The lights must stay on

Providing adequate security to schools and colleges is necessary, but so is strengthening our institutions from within

In the eastern Kenyan city of Garissa, last week, the world saw the horrors of violence in full force. The tragedy, in many ways, scratched wounds that are yet to heal from our own not-so-distant past. The attack in Garissa not only shared the vile attributes of hatred and bigotry with what we have gone through, it was also an attempt to bring the ugliest of ideologies in the noblest of places.

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to meet, interact and learn from Kenyan students. Earlier this year, in January, when I was in Kenya, I got an opportunity to spend time with them, and learn about their passion, their vision and their hope for a better future. I was, as I have always been, deeply inspired by their scholarship and their willingness to change the stagnant status quo (https://i1.tribune.com.pk/story/824173/appetite-for-wonder/). I did not get a chance to visit Garissa, but from what I have seen at other institutions in Kenya over the years, I have no doubt that their passion for the pursuit of knowledge and their love for learning was pure, authentic and inspiring. It is both unfortunate and myopic that we, in Pakistan, have somehow not reached out to those in Kenya. While we may not have all the answers to their questions, sometimes our concern and care are a lot mightier than those answers. It is also an opportunity for us to stand together, in the face of increasing violence and intolerance, with those who are afflicted with pain that we know a thing or two about.



Schools and universities are crucibles of hope and the engines of ingenuity. They nurture the ideas that shape the future and provide space for the greatest of human qualities: creativity. On a practical level, educational institutions provide room to learn outside the home, to many who have no home or if they do, there is little in the way of learning there. It is also an opportunity to meet and learn from those who help us learn the most, our peers. Aiming at an educational institution is not only aiming at the heart of the nation, it is also aiming to crumble the foundation of its future.

While no tragedy can be compared to another, and the causes, occurrence and aftermath of a mind-numbing tragedy are always unique, nonetheless it can bring people, separated by thousands of miles, into a unified resolve. This, I hope is one such moment. I hope that those deeply affected by the events at the APS in Peshawar will find strength to offer comfort to those in Kenya who have lived to see their worst nightmare play out.

But there is more to be done than just expressing solidarity with the families and friends of all those affected in Garissa. When the foundations or the core are threatened, not only do we have to fight the evil that threatens the core, but also have to strengthen the core from within. Fighting a disease as ugly as this one requires boosting our own internal immunity. Providing adequate security to schools, colleges and universities is necessary, but so is strengthening our institutions from within. Erecting higher boundary walls will not do as much as breaking down the internal walls of intolerance, discrimination, prejudice, socioeconomic favouritism and the biggest barrier of all, limited access.

Let this not be the time to shut down schools, but a time to build more and strengthen what we have. Let this not be the time to channel elsewhere the paltry funds given to education, but to channel our resources into creating a future that is illuminated by knowledge, creativity and peace.

In this time of immense darkness, the lights at schools, in Peshawar and in Garissa, must stay on.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th,  2015.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.