Cricket! And other things

It seems that Pakistan is in the headlines for all sorts of things these days. First its the judiciary, then its the disaapointing performance of our team in the World Cup (I mean losing to Ireland...really? Not even a Test Nation...sad sad sad) and then to cap it off the bizarre circumstances surrounding Coach Woolmer's death/murder! It seems we are destined to be in the news. And the cricket hype continues though the World Cup has lost its shine for us with our team out of the tournament. I'm voting New Zealand cause they're so solid and its high time they got it.

In other news, speak of one's preconceived notions...In the midst of militant burkha-clad women taking over libraries and kidnapping policemen, I was busy working on a proposal to open a new health clinic in our working region and went to meet some experts to get their advice and lo and behold, my counterpart at the Family Planning Association of Pakistan was a bearded anthropologist! Its always nice to see religion in such a gentle light rather than the intolerant face that is often put up to the world.

But mostly these days, I find myself disturbed by the way in which this country is progressing. The Taliban-ist elements used to be primarily the 'other' in this country, having little power in mainstream Pakistan but it seems that is changing. After all when a bunch of women hijack a library to safeguard an illegally built mosque (what a premise to start a holy building on) and then go scot-free what does iit say about a nation. Are we so willing to look the other way? What has happened to our psyche, our sense of self, our patriotism? I worry that soon I will be living in a regimented state where my dress, my social life, my life itself will be curtailed. And contrary to popular belief this is not the norm for Pakistan, we have historically been a pretty laid-back people. Where does this militancy, this intolerance stem from? Is it some deep-rooted discontent? And if so, how is this the answer? Where will it get us? I see such actions as driving away any prosperous future, if there are travel warnings now, will there be a total ban next? I find myself becoming increasingly cynical about the state of the nation on this level. Corruption one can handle, this intrinsic social set-up is an entirely different ballgame.

I often find a silver lining in my pessimistic wanderings but this I can't seem to resolve and I apologise for the pessimistic outlook but it can't be helped sometimes.

Exciting things are on the horizon with the chief justice hearings on schedule and an upcoming trip to Bangladesh for me. I look forward to the trip which is an exposure trip about microfinance to the ultra poor, your non-traditional microfinance clients. In the meantime, Karachi gets hotter by the day and the power shuts off regularly throughout the day!

Karachi, Development etc etc

I have a bit of a moral dilemma relating to workplace practices and its related to a few random comments that have started me wondering about how a lots of us students of development studies go out there in the "real world", work in NGOs and other development institutions and yet don't really practice development theories. You are, of course, free to disagree with me on this count but I think it happens. I'm not saying that we do not try to create positive sustainable change in our own small ways around the world, I think we do, but I think that a lot of the time we do this without thinking about our theoretical backgrounds.

Lets face it, a lot of our time spent in the classroom was spent disparaging the way many big development institutions (the Bank, the UN etc) work and their arrogance of believing that they could 'fix' years of injustice through their approach. And yet, I see myself today working in an organization funded by the World Bank doing many things that I would, as a student, have said were incorrect. I feel that in planning interventions very often we only lightly skim the real issues at the heart of most problems, the structural injustices etc. When, for example, we plan an intervention of supplying a village with clean drinking water there is a lot of talk about sustainability and our work not being charity but I think it often falls into the category of charity.Its not easy to change the habits and mindsets of people who are poor and have for so long been given things for free. How do you truly get them to take ownership, which will ultimately be what changes their lives more so than any water scheme that we may implement? No matter how much I know the importance of this as do my coworkers there is always the talk of deadlines and getting it all done within the timeframe given by donors. Then, how can I say that I am truly working in development?

I left this blog at that point a few days ago, a little bit disheartened that I had so soon given up on the ideals. But in a show of optimism, my faith is renewed by further conversations and interactions. Development is no single cookie cutter solution. It has a myriad of faces and names. Is what I do part of that myriad? I think so, because I think ultimately even the fact that I am thinking about sustainable futures and how to help development succeed is a positive factor in this progress. I am not implementing development or creating it; the will and means of development already exist, I am simply giving it a helping hand by removing some of the obstacles. And even the ownership issue that I had despaired of has been showing signs of life. One of the villages where we were convinced no activism would take place has now become a beacon of activism. They have shown initiative to further enhance the tools we have handed them.

So is development a lost cause, I hope not and on a deeper level, I know not. Its not in small pockets that change has begun but all over the world that people like me are struggling and overcoming obstacles impeding global equity and justice. I have a vision of this world shared by many and I have faith that this vision has a chance of succeeding.

Drip, drip, drip...

For those who may not know, I work for an NGO which is committed to being eco-friendly in its interventions. As such I'm now more informed than I've ever been about the state of Pakistan's environment. For example, did you know that 1 in 3 people's livelihoods will be affected by water scarcity in the next 20 years? And that Pakistan is one of the most water stressed countries in the world?

The wastage of water and energy have been two issues close to my heart for the longest time. Having lived in a city which is always having an energy & water shortage crisis have made me very sensitive to the importance of these two commodities. It is what makes me unable to reconcile with the needless waste that many people in this world are guilty off. I mean, do you really need that Jeep in the middle of a city? Or to leave taps running needlessly?

But the kicker of this story comes in the most unlikely of places. After all, it is understandable for anyone who has plenty of some utility to use it without thinking right? But what about the villagers whom I work with? they live in an extremely water-scarce part of Pakistan; the coast...ironic isn't it. I mean drinking water of course, there's plenty of sea water around. The villagers have to buy water at exorbitant rate since they are off the beaten track and yet they seem to have few, if any, conservation habits. For example, I've seen people fill a glass with water, drink half of it and toss the rest away onto the ground. Why? Couldn't they just have drunk it later, its an extremely precious resource for them after all.You know, I've racked my brains trying to figure it out. Are they lazy, is it because they're used to getting things for free (lots of people living in Karachi will send money or food to the area for distribution), or something else entirely? Which moves my conversation away to something else, I don't understand the lack of drive that I see in these villages. They know they're poor but aren't interested in making an effort to alleviate their poverty. Has apathy settled in their bones?

I'm stumped on both counts...its going to take a lot more observation before I have an answer to either.

In the meanwhile, jump out of that shower five minutes earlier and remember, you can always walk if its a nice day!

Political Shenanigans & Others

After crumbling to the need to sound out about everything I see being back in Pakistan and wanting to share the experience with everyone;

The last few days have been interesting to say the least. Pakistani politics are once again in the throes of turmoil. Political stability is a concept is something that I, as a young Pakistani, have never experienced. The latest casualty is the chief justice of the supreme court who has recently been made "non-functional" by the president. I don't know whether this is entirely kosher but its happened. I have little faith that the system (if one can even call it that) will ever become functional in a 'normal' sense. Will we ever actually follow procedure or does such thought not exist in the psyche of Pakistani politics?

What makes me saddest though is the fact that the chief justice is probably a corrupt man, if reports are to be believed, and he should have been held accountable for his actions a long time ago. But how are we ever to permit real justice to occur if we don't follow it ourselves? There's a saying in urdu: "apne paoon pey kulhari marna" which roughly means that our actions are hurting ourselves which is so appropriate for this situation. It is such things which make me cynical about real democracy occuring in Pakistan, we are our own worst enemies. Feudalism exists to this day over here--it boggles the mind!

This debacle began publicly with an open letter written by a supreme court advocate addressed to the chief justice. The advocate, Naeem Bokhari, expressed (very articulately I might add) his dismay with the actions of the chief justice's courtroom activities, his taking advantage of the government's facilities--in short, his debasement of his position. The subsequent 'downfall' of the justice makes one wonder about Advocate Bokhari's intentions--was he simply a cog in the wheels of a government conspiracy? The expressive brilliance of his letter makes me hope not for it made me proud that such thought exists in this country--it would be a shame to use such genius for less honourable purposes. The current theory running around (one would think this has been going ona while; the chief justice was sacked on Friday) is that his tenure was terminated because the government is yet again trying to postpone elections, something that Justice Chaudhry would have been against. I really hope Naeem Bokhari is simply a lawyer perturbed by the actions of his chief justice and not a pawn of the powers that be...but my faithlessness with the system makes it difficult to believe anyone easily.

The fact that the chief justice is now virtually locked down in his house in actions seemingly similar to what may be termed house arrest makes it doubly difficult to verify anything. What has he done to deserve this, who knows? Justice is a tricky thing.

However, this latest news has taken the country by storm. It is the talk in every drawing room, the newspapers are brimming with various opinions. Despite everything, Pakistanis can commend themselves on freedom of press, the government has been lambasted quite liberally for their high-handed [potentially illegal] behaviour. Restoring my faith? Maybe a little...