Some poetry

INTERDEPENDENCE

We cannot have well humans on a sick planet.
We cannot have a viable human economy by devastating the earth’s economy.
We cannot survive if the conditions of life itself are not protected.
Not only our physical being, but our souls, our minds, imagination and emotions depend on our immediate experience of the natural world.
There is in the industrial process no poetry, no elevation or fulfilment of mind or emotion comparable to that experience of the magnificence of the sea, the mountains, the sky, the stars at night, the flowers blooming in the meadows, the flight and song of the birds.
As the natural world diminishes in its splendour, so human life diminishes in its fulfilment of both the physical and the spiritual aspects of our being.
Not only is it the case with humans, but with every mode of being.
The wellbeing of each member of the earth community is dependent on the wellbeing of the earth itself.

—Thomas Berry

Some common courtesy? And some politics to spice it up...

I am convinced that I may be the champion of bottled-up frustration. There are a lot of disgruntled people out there, but I may just take the cake in not expressing extreme levels of irritation that I feel on a daily, perhaps even hourly, basis. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that this level of pent up emotions have got to be terrible for me and that I should really learn to let go of this unhealthy amount of rage.

Perhaps the biggest reason I have for this level of rage, is that many, many things that people do bother me. But I feel perfectly justified in getting bothered by these points because they so often are matters of common courtesy or common sense. By the way, neither of these two attributes is as common as you'd like to believe. There are two primary things that have me all het up by the way and I point them out here so whoever reads this blog can appreciate and perhaps even empathize with my situation:

1. Talking on phones loudly in public locations: It's not simply a matter of YOUR privacy, it's every person's right to not be subjected to every last detail about the last crazy party you went to or the recent family scandal. So please, talk softly. Actually, let me refine this: Don't talk loudly in public. Unless your fellow conversationalist (conversee?) is hearing impaired or you are in a very loud place, there is no need to raise your voice.

2. Walking in large groups so that you take up the entire sidewalk: I am a fast walker and like to get to places quickly. It won't hurt your 'pack' to be a little more scattered so as to allow innocent bystanders passage. Is it too much to ask?

So now that I have let that off my chest…pheww. I’m now good till the next time it happens, at which time I may have an apoplectic fit. Or some other thing may grate on my nerves.
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In other news, I have come to the somewhat disturbing conclusion that bomb blasts in my home country do not seem to affect me emotionally anymore. I have become increasingly blasé about them and that worries me. It happens so often that I can no longer react in an appropriately shocked manner. Which, in turn, saddens me intensely. What does it say about the state of a country when its citizens have come to expect bomb blasts by extremists on a regular basis?

And while this cycle of violence and death continues, the only other news about Pakistan is the power struggle between the “democratically” elected parties and their power-brokering deals…best of both worlds? I think not. We are, once again, at a point where the military has failed us and Pakistanis once again look to democracy as a savior, only to be disappointed, and in about a decade the tides will shift again and the army will step in again. How does this cycle stop? Once we leave behind all our Zardari’s and Sharif’s with their false promises and feudal ideas and find an honest-to-goodness ethical and just leader. What a pipe dream it seems right now.

But there is good news. Not all change comes from the government and there is so much grassroots activism that is focused on diminishing poverty, improving health and education standards amongst a multitude of other noble causes. Hurrah for the development organizations toiling away in the difficult arena that is improving the lives of others. With no real guarantee of success, it is a brave occupation to belong to. Also, hurrah to the philanthropists who give so generously to those in need. There is still some light left after all…

Irresponsible Journalism

Yesterday, I was sitting in a seminar waiting for the professor to start class when some of the undergrads began discussing an article they were quite shocked by in the university's student newspaper (which, by the way, only comes out once a week--hurrah for daily BDH's!). Now I rarely pick up the newspaper because it has little information of interest to me, such is the grad student disinvolvement with university life. Anyways, I hadn't read the Martlet and it turned out there was an article in it called: "Violence at root of Qur'an" which essentially called the text a genocidal document. The author, Derek Madson, was linking the Qur'an's hatred-inciting violence with the Criminal Code of Canada which in its hate crimes legislation exempts religious texts from its definition for hate speech. the article has kept me hopping mad since I read it and I've already sent of a complaint to the newspaper for printing it.

Now I am not arguing that the Qur'an does not have its violent moments, there's a fair amount of it to be honest. My issue with Mr. Madson was his irresponsible journalism. First of all, I think we all know some other religious texts that are equally violent. In a letter I wrote to the newspaper complaining on such hate-mongering acts, I noted that the Bible calls for the execution of homosexuals in Leviticus. Deutoronomy has its fair share of violence. For crying out loud: working on the Sabbath is a sin and the punishment prescribed is death!

Mr. Madson recorded his "casual perusal" of the Qur'an and cited various examples of hate speech within it. I would like to say to him, religious texts are complex and casual glances tell us little of these complexities. Furthermore, he says that the Qur'an's hate speech should not be tolerated because of 'jihadists' who preach them regularly. Oh well, if the fundamentalists are using this violent speech, then yes we must abandon everything about a religion that over a billion people (clearly they are all racist and violent) adhere to. I'd just like to add that the Criminal Code of Canada was written far before Islam had much of an impact on Canada and probably exempted religion from its hate crimes legislation because of the Bible!

Why does this man need to write such a hateful article? Does he truly think all Muslims are 'jihadists'? I am a Muslim and while I am enraged at his seeming righteousness, I wish him no harm. He can believe what he likes as far as I (and many, many other Muslims are concerned) but this racist diatribe is unwelcome and unwarranted. Before you publish something, check your facts more thoroughly, talk to a few experts perhaps. No "casual perusals" please.

Apologies

I've taken the liberty of copying the full text of Australian premier, Kevin Rudd's speech to Parliament apologising to Australian aborigines:

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing culture in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were stolen generations - this blemished chapter in our nation's history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, indigenous and non-indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

Wow. 

As an American, I wish we could have some of that. Nobody even talks of apologies in the ongoing presidential race or in media generally. And we owe a few.

Apologies will not solve the many problems minorities face but they will open the door to seeing that there have been injustices and that something must be done. Moral leadership must be about more than talk but don't we have to start talking to move to action?

I'm not going to say anything more than this: Start talking

Emergency

I must say, the fashion for state of emergencies is in these days. Pakistan and then Georgia...who'll be next? I worry about dictators and their desperate need to stay in power. All I can think is, why are you needlessly putting yourself in danger of assasination? I'm figuring that they don't care about the people, don't they want to save their own skin? Or maybe Mushie realises how apathetic a nation Pakistan can be (quite frankly, if I was dirt poor like most of the country, I wouldn't have the time of day to care about what he did as long as i was able to complete each day successfully...so maybe apathy's a bit harsh). And Benazir Bhutto's going to get the country back on the right track...right, the woman who successfully robbed the country blind with the use of her husband, that thug Zardari. Do I feel disenchanted? A tad. Do I seem cynical? Maybe a smidgen. Do I have a solution? Don't I wish. Can someone find a real honest-to-God intelligent and humane and honest cavalcade of people (I can't expect a person to succeed here and group sounds so mild and I can't use politicians because that would be a contradiction of terms) to marginally fix this country up? A bit of emergency triage that's all. Let us all pray (or just hope really really hard if we're not into that prayer thing!).

Uniforms and resignations

Is he going to resign? Yes
...wait, no
...well maybe
...sort of?

If you thought we live in a fast moving world, you are absolutely right...the constant shift in Pakistani politics has hit the speed of light because I swear every time I hear the news something has changed...its starting to make me dizzy. In fact don't ask me about Pakistani politics because I'm sure that while I speak there have been five new developments. But, I guess, you could also say life is never boring in Pakistan can you?

Apart from the general excitement of all this change, there is an underlying apprehension...make that very noticeable apprehension, because we're seeing the return of two politicians whose tag-team years of power did very little for this country. Except, of course, from stealing from the nation's coffers...really not something you want to repeat.

Unfortunately, as a nation we are wont to repeat our mistakes. Lets just wait and see...eh? [Oh the Canadians, already influencing me!]

Of course in other parts of the world we are still moving at a dogged pace; finally the snail that is Alberto Gonzale's resignation has reached the finish line. I'm just saying...it was called for ages ago and should have happened then.

Gentlemen's Clubs and Shanty Towns

Day 6 has been skipped from this travelogue because primarily I was in a van watching more paddy fields…turns out, its not very exciting once you’ve seen 4-5 km of continuous fields! And we saw a lot more than that…try closer to 400 km…

Since Friday is part of the weekend in Bangladesh, we set out sightseeing in Dhaka. After travelling through the diplomatic area, we were moving towards the uber-famous Louis Kahn Bangladesh Parliament Building. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was. I mean how often do you get to see the famous works of architecture you’ve read so much about and studied at college?

And I can’t even begin to describe how beautiful it was…in a concrete, industrialist kind of way. Majestic tends to be a word used for parliament buildings a lot but it tends to refer to ancient greek style buildings with Corinthian pillars and all the imposing accoutrements. The very modern concrete structure I saw was majestic in its own way. It sat isolated on an expansive green area but rather than looking lonely, the building looked imposing and haughty [if buildings were actual people rather than inanimate structures]. Nearby are residential quarters for government servants which were designed as part of this structure, and they are quite interesting to look at but we didn’t manage to stop and observe them more closely.

We then headed off to the house of the founder of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujeeb-ur-Rehman. The entire family was assassinated in this house with the exception of two daughters, one of whom was Sheikh Hasina (later a prime minister of Bangladesh), who were abroad at the time of the attack. The house itself is nothing special, but rather quite gruesome in the manner which it preserves the attack (blood stains have not been removed, bits of hair that fell off victims have been preserved behind glass etc.). The belongings of Pakistan’s founder—who died due to illness and not unrest—have been preserved much better and so I was a little disturbed by the house museum.

We then proceeded to see some of the older parts of the city, which were predictably extremely crowded with narrow lanes and lots of traffic—both pedestrian and vehicular. But as always fascinating to just stare at. We went to offer Friday prayers at the Bait-ul-Mukarram mosque which is the biggest mosque in Bangladesh—it was partially under construction so apart from its immense size, it was not at all interesting. The market set up around it on the street however…

We went to a late Mughal fort, which was characteristic of the period with its chhattris, quadripartite divisions and the red colour. It's a lesser building and has few carvings and is extremely simple for a Mughal but wandering in the gardens is always pleasant and calming. The day pretty much proceeded in this fashion and we were shown many historic buildings, the Dhaka University campus and the National Language Monument being some key sites in our travels. Bengalis take a great deal of pride in their hard fought independence and it's a bit difficult to take in as a Pakistani since we are the bad guys in this tale.

The other big highlight of the trip was wandering bored through the National Museum [I was tired and am absolutely not a fan of natural history] and seeing fabric woven from ivory—well that came in second after the famine series by Zainul Abedin—I can’t tell you how amazing they were—please google them, it was fabulous. They’re gorgeous in a stark and sad manner and just so powerful. Words cannot do the series justice.

Also, I am now simply summing up my thoughts and findings in this entry because the rest of the trip primarily consisted of meetings where we took apart the project in many ways over and over again trying to see how it could work in Pakistan, what needed to be changed and what needed to be retained. There’s an earlier blog entry where I lament the state of development organizations and this set of meetings helped reassure me quite a bit that at the top level, the planning level, a lot of thought truly goes into structural injustice, social norms etc etc.

Notes:
This country tells me that we need to stop using corruption and bad governance as an excuse. Too long have we been mired in our apathy. Poverty is not just a situation but a state of mind and to get out of this trap we need, no must, reform our thinking. It is a two-fold process as I see it—both to accept our situation & to not accept it. That sounds contradictory but let me explain:

We rail against the rampant injustices in Pakistan but do nothing because the injustice [supposedly] hampers us. There is no benefit in such a stance because we have not made our lives any better [perhaps we’ve made them a bit worse because we’ve disheartened ourselves and others with such a defeatist attitude]. The problem is that we are too focused on the bigger things [the ones out of our control] and do not realise/choose to focus on what we can do. Bengalis do, they seem to ignore the odds that are against them and keep working hard to better their lives and themselves. I’m not talking about NGOs, I’m talking about the ordinary man, the one who has a tiny field of rice or who drives a cycle rickshaw.

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I find it almost impossible to refrain from finding fault with BRAC despite how well planned and comprehensive its programmes/projects are. It is perhaps related to an innate need to justify what I myself do—that feeling that one is just not doing enough! Nonetheless, I had one major issue with BRAC’s strategy; that there is too much handholding of poor groups. Then again, maybe there’s nothing wrong with institutionalised handholding. Let me try and explain:

I don’t have to worry about money or when/where my next meal is coming from but its not as if I earn an extraordinary amount of money, so in times of need (e.g. after college I was unemployed for several months and depleted my meagre savings), I do have a back-up facility—a “lender” so to speak, in the form of my family. My parents are a form of handholding—they give out soft loans, do not need guarantors, do not set payback times etc. The poor, especially the ultra-poor, do not have this facility. Instead, every time they are strapped for cash, they have three options:

1. Mainstream lending agencies—a no-go because of the tedium of bureaucracy and the [usual] inevitability of rejection.

2. Microfinance Institutions—an excellent solution for those who need small business loans and who do not have large reserves of cash to start said business. But what about the other group of people who suddenly suffer loss in the form of the death of a family member? Or who need an expensive surgery? Or are simply unemployed and need some help? They can’t go to MFIs because they are not charities they are businesses.

3. Banya/Loan shark—the inevitable solution for the desperate poor man. And possibly the worst solution as it will lead to difficult repayment given heinously high interest rates and leads him/her into a vicious cycle of debt begetting more debt.

So why should we dismiss the so-called non-sustainable giving of freebies--they can be quite necessary.