These dialogues have been exchanged in real from Indians, to Albanians to Americans.
Day 1 after May 1st
“Hello Paki. How are you today?” With a smirk.
Me: I am pretty well. Glad they finally got Osama.
“Yeah, from Pakistan.” With a smile from one corner of the face to another. “Nobody should trust you guys.”
Me: Umm..
“You know, our politicians already knew this, but US won’t listen to us.”
Me: Well at least he is dead now. (Why can my boss not call me right now?)
“India should be allowed to clear Pakistan of jihadis, US cannot do so. Just give Modi a chance.”
Me: That is highly unlikely, cause we can allow US troops, Afghan smugglers and Jihadis trained by CIA and MOSAD to run freely in Pakistan. But not Indians. You know, it is about Pakistan’s sovereignty.
“Yes, which recently got shattered when US lead this operation near Islamabad.”
Finally the boss calls.
Day 7
“You are Indian?” Expression clearly says, just say no.
Me: No I am from Pakistan.
“Yes, Pakistan. I know, that is where they killed Osama. You guys had been hiding him for 10 years.”
Me: I guess you can say the extremist elements in the army and the ISI were involved.
“Are you kidding me? Do you think anybody can believe that it was just the army and the intelligence? He was living there for so long. Did he never go out to see doctors? He was pretty sick you know. People must have seen him too. But nobody reported. I saw on Fox News that Pakistanis are protesting against the US for carrying out the operation.”
Me: Excuse me, I have work to do.
Day 15
“What do you think of Osama’s death? Do you believe like other conspiracy theorists that he was killed 7 years ago?”
Me: I don’t really know. I only wish Pakistan was not involved in it.
“I understand. Its not the people who do these things. It is the corrupt generals and politicians.”
Finally, I can sit back and not feel guilty about the whole thing. Until.....
Day 20
“Is it common to throw acid on women in Pakistan?”
Me: Some people do it out of anger and for revenge, but it is not a tradition.
“How can you speak English?”
Me: I went to an English medium school.
“They don’t let girls go to school either.”
Me: In tribal areas it can happen.
These and many more questions are an indication that Pakistan is only understood from the political news perspective. Real people with real lives hardly make 2% of this country. What it is mostly known as is a hub for gun wielding bearded nut-jobs with a few ‘Achmeds’ and many ‘black penguins’, sorry ‘burka women’. Interestingly, even people from Middle East think of Pakistan as more backward then themselves.
Day 1 after May 1st
“Hello Paki. How are you today?” With a smirk.
Me: I am pretty well. Glad they finally got Osama.
“Yeah, from Pakistan.” With a smile from one corner of the face to another. “Nobody should trust you guys.”
Me: Umm..
“You know, our politicians already knew this, but US won’t listen to us.”
Me: Well at least he is dead now. (Why can my boss not call me right now?)
“India should be allowed to clear Pakistan of jihadis, US cannot do so. Just give Modi a chance.”
Me: That is highly unlikely, cause we can allow US troops, Afghan smugglers and Jihadis trained by CIA and MOSAD to run freely in Pakistan. But not Indians. You know, it is about Pakistan’s sovereignty.
“Yes, which recently got shattered when US lead this operation near Islamabad.”
Finally the boss calls.
Day 7
“You are Indian?” Expression clearly says, just say no.
Me: No I am from Pakistan.
“Yes, Pakistan. I know, that is where they killed Osama. You guys had been hiding him for 10 years.”
Me: I guess you can say the extremist elements in the army and the ISI were involved.
“Are you kidding me? Do you think anybody can believe that it was just the army and the intelligence? He was living there for so long. Did he never go out to see doctors? He was pretty sick you know. People must have seen him too. But nobody reported. I saw on Fox News that Pakistanis are protesting against the US for carrying out the operation.”
Me: Excuse me, I have work to do.
Day 15
“What do you think of Osama’s death? Do you believe like other conspiracy theorists that he was killed 7 years ago?”
Me: I don’t really know. I only wish Pakistan was not involved in it.
“I understand. Its not the people who do these things. It is the corrupt generals and politicians.”
Finally, I can sit back and not feel guilty about the whole thing. Until.....
Day 20
“Is it common to throw acid on women in Pakistan?”
Me: Some people do it out of anger and for revenge, but it is not a tradition.
“How can you speak English?”
Me: I went to an English medium school.
“They don’t let girls go to school either.”
Me: In tribal areas it can happen.
These and many more questions are an indication that Pakistan is only understood from the political news perspective. Real people with real lives hardly make 2% of this country. What it is mostly known as is a hub for gun wielding bearded nut-jobs with a few ‘Achmeds’ and many ‘black penguins’, sorry ‘burka women’. Interestingly, even people from Middle East think of Pakistan as more backward then themselves.
If all my information about Pakistan came from the media, I would think these things too. Pakistanis who live overseas have the opportunity to be ambassadors for their country and most of those I have met do a great job. Its very difficult when they are constantly faced with such awful events in their country - they are torn between their heads, which tell them there are serious internal problems, and their hearts, which are still loyal to family, home and country. Perhaps Pakistan should set up a state department for good news stories and PR so that everyone could see the real potential of this country.
ReplyDeleteYes Venie, Pakistan definitely needs to bring out the positive side in the news. I am working on it on a personal level for now only, but hope to expand it. However, I have no expectations from the State. Remember not so far back in time, we had a general who did try to do something of the sort, and we judged him completely on the scale of Zia.
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