Returning home to Pakistan

After a 26-hour flight from California, any person would welcome land beneath their feet, unless it's land where there has been so much unrest. This country, to which I traveled recently, is Pakistan. It is my parents' native land where they still own property. The last time I was in Pakistan was 10 years ago when the country was very different than it is now.

Upon arrival at Lahore's International Airport, I had a lot of anxiety. Having watched the turmoil unfolding on American media, I was afraid that we would be attacked just for being foreigners. Pakistan has been in the news consistently since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The country's reputation, at least in America, is known to be a country that manufactures and promotes terrorism.

As we drove from Lahore to Faisalabad, our home city, there were signs throughout the cities of the turmoil in the country. The military has stationed snipers all over the cities, sitting behind barricades of sand bags on rooftops with their guns positioned in a way to quickly attack anyone that may cause unrest. The constant stopping of cars and questioning of the drivers and passengers speaks of the Pakistanis' own fear of terrorism.


To anyone who grew up in America, the poverty is immediately apparent. I was reminded of this when several women approached me and asked for money to help feed their children. Soon, I realized that those who beg are not in the lowest classes of the country. Some of them make more money than the man that works a labor job of cleaning the streets all day with a jahrooh (hand-broom).

 This is a country where the extremely rich cannot turn a blind eye to the poor, who often work for the wealthy. The poor live among the rich in houses built of mud bricks. There are homes built by wealthy Pakistanis that cost millions of rupees (the currency of Pakistan; one U.S. dollar is worth 84 rupees). Next door to these mansions are mud-brick hut with dirt floors inhabited by the less fortunate. These poor people live as nomads, moving from city to city to find work, settling down for a few months at a time.
 
 In Pakistan, people believe everything can be reused. Many wealthy people who can afford cars unashamedly throw trash out of their car windows, only for it to be picked up by someone and reused. Technology seems ancient for this very reason. When asked why they don't upgrade, I was told, "Why? It still works!"

This mentality reaches across the culture, from used clothing to plastic shopping bags. If there is some use left in an object, it will be used.

The purpose for my visit was to attend my niece's arranged marriage, which turned out to be an interesting event. My niece and her husband were quite comfortable throughout the wedding ceremony despite the two not knowing each other beforehand.

 This was a three-day event. Unfortunately, the local police do not allow large gatherings to continue after midnight, so we were forced to move the festivities from the marriage hall to our home. This, I later found out, is another way the government of Pakistan ensures safety of its people.

 The visit changed my view of Pakistan from many different angles. Although the country has its problems as every country does, the remarkable cultural fabric of the country makes up for what it lacks. Despite the problems, I share the hope that many youth have of Pakistan one day becoming a large economic power that is void of the corruption that infects it now.

Since my return to Sacramento, my friends and family have been asking me questions about my stay in Pakistan. During one such conversation, a friend asked me if Pakistan is a democracy.

"Yes, it is," I said.
 
"Really? Are the elections legitimate?" my friend asked.

"Are America's?" I asked.

Sadia Ashraf is a former Current staff writer now attending Sacramento State.