The Harsh Truth

This article was written in 1995. Has anything changed in the circumstances of our community since then? You decide


They come to the Desi dinners aboard fancy automobiles – the prime symbols of their success in America. With their obligatory dress shirts, designer jeans, designer sneakers, smiles, put-on-humility, gleaming children and made-up wives (at the party, sitting a safe distance away, talking amongst themselves). Who are these people? They are Pakistanis living in a foreign land: working hard, putting their honest ten hours, making money and talking - talking your head off.

We: The first topic of conversation is always Pakistan. "Karachi mein kya ho raha hay?" The discourse begins. It goes on and on like a trenchant dictator’s self-congratulatory speech. "Who is behind this recent mess? How corrupt are the politicians?" "Pakistan was ahead of Korea in development till 1968 - ab unko dekhenji." A wild orgy of verbal passion gushes forth. People take stands, choose sides. Lines are drawn in the sand. Closeted agendas are suddenly dusted and tossed about like pliant salad leafs. Voices take on melodramatic tones. Tempers, like flaming scimitars, scathe the arguments. Hyperbole envelops reason. Invective bursts are a torrent. Bright, shiny, well massaged, well fed, oversized EGOS clash with wild abandon. No prisoners are taken. The know-it-all, in all, is released and re-released. Solutions are presented and discarded. Plans are made. Avenues are considered and reconsidered. Advice is aplenty on all matters – social and fiscal. Food is served and consumed with the same fervent zeal as an extension of the diatribe. The discussion sustains a feverish pitch. It reaches a peak, builds into a crescendo and … and … and then … they all go home. Home to their steady jobs, suburban existence, bored wives and structured life. All that passion lies spent on the floor, spent like the educational system in Pakistan. They will not have anything to do with Pakistan and its problems till they re-convene at another dinner party at another person's home. The whole scene is repeated ad infinitum. All that energy, all that fire - wasted. These Pakistanis are living a lie. The sooner they realize it the better. Talk is cheap. It is time to start using that energy to accomplish something rather than wasting it on pure unadulterated bunk - trying to solve the problems of the world over a Biryani.

Zeitgeist: There are many prevailing falsehoods generated to soothe themselves into a false level of comfort. Invented stereotypes of both Pakistanis (flattering) and of other people (unflattering). This is sort of an ego-boost for the Pakistanis, wherever they are, to feel good about themselves by maintaining these falsehoods as irrefutable truths. Otherwise, they will go bonkers by the reality of the situation. Some of these beliefs are almost comical: We are the most honorable people, everybody has an equal chance in our society, most of the people are honest about their work, there is no class structure in, everyone works hard, there is no child labor, there are equal rights for women, the country is not divided along language/sectarian/ethnic lines, people are fully integrated in this molten mass of Pakistan, there are real institutions in the country, we have a real education system, we have a strong economic base, everyone is free, Pakistan is not behind anyone in the technology race, we have had good leaders, there is true value for life limb and property, entrepreneurship/risk taking/ingenuity is prized, initiative is revered.

Agriculture: The reality is that Pakistan is still anachronistic in more than 60% of its population in the villages. These hard working men, women and children are the shoulders on which the rest of the country is standing and trying to be tall. The most important export for Pakistan is still cotton and cotton based products. While in the cities, we predominately have consumption, consumerism and satellites/Indian movies with bits of weak, partial, emerging industrial entrees. The world has moved on from the agrarian age through the industrial revolution and is halfway through the information age and the main concern in Pakistan is about is the ratio of my quota versus yours. Pakistan is already behind the eight ball in terms of time. US rural-agrarian population is now less than 5% of the total. That is a change of more than 30% in the last 4 decades. Yet there is more wheat produced here than most of the rest of the world combined. Automation... what a novel concept. The false notion that "what is good for the cities is good for Pakistan" is patently false. Any solution for the Pakistani problem has to include, even be driven by, the rural populace. These are the people that have to be made aware of the outside world, of education, of opportunities. They may choose the same life-style afterwards, but that has to be an informed and conscious decision.

Women: One of the great tragedies of our times is the status of women in Pakistan. Much like other third-world countries, the women are basically used as child-bearing and rearing machines with no other role than to say yes to everything their man commands. To be totally subservient to every whim and fancy of the glorious man of the house. The women in the rural areas work twice as much as men and are still like little puppets with no voices, aspirations, desires, thoughts, possibilities, choices or wills. Every trick in the book is used by the chauvinistic society to make the woman think of herself as somewhat inferior, built for service and having half a brain. The blame for this does lie mostly with men, though, other women are as much to blame in the perpetuation of these stereotypes.

All that has to change and change quickly if Pakistan is to be a competitive, modern nation. Pakistan can not have half of the population treated as cows and hope to make any progress. Furthermore, the literacy rate for women is even lower than that of men - which is pathetic to begin with. These are the mothers that are going to teach tomorrow's children what the world is all about. These are the sisters that should be in the workforce working side by side by non-ogling men. These are the daughters who should have all the same chances and possibilities as any of our sons. The tomorrow that all of us are striving for is going to be a lot less dark if we invest in the mandate and the infrastructure to empower and educate our women.

Youth: Our childhood is a powerful thing. It gives avenues to our futures. Yet the younger generation in Pakistan has grown up on steady diet of Satellite TV, Indian television, American movies and music. Their understanding of the greatness of America is not about things like hard work, egalitarianism, time-honored-institutions, discipline, equality, truth, justice, sacrifice, uniformity, individuality, trail-blazing nature, never-say-die-attitude, pioneering spirit etc. They see through their tinted glasses an America of promiscuity, controversy, degeneration, rebellion, drugs-weapons culture, demanding respect rather than earning it, abuse towards women, rock and roll etc. They do not even understand, anymore, the great and wonderful features of our culture like, subtlety, variety, cohesiveness, structure, family, respect, sacrifice etc. The true need is to educate the youth to understand what are the things that have made these countries great. And what are the things that are a problem to them. Along with that understanding they have to realize the strengths that they have in their own way of life and to enhance those strengths by learning about the things that the other nations do better and to grow as a people into a more productive nation that can stand on its two feet and is an example of self-reliance, honor, growth, freedom and justice.

Status: We need to appreciate the fact that in 50 years we have, even with our bungling, not done irreparable harm to Pakistan. Even though a lot of people in Power seem hell bent on doing exactly that. The Executive branch is run by people who have specific agendas, with their own welfare as the primary objective and of keeping that power at all costs - if that means reducing the democratic process to Beirut, so be it. The Legislative branch has shown a spine-less disposition to barter for their needs over any moral obligation that ever rustled their bosoms. The judiciary is no better; it has shown a profound disposition towards spinelessness that borders on the eelish (with a few heroic exceptions). The bureaucracy has always had more machinations and shenanigans lined-up to serve them than the number of laughs in a "Yes Prime Minister" episode. The galling thing about the power that they wield has been the utter lack of remorse that they wield it with. The situation of law and order is tragic. The people are constantly fed white lies by those in power. Most of the time there is no information about what is going on. The press in general is either in shackles or grossly inept. Similar things are true of almost all other national institutions. What a farce? Valuable time is being lost on a minute by minute basis while the leadership of the country is involved in a full-time effort at throwing mud at the other party and keeping their jobs. And you know what? This is not going to change. It has not for 50 years. Why should it? People are comfortable with it. There is money to be made (at least for some people). It is easy living. Changing things around is not only hard work but is risky. The people that are comfortable with the status quo never bring change. To bring change there has to be a serious re-thinking of the national thought-process.

Possibilities: A very popular joke about the Pakistani's at the soccer World cup (1996) was, question: "Why didn't Pakistan qualify for the soccer world cup?" Answer: "Every corner they had they put a store on it." To me it is great. It shows that the Pakistanis are as good or better at doing things commercially as anyone. They work hard and are creative. They make things happen, once outside their own country and in a structured environment. Given a structured environment, they excel. They take their paltry opportunities and do great things with them. Yet these same people did not make anything happen in Pakistan. A similar story to that repeated in Israel and Ireland to just take two examples. The difference is that the well-wishers and the intelligentsia of those two nations are united in pushing for change through sheer will and organized effort. A similar such effort has to be undertaken on Pakistan's behalf.

Tomorrow: How will all this happen? It has to go through the cycle of Truth followed by acceptance followed by coming up with a plan and finally execution of the plan into a meaningful result. The key here is to be honest about our condition. Accept it for what it is. Look all around us. People of other nations are united in their pursuance of betterment for themselves, their families, their children and as a direct consequence of their nation. They have a united front in working as a team to bring positive change. For us to do the same we have to come up with a very simple start. Each and every one of us has to look within us. It is very elementary. Looking within rather than without. No external hands in this equation - the most convenient fall back in the history of the world. Just look within and see if there is some margin for improvement. Make that change today. Everyone has to make his/her bid to make things a little better in their own way. The lead has to be taken by the so-called educated people. They have to be responsible for slightly more. Let the others know of this little secret - nothing more. It can be done if just enough people did it. You have to choose which statistic are you? A win or a Loss. This is not a vision for heroes. We are talking about ordinary folks with enough ice in their veins to light little lamps against savage storms of ignorance and tyranny to show the way to the kindred many. To do little acts of courage and kindness, of will and spirit, of strength and tenderness. To brave the all-powerful storms with flickering, weak lamps that blow oft again and again - to light them anew and to go on. Little steps of veritable giants. What a concept? Ordinary folks doing extra-ordinary things. Not for reward. No reward is enough. The reward is in the doing. Pure. For itself and not for any gold rivers or wanton flesh. Wouldn't it be something if they succeeded in the face of insurmountable odds?