Intellesctuals Corner

By NismaChauhan

        The ‘irony’ – a tale of an overseas Pakistani (part3)

Just a few days ago, sitting in class and waiting for the teacher to arrive,my friends and I got involved in a conversation which I am sure every Pakistani irrespective of the place they are in, end up talking about.

 Yes. It was indeed about the current happenings in Pakistan, the target killing, phone snatching, suicide attacks and all that.

It wasn’t my first time talking about such issues;but it definitely was the first time that I saw all these with a different perspective. There was something about a statement my friend had passed that kept me thinking. It was indeed her realization that struck me!

‘You know, I just realized, despite being in the city classified to be ‘the most dangerous’, I haven’t experienced anything. Let it be someone getting shot in front of me, being in the crowd where there is a suicide bomb attack or perhaps even in a public bus getting robbed.’  

I don’t understand what was there in those simple words that got to me. I started evaluating it all, because I am one of her. The one who haven’t faced any of these tragic situations, the one, who if ever asked about the situation in her country or city, would without any hesitation say ‘Oh there is nothing happening, everything is very normal!’

It isn’t like I am not grateful to the fact that I haven’t been the ‘victim’. But if I haven’t ever experienced it the way those innocent souls had been involved in such devastating moments of their life then who gives me the right to whine?

Why am I the one always complaining about it all? Why am I the one making myself look like an innocent victim? The one who needs justice? The one who needs change?

To be very honest, it doesn’t bother me any more if there is target killing or a murder. In fact, I have lost count of the people getting killed every day. Usually, I immediately skip the metropolitan section of the newspaper. If one part of the city is under attack, I go eat in a restaurant in the other.

Does that mean I have become heartless and ignorant? If so, then why do I still hold conversations about how the situation in my city/country is getting worse day by day? Why do I try hard to connect dots and look for answers?

Unfortunately, I am not the only one. Surprisingly, at least one individual of every household thinks the same.

Lives a happy life.Does nothing about the surrounding. Yet, complains about it all!

Now here is what I think.It may be wrong to many under different grounds.

 Remember how we dress up good and behave properly in a posh restaurant, only because we want to give a positive impression. That is it, the reason behind those constant whining and complaining.

We want things in our country to get better so that people we move around with think we are just as good as they are. We look at the citizens of countries who have a better living standard! Right there is the bench mark they set;the one that everyone should follow. Hence, bridge gap between the developed and the developing.

So we whine; strive hard to become one of them.

However, do we ever look at the countries which are worse than ours or talk about how Pakistan being better than so and so and feel blessed?

Of course not! We don’t have time to think about it because we are too busy pointing fingers. After all we are humans, and we have a tendency to do so. Isn’t it?