made to fit the average person!

However, it does make one wonder how the media started this whole ordeal.

Should we just blame the branded pseudo intellects of the fashion world who have caused the stunted mental growth of the general public? Or should we blame the stunted mentally decapitated general public for thinking like this and enforcing the branded phenomenon of the media upon themselves?

In Alex Haley’s book “Roots”, Kunta Kinta’s father had said to him prior to his capture “the darker the woman, the more beautiful she is.” There are some tribes in Africa who still believe this.

There are some villages in Eastern Europe (where the fair people are) that have the belief, that the physically bigger the man or woman, especially woman, the better it is.

It is easier to cut to the initial root of the problem provided you know where it is. I still haven’t quite figured out if we should blame the media as a whole or our predecessors for their baleful influence. Or should we take responsibility and blame our simple yet shallow selves?

However, dear reader, even if I haven’t figured it out, I hope you have!

My nation, my perspective By Jehan Naseem

Published in the e-zine: The Green Kaleidoscope on March 14,2009.

There have been numerous occasions in which I have heard aunties, uncles, and not to mention generation X talking about how unlivable this country is becoming. Their only resort seems to be is to shift “abroad”.
There is this constant bickering of how unsafe, dirty, expensive this country is becoming. Not to mention how horrifically shabby the infrastructure is becoming on a daily basis and we are no short of falling into a constant quagmire with a devastatingly grim future.

When I actually hear these people talking, I wonder if they actually are “listening” to themselves.
The fact that most of these people are very consistently repeating themselves, they probably are aware of what they are saying. This breaks my heart.

It’s bad enough when western countries stigmatize Pakistan as an “under-developed terrorist state” (which oddly amuses me of how they manage to call us under-developed and yet a terrorist state with high-tech weapons of mass destruction). However, it is much worse when “your own” are indirectly calling your nation just that.

It has been well over 60 years to the birth of Pakistan. Yes, we have had good and bad days. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that we are not going through tough times, talks of instability constant fear of being attacked by terrorists, sometimes it does feel like a nightmare.
We, however, quickly forget the fact that we as a nation still manage to pull through. We very quickly start comparing the infrastructure here with the one of various countries in terms with our “bad” with their “good”. Let’s try a switch shall we?

We so quickly tend to forget that even if we have been labeled a terrorist-state, Pakistan’s “finest” are fighting two wars; one in Afghanistan and one against the Taliban in Swat Valley and its vicinity.
They do it with such vigour so for most parts of the country’s citizens can sit calmly and sip their “chai”. I’m sure most of you reading this agree with me that we are much better off then those poor souls in Gaza. They have very little to fight with and too much to fight against.

In the 1950’s the IMF (International Monetary Funds) had said that, Pakistan as a young nation is a model of economic stability. Yes, it does sting a little that now we are on the brink of being declared bankrupt and that we have been hit with the inflation rate of 20-30%. Zimbabwe, however, has been hit with hyper-inflation (which is constant inflation) to the extent that a slice of bread costs (roughly-converted approximation from Zimbabwean dollar to Rupees) Rs.200.
Not Rs.200 for a loaf of bread, but a slice of bread. As we speak the price for this slice of bread is going up. We happen to complain about a tandoor roti piece increasing to Rs5-7.

In 1994-95 there was this statistical fact going around that by the year 2000, Bangladesh would have a higher literacy rate then us based on their total population. Which eventually did come true, however, we are into a quarter of 2009 and we have beaten their literacy rate by at least 2.4%.
Our overall literacy rate is 49.9% and Bangladesh’s 47.5%. I’m grateful to say that the female literacy in Pakistan has been steadily been increasing since the 1990’s. These rates were estimated by UNESCO in 2008 based on data from 2006 and onwards.
Recently there has been news that the total population literacy rate has increased to 54%. Thankfully this has not compromised on the quality of education. Pakistan is one of the few countries with a scoring high in the overall worldwide ranking in the Cambridge System of education, as well as in professional studies.

Some of you maybe thinking while reading this, that this is one lame way to look at it all, but quite honestly if you think about it, when was the last time you actually thought something nice about your own country? The fact that no matter where you go, how you see other Pakistanis act, the way you may be treated because you are one; it all boils down to where you come from.
The fact that you are who you are, you have your own homeland, which when looked at is filled with so many of God’s beautiful riches, that we have so much and make so much more rather complaining about the “coulda, woulda, shouldas”.

How many of you have thought about it at all recently? If you have, then bravo! Give yourself a pat on the back!
If you haven’t, then you ought to try it, it makes the daily by and by go easier. It makes it easier to say Pakistan Zindabad.