Spillover: Extremism at home affects Pakistanis in Rome
Expatriates say they are treated with suspicion by the police.
ROME:
The surge of terrorist activities within Pakistan has not only destabilised the country internally, it has affected the diaspora as well, say Pakistani expatriates.
While the Pakistani community in Rome is saddened by a barrage of disturbing news from home, they say they are feeling a shift in attitude towards them by the Italian people as well.
The police and administration treated us with respect because we stayed away from criminal activities, said Ansar Butt, owner of a mini mart at Piazza di Porta Maggiore area of Rome.
“But now, there is a significant change in the attitude of the police here,” he said.
“We are treated with suspicion and whenever a Pakistani is involved in something controversial, it is played up on the media,” he added.
On one hand we are saddened by the state of affairs in Pakistan and on the other we are harassed by the police here, said Butt. A large number of Pakistanis have migrated to other parts of Italy due to this shift in attitude, he added.
The conditions are not the same now as they were 5 years ago, said Mohmmad Waseem, a restaurant owner in Rome.
“While the global financial crisis snatched jobs from our youth, the situation at home added to discrimination towards them,” he said.
Waseem, 76, has been living abroad for 37 years but still feels connected with events at home.
Expressing his concern over capture of Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad, he said: “Whether it is true or not, people repeatedly ask us why we sheltered Osama in our country. I don’t know what to say to them.”
Expatriates also appeared unable to grasp the events at home. “I was shaken the day Osama was caught in Pakistan,” Mohammad Ibrar, who runs a travel agency in Rome told The Express Tribune.
“I really don’t understand how it happened in Pakistan,” he said, bewildered.
“The Mehran base attack was truly shattering because we did not expect our armed forces to be so vulnerable,” he added.
Every day we hope for better news from Pakistan and every day we hear something worse than before, bemoans Ibrar.
The Pakistani diaspora, however, is not short on their explanations of events at home.
Some say the events are a conspiracy by Pakistan’s enemies while others call it a ‘great game’ played by US to gain control of the geo-strategically important region.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.
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[poll id="239"]
The surge of terrorist activities within Pakistan has not only destabilised the country internally, it has affected the diaspora as well, say Pakistani expatriates.
While the Pakistani community in Rome is saddened by a barrage of disturbing news from home, they say they are feeling a shift in attitude towards them by the Italian people as well.
The police and administration treated us with respect because we stayed away from criminal activities, said Ansar Butt, owner of a mini mart at Piazza di Porta Maggiore area of Rome.
“But now, there is a significant change in the attitude of the police here,” he said.
“We are treated with suspicion and whenever a Pakistani is involved in something controversial, it is played up on the media,” he added.
On one hand we are saddened by the state of affairs in Pakistan and on the other we are harassed by the police here, said Butt. A large number of Pakistanis have migrated to other parts of Italy due to this shift in attitude, he added.
The conditions are not the same now as they were 5 years ago, said Mohmmad Waseem, a restaurant owner in Rome.
“While the global financial crisis snatched jobs from our youth, the situation at home added to discrimination towards them,” he said.
Waseem, 76, has been living abroad for 37 years but still feels connected with events at home.
Expressing his concern over capture of Osama bin Laden from Abbottabad, he said: “Whether it is true or not, people repeatedly ask us why we sheltered Osama in our country. I don’t know what to say to them.”
Expatriates also appeared unable to grasp the events at home. “I was shaken the day Osama was caught in Pakistan,” Mohammad Ibrar, who runs a travel agency in Rome told The Express Tribune.
“I really don’t understand how it happened in Pakistan,” he said, bewildered.
“The Mehran base attack was truly shattering because we did not expect our armed forces to be so vulnerable,” he added.
Every day we hope for better news from Pakistan and every day we hear something worse than before, bemoans Ibrar.
The Pakistani diaspora, however, is not short on their explanations of events at home.
Some say the events are a conspiracy by Pakistan’s enemies while others call it a ‘great game’ played by US to gain control of the geo-strategically important region.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 13th, 2011.
____________________________________________
[poll id="239"]