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Answering a call to lead in Pakistan
BU environmentalist to take job in Lahore
Adil Najam, with his wife, Huma, in their Boxborough home. The family is relocating to Pakistan. (Suzanne Kreiter/ Globe Staff)
Since leaving Pakistan nearly two decades ago to study engineering at MIT, Adil Najam has taught at some of Bostons best universities, served on the international climate council that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and made a comfortable suburban life with his wife and three children in Boxborough.
But this past weekend, Najam and his family returned to his native country, a nation plagued with terrorism, poverty, and corruption, and where anti-American sentiment runs high.
Najam will be the new vice chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences, deemed by many Pakistanis to be the nations top incubator of future leaders.
With the whole world having given up on Pakistan, it has become difficult to stand on the sidelines and see the country falling apart, said Najam, who has been head of Boston Universitys Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future since 2007. I am not arrogant enough to assume that I can turn the country around, but at least I can have the satisfaction of knowing that I tried whatever little I could - in my case by applying the so many wonderful things I have learned in the US.
It isnt the first time that Najam, 46, walked away from success.
In Pakistan he was a national figure, first as the 20-something host of the talk show Special Guest, where he bantered with national icons such as cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, and later as an environmental engineer tapped by the Pakistani government to help draft the nations first environmental policy.
Perhaps his biggest environmental achievement was as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which wrote assessments of how nations were dealing with climate change and was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for improving public knowledge of climate change.
Malik Khan, president of the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland, of which Najam was a member, said Pakistan needs leaders like Najam, but he will be missed here. Najam is a role model for young Pakistani Americans, he said, and an articulate spokesman whose calm demeanor counters stereotypical images of Muslims and Pakistanis.
His going there is a loss for the community, said Khan.
Pakistan faces overwhelming challenges. About half the population is illiterate and many people have no access to clean drinking water or toilet facilities. Parts of Pakistan are controlled by the Taliban and other extremist groups that since 2001 have killed thousands of people in terrorist attacks, including dozens in Lahore, the countrys cultural capital.
US-Pakistan relations are considered to be at an all-time low, a plunge attributed largely to American concerns that Pakistan may have sheltered Osama bin Laden before he was killed in May by Navy SEALs and Pakistani anger over that raid, which was carried out without informing government officials.
But Pakistans problems are the main attraction for Najam.
If things were better [there], I probably would have stayed in the United States, said Najam. Its just that there are times when you need to be close. And I think this is the time.
As the leader of a prestigious university, Najam said, he will have a chance to influence how the nations future leaders think and see the world.
There is no better way to shape Pakistans future than at a university, and many of the people who are going to shape tomorrows Pakistan are at that place, he said.
The Lahore university is competitive with Western counterparts when it comes to teaching engineering, science, and other technical expertise, said Najam, but what its students need are civic spirit, community pride, and a sense of optimism.
Universities dont build just engineers and doctors and scientists, they build citizens. And thats what Pakistan needs to build, said Najam.
He was inspired by his experience in Massachusetts, he said, the spirit of the myriad student organizations at the universities where he taught, the involvement of universities in community life, and the philanthropy of alumni donors.
Najam had lived in Boston longer than anywhere else. His father, after 2 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Bangladesh in the early 1970s, worked in the Pakistani civil service, which meant frequent moves. Najam had attended nine schools by the time he graduated from high school.
As a Muslim familiar with America and Pakistan, Najam believes he can be a bridge between the two countries and that the best way to improve relations is to talk less about terrorism and more about ordinary life.
Pakistanis talk about cricket, Americans talk about barbecue, and I think its that three-dimensionality that we need to bring back into the conversation, said Najam.
A frequent guest on major news outlets such as CNN and NPR, and the voice behind ALL THINGS PAKISTAN, a popular website on Pakistani news and culture, Najam expresses opinions that are well known to the countrys officials - including his belief that the Pakistani government has to do more to fight corruption and religious extremism while improving transparency. And he intends to continue to be an active commentator on Pakistani politics and international affairs.
Najam and his wife, Huma, said the difficult decision to leave was taken only after many months of discussion and reconnaissance visits to Lahore, and to what will be the familys new home on the universitys campus.
The biggest worries concerned whether their three children - Musa, 14, Amineh, 10, and Eesa, 8 - would be safe and how they would respond to leaving friends.
Its one thing to do something to your own life, its another thing to do something to your childrens life, especially at those ages, Najam said.
He acknowledged the risks of living in Pakistan but asserted that with common sense and caution, they arent greater than in other countries. His children have more to gain than lose, he said.
Najams children were all born in America - the oldest on July 4 - and are very rooted in their American identities, Najam said. At the same time, they are ready to embrace their Pakistani heritage.
I think they will learn what Pakistan is, and I hope they will manage it as well as theyve learned to be a Pakistani in America, said Najam. Growing up Muslim in America, thats not easy.
Huma looks forward to the children learning Urdu and immersing in the culture. The couple hope to enroll Musa in the Lahore American School and are exploring schools for the younger children.
Its a wonderful country, she said. It has a lot to offer.
Najam expects to visit Boston frequently and said he may even live in the Hub once again. I dont think we live in the era of long goodbyes, he said.
He thinks the perspective of distance and a different culture will put a sharp lens on his experience in this country as well.
Being a Pakistani in America made me recognize and understand Pakistan much better and much deeper [than] before I came to the US, he said. And I am sure that going back to Lahore is going to make me understand my American journey much better than I have in the last 20 years.
BU environmentalist returns to native Pakistan - The Boston Globe
BU environmentalist to take job in Lahore
Adil Najam, with his wife, Huma, in their Boxborough home. The family is relocating to Pakistan. (Suzanne Kreiter/ Globe Staff)
Since leaving Pakistan nearly two decades ago to study engineering at MIT, Adil Najam has taught at some of Bostons best universities, served on the international climate council that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, and made a comfortable suburban life with his wife and three children in Boxborough.
But this past weekend, Najam and his family returned to his native country, a nation plagued with terrorism, poverty, and corruption, and where anti-American sentiment runs high.
Najam will be the new vice chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences, deemed by many Pakistanis to be the nations top incubator of future leaders.
With the whole world having given up on Pakistan, it has become difficult to stand on the sidelines and see the country falling apart, said Najam, who has been head of Boston Universitys Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future since 2007. I am not arrogant enough to assume that I can turn the country around, but at least I can have the satisfaction of knowing that I tried whatever little I could - in my case by applying the so many wonderful things I have learned in the US.
It isnt the first time that Najam, 46, walked away from success.
In Pakistan he was a national figure, first as the 20-something host of the talk show Special Guest, where he bantered with national icons such as cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, and later as an environmental engineer tapped by the Pakistani government to help draft the nations first environmental policy.
Perhaps his biggest environmental achievement was as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which wrote assessments of how nations were dealing with climate change and was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize for improving public knowledge of climate change.
Malik Khan, president of the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland, of which Najam was a member, said Pakistan needs leaders like Najam, but he will be missed here. Najam is a role model for young Pakistani Americans, he said, and an articulate spokesman whose calm demeanor counters stereotypical images of Muslims and Pakistanis.
His going there is a loss for the community, said Khan.
Pakistan faces overwhelming challenges. About half the population is illiterate and many people have no access to clean drinking water or toilet facilities. Parts of Pakistan are controlled by the Taliban and other extremist groups that since 2001 have killed thousands of people in terrorist attacks, including dozens in Lahore, the countrys cultural capital.
US-Pakistan relations are considered to be at an all-time low, a plunge attributed largely to American concerns that Pakistan may have sheltered Osama bin Laden before he was killed in May by Navy SEALs and Pakistani anger over that raid, which was carried out without informing government officials.
But Pakistans problems are the main attraction for Najam.
If things were better [there], I probably would have stayed in the United States, said Najam. Its just that there are times when you need to be close. And I think this is the time.
As the leader of a prestigious university, Najam said, he will have a chance to influence how the nations future leaders think and see the world.
There is no better way to shape Pakistans future than at a university, and many of the people who are going to shape tomorrows Pakistan are at that place, he said.
The Lahore university is competitive with Western counterparts when it comes to teaching engineering, science, and other technical expertise, said Najam, but what its students need are civic spirit, community pride, and a sense of optimism.
Universities dont build just engineers and doctors and scientists, they build citizens. And thats what Pakistan needs to build, said Najam.
He was inspired by his experience in Massachusetts, he said, the spirit of the myriad student organizations at the universities where he taught, the involvement of universities in community life, and the philanthropy of alumni donors.
Najam had lived in Boston longer than anywhere else. His father, after 2 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Bangladesh in the early 1970s, worked in the Pakistani civil service, which meant frequent moves. Najam had attended nine schools by the time he graduated from high school.
As a Muslim familiar with America and Pakistan, Najam believes he can be a bridge between the two countries and that the best way to improve relations is to talk less about terrorism and more about ordinary life.
Pakistanis talk about cricket, Americans talk about barbecue, and I think its that three-dimensionality that we need to bring back into the conversation, said Najam.
A frequent guest on major news outlets such as CNN and NPR, and the voice behind ALL THINGS PAKISTAN, a popular website on Pakistani news and culture, Najam expresses opinions that are well known to the countrys officials - including his belief that the Pakistani government has to do more to fight corruption and religious extremism while improving transparency. And he intends to continue to be an active commentator on Pakistani politics and international affairs.
Najam and his wife, Huma, said the difficult decision to leave was taken only after many months of discussion and reconnaissance visits to Lahore, and to what will be the familys new home on the universitys campus.
The biggest worries concerned whether their three children - Musa, 14, Amineh, 10, and Eesa, 8 - would be safe and how they would respond to leaving friends.
Its one thing to do something to your own life, its another thing to do something to your childrens life, especially at those ages, Najam said.
He acknowledged the risks of living in Pakistan but asserted that with common sense and caution, they arent greater than in other countries. His children have more to gain than lose, he said.
Najams children were all born in America - the oldest on July 4 - and are very rooted in their American identities, Najam said. At the same time, they are ready to embrace their Pakistani heritage.
I think they will learn what Pakistan is, and I hope they will manage it as well as theyve learned to be a Pakistani in America, said Najam. Growing up Muslim in America, thats not easy.
Huma looks forward to the children learning Urdu and immersing in the culture. The couple hope to enroll Musa in the Lahore American School and are exploring schools for the younger children.
Its a wonderful country, she said. It has a lot to offer.
Najam expects to visit Boston frequently and said he may even live in the Hub once again. I dont think we live in the era of long goodbyes, he said.
He thinks the perspective of distance and a different culture will put a sharp lens on his experience in this country as well.
Being a Pakistani in America made me recognize and understand Pakistan much better and much deeper [than] before I came to the US, he said. And I am sure that going back to Lahore is going to make me understand my American journey much better than I have in the last 20 years.
BU environmentalist returns to native Pakistan - The Boston Globe
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