Money is the root of all good

Overseas Pakistanis are now more important than those within the country.

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I was a school kid during the 90s. I remember some of the jokes we used to repeat. One such joke was that every Pakistani citizen owed a certain amount of money to the IMF, based on how much Pakistan was borrowing from the IMF. Today, Pakistan is perhaps under a much larger debt of the IMF. Miraculously, I do not owe a penny to the IMF. I didn't pay my share of the debt in case you are wondering. I merely left Pakistan and settled in America.

I have another story from our recent times. Every now and then, we see on social media some Muslim man offering namaz in public. I have seen a video of a Pakistani cricketer offering prayers on a roadside in perhaps New York. I have also seen videos where Muslim men of Pakistani origin offer namaz on top of their vehicle's trunk, which is parked on a busy street, or in the aisle of the economy class cabin of some international airline, blocking people from passing through to reach their seats.

Many might find it offensive but people do not get attracted to others because they pray in public or because they wave their national flag every year during their independence day celebration. I have yet to hear of a non-Muslim converting to Islam by seeing another Muslim praying in the aisle of the economy class cabin creating trouble for everyone. I also do not know anyone who would be passionate about taking the oath of citizenship of a country where they sing songs on their national independence day.

People, education, scientific development, religious practice and all other aspects of human survival need money. Imam wants money. Masjids need money. The man who makes the national flag needs money to make it. Those singing the songs and those who wrote the lyrics - yes you guessed it - also want money.

People want to go to America not because Americans go to church every Sunday or because they celebrate enthusiastically on July 4, but rather because people can earn a decent income in America. Millions of Pakistanis are leaving Pakistan because while they're sure that every August 14 there would be songs and celebrations and Pakistan might even make the largest flag the world has ever seen, but what they are even more sure of is the sad fact that there is no bright future for them in Pakistan.

A country is dear to its citizens when they can see that they have a fair chance of survival within those borders. When a society lacks justice and fairplay, where the rich get richer and the poor become poorer, then an exodus is the only resort left for those who are ambitious enough to achieve financial freedom. I remember there was a time when those who couldn't become doctors and engineers were the ones who always thought of leaving Pakistan for foreign lands in the West. Today, the top-notch young talent is trying aggressively to run for the airports.

Pakistan, sadly, has become a country where the overseas Pakistanis are arguably more important than those who live within Pakistani borders. The main reason they are important is because they send foreign remittances. I am an overseas Pakistani and I remember we were the ones who were rejected by the system - a system where favouritism thrived, where survival of the fattest was the rule of thumb. Today, that system tells us we matter more than those who benefited from that favouritism.

Because we bring money to the table. We also have a louder voice over Pakistani politics due to the democratic ideals in lands where we acquired citizenship. You can hate us or you can judge us but we are the product of this system that rejected us once, but that system forgot that it also loves anything and anyone that's foreign.