So, I came to Karachi, Pakistan, a few days ago. Although I have a one-week threshold before I begin whining like crazy to go back, it seems that I may actually survive for a while. But one thing hit me very soon after coming here: this country is definitely one of the most depressing places in the world.
Poverty is everywhere. The class differences are so stark. The utter futility of everything! Corruption is everywhere. Stupid idiotic superfundamentalism is so suffocatingly omnipresent. Political shenanigans bamboozle the people everyday. Misery. Poverty. Suffering. Danger. Not even the rich can enjoy their drinks and parties without worrying about the creeping ueberfundamentalism that’s rising amongst the peope.
There’s no religious freedom. (Woe upon those who are not Sunni Hanafi Muslims! Everyone else’s safety is threatened thanks to roving bands of religious misfits.) No freedom of speech. No equality of the sexes. No due process. No reliable law-enforcing authories. Forget the government: the people won’t allow these! This is a country wherein religious misfits threatened the life of one of the country’s greatest philanthropists, Abdul Sattar Eidhi!
The people who work for my father are careless and irresponsible. Their inability to do anything correctly is extremely frustrating. They don’t even try! And this applies everywhere! My father’s business partner is a Memon, so the employees think he is a greedy, stingy, unfair, mean-hearted, cold-hearted person. What they don’t see is that he’s a Memon: his people work hard and they don’t tolerate others who don’t. He is actually a very nice and caring man. But he can’t stand people who try to move their way up through deception and nepotism. Honestly, I don’t care what people say about stereotyping and discrimination: I have a new-found respect and admiration and trust for small groups of people who have worked hard and who help their own: the Memons, the Parsis (Zoroastrians), the Bohras (Musta’li Daudi Ismaili Shias), and the Aga Khanis (Nizari Ismaili Shias).
Argh! I can’t stand the suffocating blanket of futility and the hopelessness of this place! I hate, hate, hate the never sleeping eyes and minds of religious fundamentalism that’s seizing the country! But there is no hope for deliverance. Whether ruled by the military, Pakistan is doomed; whether ruled by corrupt politicians, Pakistan is doomed; whether ruled by ultrafundamentalists, Pakistan is doomed.
Maybe stupidity would be a better answer? Yes, he’s there visiting his father (I assume from the OP, I don’t know any other backstory), but I think it shows bravery (or stupidity, take your pick) to enter a situation such as this.
You know, I grew up all over the world courtesy of my father’s job, and I’ve always said that Karachi was the* one* place that I never wanted to visit again.
I see it hasn’t changed at all.
American, gay, former Muslim who converted to Christianity, blasphemer, visiter and supporter of churches and mandirs and synagogues, whose dream at one time was to establish Pakistan’s first and only synagogue - yeah, it’s stupid of me to be here. But I keep a low profile, so I should be safe. The only thing I need to really worry about now is kidnapping. Or would that be adultnapping since I’m not a kid anymore? Oh, and diarrhea, flu, food poisoning, and any of the other innumerable diseases that float around here.
(Sidenote: Hehehehe. I remember, when I was younger and living in Karachi, I would hang an American flag outside my window. My parents used to joke, “Oh, take it off. People might think this is the Consulate.” Only later, when things got really ugly, they said, “You should take it off. It’s dangerous.” Thank goodness I’m not that stupid anymore.)
Oh, it’s changed. For the worse. shudder I’m only here because my father needs help with his many projects and I wasn’t doing anything productive back home. But I sure don’t like being here much. As long as mosquitoes don’t attack me (they have moderately, but not unbearably yet; I seem to be a mosquito-magnet instead of the stud-magnet I hoped to be), the light doesn’t go away (at least while we don’t have a generator), I don’t get sick or kidnapped, and am not oppressed, I’ll keep quiet for a while.
Plus, Mom back home misses me. sniff (I’m such a Mama’s boy.)
Some things have improved. Under the General, pop music is not banned. There’s an impressive diversity in programming, channels, music, music videos, etc. More women seem to be adopting Western fashions and aspirations. America sure can’t complain - Karachi has many American franchises now (KFC, McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, and who knows what else). But what offsets these developments is the fact that these developments are loathed and hated by the ultrafundamentalists who, thanks to democracy, actually now have a say in the government (which they use for stupid, idiotic reasons like opposing women in marathons and making sure the passport has a religion section). And this wonderful diversity in music is produced mainly outside of Pakistan. One step forward, ten steps backwards.
Oh yeah, lots of countries need their own Ataturk. Sigh.
So, are you of Pakistani ancestry on both sides? Do you speak Urdu? I guess I’m asking if you can “pass” as a native. My friend Alina had fled Cuba at age seven but as Americans from there are allowed to travel there to visit relatives, she’d go back every few years. No matter what she wore, no matter how hard she tried to blend in, she always got picked out as a Yank. She thought it was very funny if a bit spooky.
Ever been to Islamabad? Is it true they just built a brand new capital that looks like a World’s Fair or something in the middle of nowhere? Are the people more “enlightened” there? Seems weird for such an old culture (I know it’s a young country) to have a shiny new capital.
Actually, since the whole place was part of India until sixty years ago or so, how come they’re not just like India, only Muslim?
Thanks for the posting, it’s really interesting to read this sort of stuff. I knew one half-Pakistani-half-German girl in college and she said she loved being here, loved being free of the constant harassment a blonde native girl there apparently got–but still she’d blast Urdu pop all night long.
I can kind of pass as a native, until I open my mouth. Whether English or Urdu, I have a definite accent. And even when I speak Urdu, it’s somewhat stilted and formal. (Most of the Urdu I know I learned through books, so it’s somewhat high-falutin’.) People laugh when I speak Urdu, which I don’t mind anymore. I pronounce words clearly and fully. I don’t use slang or street language. My verbal constructions are deliberately thought it. Hmmmm. Much like my English. My English, even when I try to affect a South Asian accent, has American traces in it. I have learned to say “ma sha’ Allah” (“as God wills,” used when something positive is mentioned) and “in sha’ Allah” (“as God wills,” or, “God willing,” used when something planned is mentioned). When I was here and didn’t say these, people would say it for me, which I found irritating. So I’ve adopted their use now. (The funny part is that it’s supposed to be used when speaking in English as well, and it’s an effort to consciously not say it when speaking to a non-South Asian or non-Muslim.)
Although I think I say ma sha’ Allah too often. I view it as saying, “We give thanks to God for His great mercy and kindness.” But I think the practice actually came about amongst South Asians as a way to ward off the Evil Eye (nazar), as if by mentioning God the Evil Eye will be deflected or something. It’s very common that when someone praises something lavishly, people will say, “Ma sha’ Allah, ma sha’ Allah. Nazar naa lagjaye.” It’s said in an almost scolding manner, as if to say, “Don’t bring upon the Evil Eye! You should know better! At least you should have said ‘Ma sha’ Allah’!” Some people are very, very, very onsessed about this, making sure not one sentence of praise or admiration is said without someone saying “ma sha’ Allah.” So, sometimes when I say it it’s kind of superfluous, like when I praise someone’s cooking. I guess they think I’m trying to ward off the Evil Eye from the food or the cook, which is considered kind of going overboard.
What’s funny is that although my mother is not very superstitious, she is major on protecting her food. She scolds us if we praise her cooking when she makes a plate. She doesn’t want the Evil Eye to fall on the food, affecting the person who’ll eat it. Maybe that’s why I don’t think saying “Ma sha’ Allah” because of food or cooking is going overboard.
By the way, South Asians pronounce “ma sha’ Allah” as “maashaallah,” and “in sha’ Allah” as “inshaallah.” I usually pronounce it with the hamza, but that’s because I’m a freak.
I have been to Islamabad a few times. Yep, it’s a shiny new capital. Although with the General, Rawalpindi (which is nearby; as a matter of fact, some people consider and refer to Islamabad-Rawalpindi rather than each separately) is more important since that’s where the military is headquartered. I guess they wanted a shiny new capital for a shiny new country. Karachi was the old capital. In a way, I think it’s good that the capital is Islamabad: Karachi is so unstable.
The people of Islamabad tend to be better than Karachiites, mainly because the people there are educated, work for the government, or are representing other governments. You get a better type of people this way. But not everything is always good in Islamabad. As the capital of a government extremists loathe (perhaps a tad bit more than they loathe America/Israel, only because they see it as a Muslim sell-out to the dreaded American capitalist/Israeli Zionist anti-Muslim conspiracy), attacks there are not unheard of. Nor are attacks on the diplomatic presence of other countries unheard of either. But nothing on the scale of Karachi. As far as I can remember, there have been no significant or any sectarian (that is, Sunni-Shia) violence in Islamabad.
Pakistan is nothing like India mainly because of one element India has that Pakistan doesn’t: secularism. Pakistan is supposed to be an “Islamic republic.” Religion is a HUGE thing here. And they can get away with it: the non-Muslim people are so few and so unobtrusive that they’re hardly noticeable. There are two reasons religion has be touted as the foundation of Islam:
because it is on the basis of religion that Pakistan was founded. Pakistan was founded as a homeland for South Asian Muslims without regard to ethnicity, culture, language, or whatever.
because religion is the only thing that is common among the people of the lands that comprise Pakistan.
There is nothing whatsoever that unites or that is common among the people that make up Pakistan. Even Urdu, the official language, is of Indian origin and is imposed upon the peoples here. The main ethnicities are Balochi (who are currently agitating for more attention and resources and appreciation and federal support), Panjabis (non-Sikh), Sindhis, Pakhtun or Patthan, Mohajir (those who migrated from India to Pakistan after the Partition), and the various Gujarati minorities (Memons, Bohras, Aga Khanis, Parsis/Zoroastrians) whose people may or may not include Mohajirs. Furthermore, the traditional peoples here (all of the above except the Gujarati minorities) are very tribe-based.
Now, the problem with Islam is that there is no one interpretation and application of Islam. Which is why the religious extremists focus on small, stupid issues rather than larger issues, because there are more things that the various religious extremist groups differ on rather than agree. Plus, blowing up small issues (literally and virtually) can get the people’s attention and support without confusing them with theological disputes and heavy, complex issues. As an example, Deobandis and Barelvis sharply differ on small theological issues, but the animosity is enough that many of one believe the other to be non-Muslim. This means cooperation between the two is limited to the very few areas they can agree on, which usually consist of small, stupid, irrelevant issues. The only major issues all religious groups agree on are anti-Americanism, anti-Israelism, anti-Westism, anti-Indiaism, and anti-“lax Muslims who ought to know better”-ism.
Another thing I’d like to mention. There’s an overpass in Karachi that I find to be most utterly distressing and depressing. There’s only one reason why: it almost always is covered with exremist anti-American and anti-Israeli graffiti. People advocating the destruction of the country I love doesn’t make one happy.
I used to know a guy from Pakistan, and he described much of the same stuff (and I promptly scratched Pakistan off of my list of “Places I Want to Go”). He said he had to hide the fact that he was now living in America, and pretend to be living in England instead (this was about 5 years ago). Only his immediate family knew the truth.
So I suppose you will be rejecting that job offer with my company?
Some people simply do not adjust well to life overseas. For most people in most places life is nasty, brutish and short. If you live in the First World this simple fact can be gut-wrenching.
Thanks so much for the report! Must be strange, being of a certain ancestry and yet feeling nothing in common with where you came from, having to hide so much of yourself and your feelings all the time…
The evil eye? Sheesh. Such a waste of time and talent to have to deal with superstition and corruption like that. I haven’t met a Pakistani here who wasn’t hard-working and relatively friendly and it makes me sad such folks have to leave their country to improve their lot.
Saw a terrific play last night, called Modern Orthodox, and one of the main characters kept interjecting what sounded like ‘Baruch hashem!’ in the same circumstances you describe, and the secular Jewish guy only used it twice, when he really really meant it. When you come back to America you should try to catch it, it really catches the occasional conflict between lapsed and Orthodox people of the same religion, and this being a comedy each learned a bit from the other guy at the end.
Doesn’t Pakistan mean “land of the pure?” Hmmm. So many divisions among Muslims, but I’d expect that anyplace, but I don’t get why they’re so important. Surely almost everyone being Muslim should trump it all, and compromises should be hammered out after nearly sixty years on what kind of country they want it to be. I mean, can’t people see what a mess the Taliban made of their poor neighbor? They don’t want to go that way, do they? But they don’t want to go Turkey or Iran’s ways either, it seems. What DO they want? Or are the people’s desires so suppressed nobody can find out?
Ooooh. What job offer from which company? I’d like a nice job.
Well . . . I don’t think people hide the fact they’re in America, but whoever is in America needs to be ready to talk trash about America. Even Westernized Pakistanis loathe America. (Some of us think it’s because of jealousy: they can’t get into America, so they hate it even though they love it.) Being in the UK or Canada is far more acceptable. It helps that Pakistanis have established ghettoes, as it were, in the UK and Canada, where people can be true to the Motherland. In America, people tend to feel pressured to assimilate. Well, not exactly pressured: some people want to assimilate. (They’re called whitewashed. My family is an example of this. All of us love the West. So much so that my mother wishes she could tell whiny Pakistanis: “If you don’t like America, go back to Pakistan. Stop whining.”)
Pakistanis - Westernized and otherwise - believe Americans and the American government are actively trying to persecute, prosecute, discriminate against, and work against Pakistanis in the US. My family’s experience in the US has proved that although this may happen in some cases, it is far from universal. I have, myself, never ever felt any negative emotion, feeling, or action from another person while in the US. And my skin color makes it obvious I am of South Asian descent. As a matter of fact, after 9/11, white people went out of their way to ask me if I was doing well and if people were treating me well.
I might even say that the opposite is true: many Pakistanis, in Pakistan and elsewhere, are unnecessarily heavily biased against Americans.
I mean, we live in a heavily Jewish area, and we felt no negativity from the people there despite our Muslim heritage. On the other hand, Muslims I know feel obligated to be anti-Jewish. It’s ridiculous.
WRS - Many Pakistani men are cute. They’re just butt-less. Cute white men have nice rear ends.
Many Pakistanis in the US aren’t bad. Many are very, very nice people. There are actually quite a number of Pakistanis who love America. Many Pakistanis are acutely aware of the freedoms they have in the US that people wouldn’t dare dream of in Pakistan.
Believe it or not, many people here see Iran and Taliban Afghanistan as examples of successes of Islamism. They’re proud of Iran (despite the fact they’re heathenistic Shias) and the Taliban (despite the fact they’re gone). They can’t see the utter failures of these two experiments in Islamist regime-building. If anything, comparing Iran and Taliban Afghanistan with Turkey and India shows the amazing success of secularism and the dismal failure of Islamism. But I am convinced that these religious extremists are unable to grasp reality or are able to reason. They’re lost causes. They just need to be exiled to Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan purged of Islamist machinations. Some of the best dictators Pakistan has had were secularists. Then Zia-ul-Haq messed everything up. General Musharraf is a secularist, although he will never admit it in a setting where the people can get a hold of it: secularism is very, very strongly condemned by Pakistanis of all types. After all, if Pakistan stops being Islamic, what’s the use of having a Pakistan?
Land of the Pure indeed. Pakistan as a haven of the pure is a true paradox. Everything impure can be found in this wretched place. The pure need to move out in order to survive.
(Excuse me for being argumentative, my previous posts were not very nice. That being said:)
Well Iran and Afghanistan are examples of successful Islamic government. Islam is not about human happiness or progress or individual freedom it is about submission to God’s laws, tradition and community.
I do not think you could have an Islamic government that is much better than the two examples you cited. Certainly you could have better, more progressive governments, but they would not be Islamic in nature.
Good advice, but I have little choice. There’s this nice old lady that needs me to pick up a chest of money for her. I really couldn’t turn down the money she promises me, so I’ll forego sanity this once.
But this is a very rare opportunity I don’t expect anyone else to be able to take up. Wish me luck.
You are very, very correct. I had never seen it that way. Technically speaking, Wahhabi Saudi Arabia, Khomeini Iran, and Talibani Afghanistan are excellent examples of Islamist government and the possibility of its implementation. The fact the West is stridently opposed to such theocracies perhaps even bolsters the appeal of such systems of government for Islamists.
But I think no one, who uses his/her brain, believes these are good systems of government overall or for the long run.
So, the Islamists here might want to go back to Stone Age under a theocratic regime. There is also the belief that Islam is the answer to everything. So, if Pakistan becomes a truly Islamic country, all of its problems will be solved. In idea this may be true, but in practice this always fails because people are not willing to conform to the demands of a totalitarian authoritatian Islamist state.
But I keep a low profile, so I should be safe. The only thing I need to really worry about now is kidnapping. Or would that be adultnapping since I’m not a kid anymore? Oh, and diarrhea, flu, food poisoning, and any of the other innumerable diseases that float around here.