Pakistan is very……..

Tags

Church of Scotland, church world service, culture, history, karachi, Pakistan, pakistani culture, sindh, World Mission Council

Exciting: we arrived yesterday late morning after almost 24 hours worth of travelling each. We were tired when we arrived, but the adrenaline of being in a new land soon kicked in and all thoughts of tiredness were banished (at least from my head!).

Our first stop, after getting through security, we met our driver, Johnson, who took us to the Church World Service offices (CWS). Here we recieved a brief history of the organisation, alongside a security briefing for our visit and doing some general housekeeping for paperwork etc.

After spending some time with the staff at CWS, we were brought to our accomodation, which is in the compound of Central Brooks Memorial Church (picture below). The accomodation is basic, but more than adequate! Running water, comfortable beds, fridge stacked with water and air conditioning, we’re being spoiled!

 

Hot: The weather here is very hot and dry, dust in abundance. There are so many sights and smells that are familiar from the Faithshare visit I was on to Nepal last year. The weather is not the only hot thing here, the food is incredible! Not a single meal has passed without spice being used, sometimes hot, sometimes cool, but flavoured.

 

Complex: The socio-political context of Pakistan is mind blowing. So many ethnic groups are present in the country, each trying to ensure they are treated well and that their opinions are heard. Technically, Pakistan is a country where there is space for freedom of religious expression, this is not always the case though. Some Christians, and members of other faiths, get a hard time (quite an understatement) for not being Muslim. This issue is further compounded by the various social, ethnic and political divides.

 

Storied: There is such a long, diverse history to Pakistan. People have been settled here for millenia, different kingdoms have come and gone – each leaving behind their own mark in the culture. We visited a few places today to try and get a bit of cultural orientation for our visit, we barely scratched the surface! I mean, how many people know the story of Jinnah and the birth of Pakistan 60 odd years ago? Let alone the thousands of years worth of history that came before that!

 

 

Chaotic: Roads. Asian Roads. Quite a spectacle to see! Drivers here have a brazeness, a sense of courage, of assurance, that most UK drivers will never have. They are not as precious about their vehicles as we are – evidenced by the flaking paint and numerous dents. Lanes seem to be more of a suggestion than anything, as does any sense of a highway code, and trust me, it is not a suggestion many heed! Motorcyclists just squeeze themselves through any gap then can find, I’m amazed we haven’t seen more accidents! Or any at all for that matter!!

Peace Out, Chris

 

Now for Fiona….

Accidental Tourists

Hello – there are three of us here in Karachi from WMC just now visiting various church projects, and trying to learn more about Pakistan – its history and people. We just arrived yesterday, and so everything is very new to me, and we have just been talking about the more you find out, the less you feel that you know.

First impressions are of noise and bustle and heat and vibrant colour. Pakistan has a population of 180 million people, and about 13 million here in the city of Karachi alone.  Over the last 36 hours we have visited a number of different places in Karachi, via various traffic jams and stalls and rickshaws and motorbikes and donkeys and carts. Down some of the side streets there are amazing sights – you catch glimpses of cramped dark places where children play, electronic goods are sold, and men are selling cooked corn – flavoured with lime – salt and chilli.  It is just such a different way of life.

Yesterday Jenny from CWS kindly took me to buy a Shalwar Kameez in the local market, so I could be dressed correctly for going to the countryside. Because people in the countryside are conservative in their culture and dress code, we have to be very careful not to cause offence. It makes me very aware of the position of women here, and of all the issues they face, in terms of health and education and culture. I think I would find it hard to live here on a longer term basis.

Today we have our itinerary planned, but it was changed, so we had a cultural orientation day instead.  Hence we became accidental tourists for the day. We went down to the Arabian sea, where we went for a brief camel ride.  The camels were very docile, which was a relief. It was a little bumpy, but good fun. At the end however, we came back to a cultural norm, which seems to be about bartering about money – including lots of raised voices, arm waving and drama. It is exhausting. Again we had Jenny and Francis, another CWS driver, acting on our behalf, which was wonderful, but it still took 10 minutes to sort out, by which time half the people on the beach seemed to be involved ( slight exaggeration).

At Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s mausoleum, it was very beautiful, but also a very elegant building. There were naval soldiers on duty round about, and we saw a changing of the guard. There was however no writing anywhere to tell you anything about Jinnah, and that was disappointing. I think that Jinnah’s vision for Pakistan was one where there would be freedom for all people, and it would have been wonderful to have something of his vision represented. This has sparked more debate – about how far you have to understand history, to understand where a country is at. Yet how relevant is this to the ordinary person in the street? Just trying to survive, to make a living seems to be such a struggle in itself, that maybe these issues don’t seem to be central. Yet for the future of the country, maybe we need to be more conscious of a national identity to give people a constructive focus to work towards. Sometimes on the ground, life looks so chaotic, it is hard to know how things might improve. Any answers gratefully received!

Yours, puzzled,

Fiona

PS from Sandy

It is difficult to add anything to the contributions above from Chris and Fiona. They describe the vibrancy, energy, chaos, and flavour of what we have experienced during our first couple of days here. The care and hospitality of Church World Service staff, the excitement and tension of living, even as visitors, in a country like Pakistan. The dignity of Jinnah’s mausoleum, the holiday atmosphere of the beach, the pain and struggle of Asim Butt’s art exhibited at Mohatta Palace. All of these represent a very different facet of Pakistan, all are very true. As Fiona said, “Pakistan is very….!”