There is much to be said of our country, its people and our predicament at present, and many have said it, however what still lacks definition is the course we are setting out for ourselves. In the past two weeks I have come to the very brash realisation that among the three major corners that define the Pakistani triangle that ‘Finally gives a damn’ in civil society, I belong to the Journalist corner. Just in case it needed clarification there is also a Student corner and a Lawyer corner.
You see I have very carefully avoided the responsibility, thrill and work ethic that belong to my particular fraternity over the four years since I have graduated with a degree in Journalism. I have done this in spite of the fact that I have worked in both a national newspaper and am now working for a national television station which has been put to the back burner…but that’s another story for another time. I prefer to keep my head down and skulk in corners but it seems Uncle Musharraf has put paid that. I may be the only Pakistani who can still be duly grateful to the Great Leader for helping me discover a notion of latent nationalism within myself.
I usually deflect all of my career responsibilities by claiming to be a ‘writer’ not a ‘reporter’, now it appears that both titles are equally fraught with involvement, emotion and drive. I think what has inspired me to join in the haphazard, but hopefully well intentioned, crusade to save the country is – to put it plainly- the fact that people finally give a toss. In the past two weeks since my colleagues have been protesting daily at the Lahore press club, I have seen a shift in psyche – the ‘burger’ psyche, to be specific.
We that not-so-elusive brand of Pakistani yuppie twenty something’s who can talk, think and trace down on our fingertips the reasons why we wish to leave this country and settle abroad have been bothered enough to take to the streets, albeit in our designer sunglasses and Nike’s. The protests have made it plain that there are two brands of Pakistani youth co-existing right now, the PBCA (Pakistani Born Confused American) and the regular home grown garden blend. These two people have never really been introduced before and the powers that be are probably unaware that they have made this particular introduction. We now march from our offices, to the press club to the high courts chanting slogans in both English and Urdu (for solidarity) and are recognising the need to tolerate the ‘other’ for something bigger than the both of us.
It is funny how fascism works sometimes.
To those of us who perceive ourselves through the visors of the ‘rest of the world’ we know our USP (the Advertising analogy means ‘Unique Selling Proposition): Pakistani’s are world renown for their incredible collective prowess at bigotry, cheating and taking the quintessential short cut. Presently we are also one of the most dangerous people in the world, which is probably the only thing keeping us that spot the UN has us believe we will forgo in ten years on the world map. We have never been a patriotic people barring cricket matches and we have never been loyal to a cause of our own.
The latter appears to be changing.
I have been asking around my fellow-burgers what they are experiencing right now and the sentiment can be summed up like this:
“I’ve never really heard of a solid reason to love this country, I always grew up knowing that we needed to hate India, just never that we needed to love Pakistan,” said a friend of mine. I can relate to this sentiment, having always resented the fact that my generation was accused of apathy and lacking patriotism. We, the children of the Zia era, have only ever hard grand tales of Pakistani heroism and independence, we have seen differently. We have never known true leadership or anything to really take pride in, so why the expectations? If anything we were bred with a sense of anti-Indianism and not pro-Pakistanism. National anthems and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ always followed a sense of knocking down the neighbour, never real pride.
Something has begun to change though, it is hard to point it out in a canvas, but it is perceptible in the impression it leaves upon Pakistani people these days, something in the air…
“I’m not really sure I can honestly profess that I love my country, even now, but for the first time I’m trying to. I care enough to want it to stay on the map and I’m willing to get jailed or take a beating or two for that – somehow it finally seems worth it”, Abid Ali, currently a protester.
You see I have very carefully avoided the responsibility, thrill and work ethic that belong to my particular fraternity over the four years since I have graduated with a degree in Journalism. I have done this in spite of the fact that I have worked in both a national newspaper and am now working for a national television station which has been put to the back burner…but that’s another story for another time. I prefer to keep my head down and skulk in corners but it seems Uncle Musharraf has put paid that. I may be the only Pakistani who can still be duly grateful to the Great Leader for helping me discover a notion of latent nationalism within myself.
I usually deflect all of my career responsibilities by claiming to be a ‘writer’ not a ‘reporter’, now it appears that both titles are equally fraught with involvement, emotion and drive. I think what has inspired me to join in the haphazard, but hopefully well intentioned, crusade to save the country is – to put it plainly- the fact that people finally give a toss. In the past two weeks since my colleagues have been protesting daily at the Lahore press club, I have seen a shift in psyche – the ‘burger’ psyche, to be specific.
We that not-so-elusive brand of Pakistani yuppie twenty something’s who can talk, think and trace down on our fingertips the reasons why we wish to leave this country and settle abroad have been bothered enough to take to the streets, albeit in our designer sunglasses and Nike’s. The protests have made it plain that there are two brands of Pakistani youth co-existing right now, the PBCA (Pakistani Born Confused American) and the regular home grown garden blend. These two people have never really been introduced before and the powers that be are probably unaware that they have made this particular introduction. We now march from our offices, to the press club to the high courts chanting slogans in both English and Urdu (for solidarity) and are recognising the need to tolerate the ‘other’ for something bigger than the both of us.
It is funny how fascism works sometimes.
To those of us who perceive ourselves through the visors of the ‘rest of the world’ we know our USP (the Advertising analogy means ‘Unique Selling Proposition): Pakistani’s are world renown for their incredible collective prowess at bigotry, cheating and taking the quintessential short cut. Presently we are also one of the most dangerous people in the world, which is probably the only thing keeping us that spot the UN has us believe we will forgo in ten years on the world map. We have never been a patriotic people barring cricket matches and we have never been loyal to a cause of our own.
The latter appears to be changing.
I have been asking around my fellow-burgers what they are experiencing right now and the sentiment can be summed up like this:
“I’ve never really heard of a solid reason to love this country, I always grew up knowing that we needed to hate India, just never that we needed to love Pakistan,” said a friend of mine. I can relate to this sentiment, having always resented the fact that my generation was accused of apathy and lacking patriotism. We, the children of the Zia era, have only ever hard grand tales of Pakistani heroism and independence, we have seen differently. We have never known true leadership or anything to really take pride in, so why the expectations? If anything we were bred with a sense of anti-Indianism and not pro-Pakistanism. National anthems and ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ always followed a sense of knocking down the neighbour, never real pride.
Something has begun to change though, it is hard to point it out in a canvas, but it is perceptible in the impression it leaves upon Pakistani people these days, something in the air…
“I’m not really sure I can honestly profess that I love my country, even now, but for the first time I’m trying to. I care enough to want it to stay on the map and I’m willing to get jailed or take a beating or two for that – somehow it finally seems worth it”, Abid Ali, currently a protester.
Quite honestly, none of this matters. I was there in 1999 when I thought we were all going to hell, and now I'm here in 2007 thinking this country is going to the pits. I think my dad summed it pretty much up, "Son, you've been living in the pits your whole life..." Good to know that I love this place too much to even notice or care :) Good post though.
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