Needed: space upstairs

Either we build more open spaces for the flow of ideas, or we continue to lose pioneers like Sabeen

For me, even the name “The Second Floor” (T2F) has a dual meaning. Not only is it literally on the second floor, but it is a space above ground where the noise of bigotry and the sounds of intolerance is often deafening. T2F to me symbolises a higher level of conversation, an elevated platform for reason and a place that rises above malice and injustice of society. It simply is not on the same level as everything else that shapes our daily lives. It is a step above.

The creator of T2F was also above the rest of us. Simultaneously, a humanitarian and an entrepreneur, a social activist and a patron of the arts and inquiry, Sabeen Mahmud reflected a higher level of commitment and passion. T2F reminds me that when there is no more room to grow on the ground, you have no choice but to go up.



Sabeen’s death is not just a reminder of our tragic and troubled times, it is also a reflection of us as a society. It is a reflection of how little we all are doing and how just a very small and diminishing minority is carrying most of the weight for establishing a more inclusive and tolerant society. Sabeen’s bravery and passion not only underscores how much such individuals are able to achieve in a short period of time, but it also tells us of our collective failures to guard them and their ideals. Throw a stone and you will strike a so-called political pundit and an expert of domestic and foreign affairs, but people who build something are the rarest of species in the homeland. What hurts is not just the unimaginable loss of a pioneer, but also the dearth of such people left amongst us. Yet, the gravest of injustices would be to let the entropy of society reign supreme. It may take tens, or hundreds of us, to recreate and rebuild, but build we must.

We have to recognise that the problems we face are our own and we alone have the responsibility to solve them. To quote the famous comic Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” We have to fight intolerance and bigotry within our own institutions, families, work spaces and circles of influence. Colouring ourselves in a single stripe of politics, and condemning all others who disagree with us to the lowly confines of insulting labels is not going to take us anywhere. What might work is not giant conspiracy theories involving a covert plan our anchors have uncovered that involves Chinese investments, Balochistan, T2F, India, Israel and all the world, but instead an effort to create a small but effective ‘safe space’ — where all ideas, even the most bizarre of conspiracy theories like the ones being floated these days, can be discussed with decency and debated in a civilised manner. Instead of a virtual memorial on Twitter that disappears in an instant, what may last longer is a real space, small as it may be, that reaches out to people of all walks of life beyond the language and cultural barrier, above the confines of gender and socio-economic divides. We need not just one T2F, we need many, many more, in the elite urban centres and the less flashy rural towns.

At the end, we have two choices and two choices alone. Either we build more open spaces for the flow of ideas, for passionate minds, young and old, to come together and debate with decency, the intricacies of the past and the complexities of the future, to celebrate creativity and compassion or we continue to lose pioneers like Sabeen. The only problem is that people like Sabeen don’t come around very often, and we do not have many of her calibre left amongst us.

We have to make a choice.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th,  2015.

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