BREAKING NEWS! ATV recently reported on the closing ceremony of the Karachi Creative Arts Initiative. The video features great shots of my beautiful students strutting their stuff and the tireless executives at Behbud enjoying the festivities. Pardon the Urdu, I assure you they are only saying good things.
This week I learned that most of my students walk over thirty minutes in the sweltering heat to attend my class. As very many of them don’t live near each other, they are left to navigate their own way through crime ridden alleys, unable to afford the fare for public transportation. These children, most of them barely 12 years old, find no qualms undertaking this daily journey, for our school has a generator that powers the fans even when the lights go out, a luxury their own homes cannot provide them with.
It was with a smile that they told me all this, relishing in the memories of all the classroom activities they enjoyed, and of the cricket games they were able to play with their friends after class was dismissed. I, on the other hand, found very little joy in their struggles, and was left wondering whether I was actually doing enough to make their journey worthwhile. Although I realized they chose to come to class, for I had never established an attendance policy and many students who grew frustrated with the assignments had exercised their choice to never come to class again, I felt a greater responsibility to create projects that could benefit their lives directly.
Working with my friend, Talha Ali, we coordinated a presentation that would show them the ease with which they could positively influence those in their local communities by providing focused solutions to debilitating daily problems. Talha has worked ceaselessly developing educational institutions in very impoverished rural areas outside of Karachi. His projects have had tremendous success, and many of the communities he works in have experienced large gains in overall literacy rates. One community is 100% literate. In a country where barely 60% of the males know how to read, and some estimates claim female literacy is as low as 20%, this is an incredible feat.
Additionally, Talha also worked in urban slums to provide women with generators so that they could continue working on the garments they made even during the long hours when there was no electricity available. For years these women sold their garments to wholesalers, making only 200 rupees (less than $3) on each individual piece. These wholesalers would sell the garments for ten times that amount, and made their livings exploiting the labor of these women. When Talha tried to explain this discrepancy to them, they felt helpless and refused to challenge the wholesalers for fear that they would compromise their relationship with them and receive no compensation for their toils. Talha then told them that he would sell their garments at the market, effectively playing the same role as that of the whole saler, except he would provide them with 100% of the revenue. Within a week Talha returned with over 100,000 rupees, and was able to provide generators that powered the entire facility.
His project wasn’t very demanding or incredibly complicated but it made a huge difference in the lives of these women. My students, once equipped with a purpose and a deliberately focused method of implementation, also had the potential to create great change in their neighborhoods. Thus our activity required our students to work in groups of all ages to address a problem, create a solution, and present an awareness poster on the subject they chose.
The presentations proved to be both diverse in content and effective in engaging with the problems that so often evaded solution. Some groups educated their classmates on the importance of recycling, (a concept completely alien to most Pakistanis including myself), while others sought to mitigate the profound sectarian violence plaguing the city and the country by constructing schools and playgrounds that sought to bring children of different ethnic groups together, with the assumption that if children are exposed to other ethnicities and build friendships early on, they will not participate in the senseless killings of a seemingly different race for they know they are not defined by their stereotypes.
These projects provided me with a clear view of the issues that my students found to be the most important. They defied my expectations and reconfirmed my belief that my students could create real progress in an ailing nation.
My children are products of dire poverty and pervasive ignorance, yet their dedication to the work in my classroom is indicative of the strength which such struggles breed in those who bear them. However, my students are exceptions in that they are provided a quality education, for many of their neighbors are not. Most of their peers work in households as servants or are falling victim to the growing drug epidemic. Among other necessities, it is access to institutions such as schools that are vital to the well-being of these children and their communities.
The best lesson I’ve learned in college was bestowed upon me by Prof. Garret Duncan during a conversation we had regarding my grant proposal for this project. When I told him my goal was to empower my prospective students, he simply stated, “You cannot empower anyone. You can only create the conditions by which they can empower themselves.”
Thus, by enabling my students to create projects meant to alleviate some of their daily strife, they are able to begin associating problems with solutions, instead of with a feeling of hopelessness. When Talha told them that every problem had a solution, they not only believed it, they held onto it. The next day as one group struggled with how to best address the lack of electricity, one of them expressed frustration, to which another responded with an assurance that indeed the solution would be found with more discussion. They created an enlightening poster that addressed the misconceptions regarding electricity usage, and learned that greater awareness was the best way to mitigate loadshedding.
In a country such as Pakistan, where grievances are ubiquitous, inequality is a fact of life, and literacy is a luxury, civic service may be the best way to provide access to the masses. Luckily, student aged children make up the majority of the country, so if colleges can motivate their students to create dynamic programs that address real needs with the appropriate resources, so long as they are easy to access for both volunteers and communities in need, progress may be just as inevitable as the next power outage.
When I introduced our short story project earlier this week, I anticipated my students to feel a sense of liberation and excitement for they had been given the rare opportunity to share a story that was meaningful to them. However, this assumption proved most naive, and I found my students bewildered and unable to grasp what I asked of them.
Instead of writing original tales of triumph, they simply rewrote stories they had heard in their childhood, or wrote on the sample story books I supplied them with. To make the assignment easier and more engaging for the boys, we asked them to write stories about superheroes. Unfortunately we failed to realize that despite a basic awareness of the most popular superheroes, most of our students had no access to television or cinema, and had never been thoroughly exposed to superhero culture. Thus when I went home and learned that ALL of the characters and stories the boys came up with were exact duplicates of popular local television shows, I was very distraught and disappointed. I took it very personally that they didn’t heed my instructions on creating an original work, and all day I thought of the appropriate way to remedy the situation.
In America, guys my age grew up watching Power Rangers and Saturday morning cartoons about Batman and Spiderman. Every year it seems the most successful films recreate superhero franchises. The American Dream is conducive to our fascination with superheroes. The idea that Good is an overwhelming force, capable of conquering even the most threatening sources of Evil. That consistent hard work and dedication to the dissemination of positivity and generosity is a concept not popularly consumed in Pakistan.
The area where my school is located is the highest traffic drug distribution center in Karachi (a city of roughly 20 million). My students are products of that culture. The most successful people they know are drug dealers that don’t prioritize good deeds and humanitarianism. Those are the individuals that have seemingly profited most from a society that rewards corruption and debilitates righteous upward mobility.
I was completely unaware of my students’ exposure to drug culture until a twelve year old girl wrote her short story about President Zardari’s lack of interest in disposing of the notorious drug dealers in her neighborhood and decreasing the unbelievably easy access to dangerous narcotics, along with raising other qualms about the rising inflation rates. Clearly the drug culture is very pervasive in their society, and poses a great threat to the quality of their educational experience.
In addition, these students are drowning in a bootleg culture. No where in the city can you find a movie that is not a burned copy of the original. There are only a handful of places where you can get clothes that were actually manufactured by the company whose name is stitched across the front. Businesses that celebrate quality and creativity require a populace willing to invest in them, but the allure of spending $2 on an entire season of the Entourage, or buying a Fucci shirt for $5 is simply too strong for families struggling to feed their children.
Yet another impediment to the development of creativity is the rigidness of the educational system. Some reports claim more than 50% of the country is illiterate. But even those few who do have access to education are taught with textbooks that there parents had to read, and forced to learn the information by copying the teacher’s lesson off the board. The students who fare the best in their classes either cheat off their classmates or fare well in regurgitating memorized, but not processed, information. Even in the country’s best colleges, both instructors and students have told me about the ubiquitous threat of plagiarism, and the lack of interest in the professors to provide meaningful classroom discussion, let alone the complete absence of opportunity to question or disagree with superiors.
Understanding the dangers and persuasiveness of drug culture, the inherent bootlegging tendencies my students were submerged in, and the faults in the educational system that dissuaded students from attending class and learning information for self betterment, was a tough lesson to digest in one evening.
However, when I returned to class the next day, I sat down and expressed my feelings to my assistants so that everyone would understand that I expected only one thing from my students: original work. With all of us on the same page, the girls’ class went very well and I was astounded by the productivity that was maintained throughout.
The boys, however, personally offended me, although I understood it was not solely their fault. So i took it upon myself to express my frustration in front of the whole class. I told them that the only valuable thing I can provide for them was the opportunity to create original and imaginative work without the pressure of critique or grades, and that any semblance of plagiarism immediately compromised that goal. I asked them if they wanted to grow up and bootleg dvds and remain poor, or if they would rather create the movies themselves and live lavish lives never having to worry about money. They sensed my disappointment and responded by writing thoughtful tales that were clearly of their own making. In fact, at all the tables you could hear children chastising each other not to copy, and helping one another think of words and ideas. I learned that I had made a huge mistake limiting the scope of the project to superheroes the day before, and I was proud to see a new culture of originality and imagination growing before my eyes.
There were moments this week where I certainly lost all hope. I thought my project was a failure and that it would make no difference in the lives of these children. I don’t expect to be the catalyzing force behind their transcendence of poverty and future prosperity. I do however have a renewed belief that we are creating the conditions in which real social change is possible, and my pursuit of providing forums that encourage creativity is more resolute than ever.
KCAI could have never happened if I had not been blessed with the opportunity to start Drop Knowledge with my fellow Brain Trustees. Here is a chance for all to relive our event, Live Art 2010. It was certainly a labor of love for those involved, and I sincerely thank Jorge Mancilla for putting this video together to memorialize what was surely the most ambitious event of the year.
A week of class is in the books, and I couldn’t be more proud of the results. Everyday my students teach me more about their fascinating lives, and inspire me to prepare meaningful lessons that will enable them to realize their unique vision of the world and work towards capturing it in its ideal form.
This week my dedicated group of assistants and I experimented with a variety of activities meant to stimulate thoughtful reflection and build confidence. Similar to Drop Knowledge’s “What’s Cool To You?” discussion, everyday’s daily warm-up asks the children to articulate their interests through a narrative, poetry, or a picture. Through this simple activity I learned that my students will never cease to amaze me. Whether its the youngest boy in my afternoon class, Hamza who is seven years old, jumping up at the first chance to share his poem on the love he has for his mother. Or an older student reliving the haunting fire that burned down his home, the children are eager to open up and build stronger relationships with one another, as well as the instructors.
My class, originally meant to engage 15 girls and 15 boys, has seen a great increase in participation in the first week. In fact, on Wednesday we had 25 girls and 29 boys in our class! This week our major project was meant to instill a spirit of entrepreneurship in our students. After finding that many of the girls had a passion for cooking, we broke them up into groups that featured girls of all ages and asked them to make a restaurant menu. Although we only asked for a name, mascot, four menu items, and one picture of a dish, all the groups went all out and made incredibly detailed menus that exuded spunk and business savvy. The boys also impressed us with the attention to detail and enthusiasm that they brought to their project in which they were asked to create a domestic cricket franchise.
Perhaps my expectations were too low, but I never expected such hard work and dedication to projects that we came up with over lunch. Some presentations were entirely done in English, and others were lead by students who couldn’t even stand up and say their names on the first day. This eagerness to learn is contagious and the classroom has bred a culture that pursues enlightenment and challenges one another to overcome debilitating obstacles.
The children come from families struggling with dire poverty. They oftentimes work long hours after school just to ensure that their family can enjoy a second meal. Hailing from the northwestern Pakistani province Khyber Pakhtoon Khua, they dream of returning to their village and seeing their loved ones. The language they all speak with me, Urdu, is their second language, to their native language Pashtu. Thus, their desire to learn English shows their hunger for knowledge and refusal to remain stooped in the same economic condition as their parents.
As they dream of being colonels, doctors, and cricket stars, I can only dream of creating the conditions by which they can realize their goals. May the Karachi Creative Arts Initiative be a testament to their strength and courage, and continue to inspire students in the future to empower others in their community.
The Karachi Creative Arts Initiative is officially in session.
Although the thought of my first day has prompted a cold sweat and great anxiety for so long, I not only survived the commencement of my teaching career, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It would be an understatement to say that it went better than expected, because I expected to leave in a flurry of tears as my students threw colored pencils and throwing stars at me, yelling, “Ghar joi, ghora!” [Translation: Go home, whitey!]
Luckily, my mother sensed my unease early and invited a family friend, Sana, along. Although she was only notified 30 mins before the first class began, she immediately took to the activities and worked magnificently with the children. My team of assistants also included my mother, little sister, and a volunteer named Saima. All were indispensable, and the day surely could not have been a success without them.
Every morning we are responsible for engaging and entertaining 15 girls, and 15 boys in the afternoon. Students range from 13-17 years of age. Despite warnings against making eye contact with the girls, for some believed they were too sensitive and shuddered in the presence of males, I found the morning group to be much more proactive and excitable than the boys. Most students were so eager to join in on discussion and share the tidbits of personal information I asked of them. Others could barely stand up and say their names. When asked about their favorite subject of study, most students enthusiastically claimed they loved learning English. Hopefully I can part some valuable knowledge onto them in relation to this, for they have already taught me so much Urdu. It was refreshing to have a great mix of personalities, and I certainly can’t wait to get to know them all better, or even just remember their names.
The goals of my program are at once simple and farfetched. I merely want to show them that every moment is an opportunity to be creative, and that imaginative solutions are oftentimes the best way to solve our most troubling problems. With discipline, dedication, and an eye for manipulating resources to suit their unique needs, I do believe they can begin to engage with their interests, and pursue all forms of knowledge that these interests beget.
And so this great experiment begins. I look forward to seeing it to fruition.
The city of Mecca, and its crown jewel, Al-Masjid al-Haram (The Sacred Mosque), houses the most prized relic of the Muslim world, the Kaaba (or house of God). Earlier this week I had the incredible opportunity to visit this site for the first time in my life. It may be the most personally meaningful thing I’ve ever done.
The Kaaba itself was constucted by Abraham and his son Ishmael thousands of years ago. As time saw it in the possession of hundreds of civilizations, the Kaaba became home to pagans, Christian, Jewish, Zorastrian, etc. worshippers alike. In fact, before the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Kaaba invited worshippers of all these religions simultaneously. It was such a sacred site that the city of Mecca was deemed a no-violence zone, despite relatively common armed struggles between the many tribes that populated the area. This enabled the city to prosper as a religious site and trade central.
Since Muhammad reclaimed it for the Muslims in 630 AD, Muslims (1.5 billion of them today) the world over, expected to pray five times daily, declare prior to beginning each prayer that they are facing the Kaaba, among other statements that specify which prayer they are performing and how long they will be praying. As I mechanically recited this declaration, I felt tears rush to my eyes as I realized the Kaaba, which I had been only imagining during prayers my entire life, was indeed immediately before me. As I moved nearer to the structure and came close enough to touch it, I heard others weeping prayers of joy as they made contact with it. The spirits of entire lives spent in devotion rushing forward, espousing love and gratitude to the one all mighty diety that made it possible. Sentiments of tremendous shame over past guilty deeds, agonizing grief over the loss of loved ones, and debilitating helplessness caused by poverty and hunger are immediately transfigured into a tangible spirit of hope and confidence that all will be fine, for life is overseen by one whose motives cannot be questioned, and are not susceptible to the human weaknesses of vanity, greed, and gluttony.
Because Muslims are the only people allowed into Mecca, and women are only allowed in the company of their husbands, sons, brothers, uncles, or other men in their immediate family (except after the age of 45 when they are allowed to come in groups), access to the holy city is limited. Thus, I find it pertinent to share the customs associated with a pilgrimage to this magnicificent place for those who otherwise would not know.
Hajj, a five day long pilgrimage required of all able- bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime, is the single largest gathering of pilgrims in the world. However, if you happen to visit the Kaaba at any other time of the year, you are welcome to complete an Umrah, or the lesser pilgrimage, which consists of a Tawaf, a sa’i, and halaq. All participants must adorn a Ihram, which is simply two towels, one wrapped around the waste and the other covering your chest. This sheds all pilgrims of the artificial significance that we naturally ascribe to worldly goods, such as designer clothes/accessories. Indeed a peasant and a king can be completing the Umrah side by side and one would not be able to tell the difference between the two.
A Tawaf is a circumabulation of the Kaaba seven times, reciting certain prayers during certain periods. A sa’i is an imitation of Hagar’s frantic search for water for her thirsty son Ishmael. After running between the mountains Safa and Marwah seven times, Hagar watched in amazement as water sprang from the ground as she desperately clawed the Earth. This well runs to this day and is known as Zamzam. Lastly, a halaq is simply the cutting of one’s hair. This can range from a few slight snippets, to the shaving of one’s head completely. I decided to commemorate the completion of my second Umrah by shaving my head, and the homie was in such a hurry to attend to the long line of pilgrims that he shaved off half my eyebrow!
The Umrah, so pure and simple, is often times very misunderstood. Indeed, my cousin, after completing his first Umrah, was detained at an airport in the Netherlands for possessing a book entitled, How to Complete the Umrah. Although he stressed that the book was harmless, that millions of Muslims did it every week, and that the book was written in English so they could read it and see for themselves, he had to wait hours for them to photocopy every page, forcing him to miss his flight back to the states, and causing him an additional delay of a few days. To alleviate any future misunderstandings, may this post be an example of the sanctity of such a practice.
Lined with custom made paintings inspired by famous movie posters, The Hot Spot combines swanky sandwiches, delectable ice cream creations, and, my personal favorite, a bangin’ book store, there is little that you can’t find here. With locations all over Pakistan, The Hot Spot is setting the standard for chic hangouts throughout the country. For more information, visit: http://www.thehotspotonline.com
The pained look on this woman’s face above is reserved for those suffering from tremendous grief, or a violent mix of diarrhea and vomiting. This brings us to today’s lesson:
Don’t get ice with your drinks!
Although the temperature pushes 100 degrees and you lose water weight by the kilo, resist the temptation to quench your thirst with the fallacious refreshment of an ice cube. Stick to bottled water, and make sure it arrives with the cap sealed on.
Furthermore, I have heard from many locals that it is a liability to be speaking on your cell phone in public, for it is the most commonly stolen item in the city. This ranks next to going to the currency exchange as the number one way to get mugged on your way home.
Also, be sure not to faint in a crowded area. One of my father’s friends, a decorated navy officer, was in full uniform when he fainted next to his car in a crowded parking lot. A crowd quickly gathered around him and watched as people stole his watch, wallet, and other valuables. This man, by a miracle, made it to the hospital and was well enough to pick us up from the airport when we arrived a few days ago. Unfortunately, when he returned to his car with my parents, much to his dismay he found both the side view mirrors stolen from his brand new sedan. When he approached a nearby guard and told him of the theft, the guard merely looked at him and said, “What do you want me to do about it?”
This brings us to our next lesson:
Don’t depend on security to keep your valuables secure.
Another kernel to keep in mind is to plan around the city’s scheduled power outages. While a marked improvement over the random power outages that occurred during the most inconvenient times, these occur twice a day for an hour. Different areas of the city lose power at different times, so be sure to prepare in advance.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is one of Pakistan’s most prolific musicians. Before his death in 1997 at the age of 48, Khan had recorded 125 albums. The man put out more ish after he died than Tupac! He is known for his great contributions to Qawwali, a Sufi devotional music. He got real popular around the world, and even recorded a few tracks with Eddie Vedder and Peter Gabriel. Even if you hate the color of his lips, I assure you that you will love this song.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan- Mustt Mustt
This summer, I wish to return to the land of my ancestors and subdue any instinct to colonize the natives. Instead, I plan on going incognito. No neon graphic tees, no skinny jeans, and no deodorant (jk). My mother told me I can’t bring skinny jeans because they are for girls. Mother, why couldn’t you have said something sooner!
However, so as not to be inadequately prepared, I will be bringing Junoon’s Greatest Hits, Hrithik Roshan’s Hot Dance Moves (2004), and my calculator watch. Along with some truly valuable books.
TRULY VALUABLE BOOKS INCLUDE:
Books I’d like to bring that may cause my detainment/waterboarding:
Dear Diary,
Tears ebb closer to my eyes as I reminisce on all the things I shall miss when I am ill and malcontent in Pakistan. My melancholy has seeped into the remotest regions of my soul and I am forced to indulge it by wallowing in emo-ridden mix cds. Disease will inevitably wreak havoc on my body. The electricity will certainly go out in the middle of the afternoon, and we will be left looking at each other sweat, comforted only by the thought that if I were to jump in the shower, at least I know it wouldn’t be hot.
But, fuck it, I can buy bootleg shit wherever I go!
(December 2005)
Last time I went to visit my family in Karachi, Pakistan, was in the winter of 2005. Back then I was really terrible at life. I used to take pictures like this for fun:
Although I took this pic as a joke, I now realize the joke was on me. My trip was a disaster. Luckily I have learned that in order to have a successful trip this time around, I must do the exact opposite of what I did last time, I have to not be a bitch about it.
However, knowing me, that may be far-fetched. Thus, I will be keeping track of all the times being a bitch hurts me most. Look out for more episodes in the, “What Not to Do in Pakistan” series, coming soon.
“In which is demonstrated, By what Methods one may, by the meer Light of Nature, attain the knowledg of things Natural and Supernatural; more particularly the Knowledg of God, and the Affairs of another Life.”
-Ibn Tufail
