When I first thought about writing a blog, I thought, man this is going to be easy. Now its the fifth day of posting on this blog, and I'm already experiencing writer's block. In life I've found everything to seem either effortless or impossible until I've tried doing it. Only after trying do you discover how much effort is required for something which is seemingly effortless, or how easy that thing was which you believed to be impossible. I dedicate tonight's blog entry to limited possibilities.
Today, I saw something interesting, although to the typical Pakistani, this would probably be dismissed as something which is commonplace. I was driving and I saw a biker with his foot on a rickshaw. Of course to me, this seemed kind of strange, I kept wondering, why does that guy have his foot on that rickshaw, doesn't the rickshaw driver mind? As it turns out, the rickshaw was out of gas and the biker was offering the rickshaw driver some assistance. In most large cities I've been to, everyone is always rushing around trying to get to where they need or want to be. This biker actually delayed his trip to wherever he was going to help out a total stranger, or perhaps he was in no rush at all. Nonetheless, it was a gesture of goodwill, and it was something nice to see.
Many Karachiites, including one of my uncles, are very pessimistic about the future of Pakistan. Last weekend's "Project Clean for Peace," and this good samaritan I saw today, for me, is evidence that there are good people out there who care about their fellow man, and who are willing to do something about it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know this, and neither did I before coming here, but Pakistan has one of the largest copper reserves on the planet. That's not all, Pakistan also has large amounts of natural gas, gold, coal and oil. What's holding Pakistan back? The answer to this question can be summarized in two words, greed and corruption.
The way I see it, there are three possibilities for Pakistan's future, the first one is: If corruption can be curbed, and if enough good people work together, Pakistan has the potential of being one of the richest countries on the planet. By pooling thought, resources, and sweat, even if this is done by a minority rather than a majority, a group of conscientious and concerned people can bring about radical social as well as economic change. The United States wasn't always a welcoming place for non whites, there were individuals who took upon themselves a responsibility to make a change, and they did, some of them lost their lives in that pursuit. The way they dedicated themselves to the task was to forget about their wants and their needs and instead, focused on a collective goal. They didn't think about the short-term, they thought about the long-haul. This is a line of thinking that many Pakistanis will have to break themselves of.
Possibility two: No one does anything, and Pakistan's security situation can continue to deteriorate, to the point of absolute lawlessness. All those abundant resources which can bring Pakistan into a golden era of economic and social prosperity may be left in the soil forever. Scores of innocent lives will be lost in the battle for control of the cities which will rage on between the various mafia entities. The Pakistani government will leave Pakistan with their pockets full of cash and will be living abroad in luxury and comfort along with their families, who, later, will start some kind of social movement under a humanitarian guise to return order to Pakistan. They will be lauded as heroes and will return to Pakistan to do it all over again.
Possibility three: Again, no one does anything, Pakistan's security situation continues to deteriorate, to the point of lawlessness, massive killings and robberies, and in the commotion, extremist opportunists take over. There's no need to go further into this potential scenario, whether you're American or Pakistani, you know what happens next.
So, there you have it, three potential outcomes. Which one will come to fruition, that only the people of Pakistan can decide. Will Pakistan stand united and do something to change its state of affairs for the better, or will it fall divided?
Stay tuned... to be continued
Today, I saw something interesting, although to the typical Pakistani, this would probably be dismissed as something which is commonplace. I was driving and I saw a biker with his foot on a rickshaw. Of course to me, this seemed kind of strange, I kept wondering, why does that guy have his foot on that rickshaw, doesn't the rickshaw driver mind? As it turns out, the rickshaw was out of gas and the biker was offering the rickshaw driver some assistance. In most large cities I've been to, everyone is always rushing around trying to get to where they need or want to be. This biker actually delayed his trip to wherever he was going to help out a total stranger, or perhaps he was in no rush at all. Nonetheless, it was a gesture of goodwill, and it was something nice to see.
Many Karachiites, including one of my uncles, are very pessimistic about the future of Pakistan. Last weekend's "Project Clean for Peace," and this good samaritan I saw today, for me, is evidence that there are good people out there who care about their fellow man, and who are willing to do something about it. I'm sure a lot of people don't know this, and neither did I before coming here, but Pakistan has one of the largest copper reserves on the planet. That's not all, Pakistan also has large amounts of natural gas, gold, coal and oil. What's holding Pakistan back? The answer to this question can be summarized in two words, greed and corruption.
The way I see it, there are three possibilities for Pakistan's future, the first one is: If corruption can be curbed, and if enough good people work together, Pakistan has the potential of being one of the richest countries on the planet. By pooling thought, resources, and sweat, even if this is done by a minority rather than a majority, a group of conscientious and concerned people can bring about radical social as well as economic change. The United States wasn't always a welcoming place for non whites, there were individuals who took upon themselves a responsibility to make a change, and they did, some of them lost their lives in that pursuit. The way they dedicated themselves to the task was to forget about their wants and their needs and instead, focused on a collective goal. They didn't think about the short-term, they thought about the long-haul. This is a line of thinking that many Pakistanis will have to break themselves of.
Possibility two: No one does anything, and Pakistan's security situation can continue to deteriorate, to the point of absolute lawlessness. All those abundant resources which can bring Pakistan into a golden era of economic and social prosperity may be left in the soil forever. Scores of innocent lives will be lost in the battle for control of the cities which will rage on between the various mafia entities. The Pakistani government will leave Pakistan with their pockets full of cash and will be living abroad in luxury and comfort along with their families, who, later, will start some kind of social movement under a humanitarian guise to return order to Pakistan. They will be lauded as heroes and will return to Pakistan to do it all over again.
Possibility three: Again, no one does anything, Pakistan's security situation continues to deteriorate, to the point of lawlessness, massive killings and robberies, and in the commotion, extremist opportunists take over. There's no need to go further into this potential scenario, whether you're American or Pakistani, you know what happens next.
So, there you have it, three potential outcomes. Which one will come to fruition, that only the people of Pakistan can decide. Will Pakistan stand united and do something to change its state of affairs for the better, or will it fall divided?
Stay tuned... to be continued
No comments:
Post a Comment