OrionHunter
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Here's an interesting opinion by Bina Shah from the Pakistani Newspaper, Dawn.....
LAST week I heard of a cellphone app developed by a group of young Pakistani developers called Angry Imran: similar to the incredibly popular Angry Birds, Imran Khans head is launched off a catapault to destroy the heads of other Pakistani politicians Asif Zardari, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Nawaz Sharif, Altaf Hussain in the various cities of Pakistan.
When you finish them off successfully, the jalsa crowds roar and Imrans voice shouts out, Tabdeeli aa gayi hai! Kudos to the CreatiXe team who have given us a badly needed laugh in difficult times (and good for Imran Khan who is said to have found the game quite funny).
I thought of this game while travelling through the UK and meeting many expat Pakistanis in different cities London, Leeds, Newcastle because all of them had one question on their mind: are things changing for the better in Pakistan? And they looked at me, fearful of what I was going to tell them, and I surprised myself with my own answer: yes.
Is Pakistan changing? The answer is complex, but I believe that Pakistan has finally woken up to reality. For decades weve been living like sleepwalkers, asleep and unaware while our rulers led us from one disastrous reign to another. Weve been sedated with a harmful political ideology, weve been restrained by the years of dictatorship and war, and weve been fooled into thinking ourselves indispensable to world politics, the darling of all the superpowers who cant put a foot wrong. But over the last 10 years, weve had our eyes opened by the harsh conditions of a post-9/11 world, and no longer are we living like zombies, in denial and ignorance of the very deep waters in which we stand.
I see a growing awareness of the past: all the wrong steps taken over the last 60 years that have led us further and further into a labyrinth of our own making.
I see a burgeoning youth, hungry for information and education, going to university and entering the workforce in exciting numbers.
I see the Pakistani free press converging with the ultimate wave of information, the Internet, and challenging the political and societal narrative force-fed to us by our state and its decrepit, tattered information and education systems.
I see a powerfully aware civil society, ready to raise its voice against violations of human rights.
I see a people who want answers and accountability, and a government system with functionaries who are slowly realising that it can no longer get away with disrespecting the people, no matter how hard it tries to do so.
I see an independent judiciary that is functioning with great confidence.
I see a lawyers movement that rid the nation of a dictator without bloodshed, a revolution that was a shining example to the Arab Spring nations.
I see women fighting tooth and nail for their rights and refusing to accept the status of second-class citizens.
I see attempts to normalise relations with our neighbours. I see dedicated activists trying to change laws, bringing balance and tolerance into our system, despite the attempts of the uneducated and the closed-minded to continue injustice in the name of tradition and honour.
But thats not to say that all is rosy in Pakistan. Our political system is weak. The battle between extremism and moderation and liberalism rages on our streets, in our workplaces and schools, in our mosques and our homes. Our economy is an aeroplane that tries desperately to achieve lift but is only able to avoid crashing and no more than that. Egregious crimes are committed against women and religious and ethnic minorities every day.
Yet in this wild pendulum swinging between left and right, between one extreme and the other, is a sign that we Pakistanis are struggling mightily with our identity; we are trying to redefine it, having woken up to the monster we were becoming and realising that we didnt want to become that particular spectre.
So with caution, I tell my expatriate brothers and sisters that yes, Pakistan is changing. Its a slow process that may take generations, but at least were seeing the beginning of it now.
The important thing is to continue to look our problems straight in the face, without denial or excuses, and work to defeat them, and never lose hope. And remember the words of Angry Imran, even if you dont agree with his politics: tabdeeli aa gaye hai.
___________________________________________________
Cheers!
Pakistan is changing
LAST week I heard of a cellphone app developed by a group of young Pakistani developers called Angry Imran: similar to the incredibly popular Angry Birds, Imran Khans head is launched off a catapault to destroy the heads of other Pakistani politicians Asif Zardari, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Nawaz Sharif, Altaf Hussain in the various cities of Pakistan.
When you finish them off successfully, the jalsa crowds roar and Imrans voice shouts out, Tabdeeli aa gayi hai! Kudos to the CreatiXe team who have given us a badly needed laugh in difficult times (and good for Imran Khan who is said to have found the game quite funny).
I thought of this game while travelling through the UK and meeting many expat Pakistanis in different cities London, Leeds, Newcastle because all of them had one question on their mind: are things changing for the better in Pakistan? And they looked at me, fearful of what I was going to tell them, and I surprised myself with my own answer: yes.
Is Pakistan changing? The answer is complex, but I believe that Pakistan has finally woken up to reality. For decades weve been living like sleepwalkers, asleep and unaware while our rulers led us from one disastrous reign to another. Weve been sedated with a harmful political ideology, weve been restrained by the years of dictatorship and war, and weve been fooled into thinking ourselves indispensable to world politics, the darling of all the superpowers who cant put a foot wrong. But over the last 10 years, weve had our eyes opened by the harsh conditions of a post-9/11 world, and no longer are we living like zombies, in denial and ignorance of the very deep waters in which we stand.
I see a growing awareness of the past: all the wrong steps taken over the last 60 years that have led us further and further into a labyrinth of our own making.
I see a burgeoning youth, hungry for information and education, going to university and entering the workforce in exciting numbers.
I see the Pakistani free press converging with the ultimate wave of information, the Internet, and challenging the political and societal narrative force-fed to us by our state and its decrepit, tattered information and education systems.
I see a powerfully aware civil society, ready to raise its voice against violations of human rights.
I see a people who want answers and accountability, and a government system with functionaries who are slowly realising that it can no longer get away with disrespecting the people, no matter how hard it tries to do so.
I see an independent judiciary that is functioning with great confidence.
I see a lawyers movement that rid the nation of a dictator without bloodshed, a revolution that was a shining example to the Arab Spring nations.
I see women fighting tooth and nail for their rights and refusing to accept the status of second-class citizens.
I see attempts to normalise relations with our neighbours. I see dedicated activists trying to change laws, bringing balance and tolerance into our system, despite the attempts of the uneducated and the closed-minded to continue injustice in the name of tradition and honour.
But thats not to say that all is rosy in Pakistan. Our political system is weak. The battle between extremism and moderation and liberalism rages on our streets, in our workplaces and schools, in our mosques and our homes. Our economy is an aeroplane that tries desperately to achieve lift but is only able to avoid crashing and no more than that. Egregious crimes are committed against women and religious and ethnic minorities every day.
Yet in this wild pendulum swinging between left and right, between one extreme and the other, is a sign that we Pakistanis are struggling mightily with our identity; we are trying to redefine it, having woken up to the monster we were becoming and realising that we didnt want to become that particular spectre.
So with caution, I tell my expatriate brothers and sisters that yes, Pakistan is changing. Its a slow process that may take generations, but at least were seeing the beginning of it now.
The important thing is to continue to look our problems straight in the face, without denial or excuses, and work to defeat them, and never lose hope. And remember the words of Angry Imran, even if you dont agree with his politics: tabdeeli aa gaye hai.
___________________________________________________
Cheers!
.
