KARACHI: Something which perplexes me no end is why majority of Pakistanis do not stand up for their country and defend it when foreign or local media focuses only on the negatives of our society and nation?
Yes, we have problems, probably a lion’s share of them which I do not need to highlight as we all know the issues and challenges. But that still does not give anybody the right to lambast our country without presenting a proper and balanced picture.
In many recent articles, I have seen the authors criticising Pakistan as the most dangerous place to live, naming Karachi as the most dramatic symbol of instability, and many more such one-sided and unbalanced coverage of Pakistan and its people.
We all know many prosperous cities are faced with unrest, mugging and killing. Which mega city in the world is free from poverty and gang wars? In most nations and cities, there are good things to report as well, but to sensationalise the article many writers do not address the positive side. This regrettably prejudices global view of the country and its citizens.
Many would be surprised to hear that Karachi is the “Philanthropic Capital of the World”, with the highest per capita donation and charity. Pakistan has Edhi, the largest social charity organisation in the world.
Most recently, Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre in Karachi has obtained a $4.5 million Cyber Knife technology through private donation to treat cancer and tumours, which will be the only facility in the world to offer this treatment free of charge to the poor. But rarely one sees articles on such positive efforts.
We have amazing stories of NGOs doing innovative social development work in the area of education, health services, nutrition, eye and kidney care, deaf education, cancer research and treatment and the list goes on. The kind of response and volunteerism that was seen in the recent floods and earthquake reaffirms my belief that we are indeed a very great nation.
Pakistan also has a budding list of educational institutions. We have a population which shows perseverance, is brave and continues to help the poor and live on with their lives despite such challenging circumstances. It is our responsibility to highlight these aspects also while highlighting all the negative aspects.
It is unfair when one reads such damaging articles which will not only hurt the reputation of our country, but also impact investments coming to our country. Don’t get me wrong, we have issues, serious issues but people must also write about issues that will help our nation, something positive, something balanced.
I see our fellow Pakistanis busy on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc, sharing ideas, thoughts, giving opinion on issues and spending hours doing it. But when it comes to upholding your country’s reputation on media, majority of them remain silent or uninterested.
I strongly urge everyone to find the time to stand up against one-sided negative publicity of our nation. We need to take a bold stance, be upfront and not just pay lip service or remain silent. I urge our citizens to get on the internet and fight against unfair and unwarranted publicity. We need to help portray the true reality on the ground and try to pass the right perspective of our country to the world.
“Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world. For, indeed, that’s all who ever have,” said US cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead.
The writer works in the corporate sector and is active on various business forums and trade bodies.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2012
COMMENTS (49)
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@anjum: Ticket Katao! Jaldi Jao !
It is inspiring to see the great work going on in Karachi, in particular the charity work. But why did we end up needing all this charity? Why do we have to depend on public charity. Where is the government? Is this charity model sustainable long term? We need to select the right leaders, the right government who will ensure that policies/regulations/controls/etc are in place so that our cities are safe and can run properly and not depend on charity. We claim that we are talented. All this talent will add no value to the society and Country as a whole if we continue to behave corruptly and continue to allow corrupt leaders. We need to change and fix ourselves first before we can hope to improve our country.
Thanks mate! we need more light on the positive side of our society
@BlackJack: Says"Rehmat has actually said nothing good about India" You make it sound like saying anything good about India is a crime in Pakistan. It will be better if you guys compare your economic progress with Afghanistan or Bangladesh.
Author did not say anything to improve situation in Pakistan he is more intterested it in covering it up.
@ahmed: When people wear green glasses everything looks green to them. Shame of you for degrading people based on their jobs. You have lived in three continents but you did not learned anything good.
@Factsnotfairies: I hear you and everyone speaks from his or her experiances. It is bad and that is the reason we are discussing such issues as democracy, economy, peace, hope, etc. To me the worst thing we can do in this situation is to give up and let the criminal gangs and mafias take over our beloved country. Despite the worsening and pretty hopeless situation, many of us, must show more resilience and optimism that we can change this country for the better. Countries have been turned around and turned from much worse states, such as Columbia (drug mafia rule), South Africa (Aparthied), etc. Why can't we do it if we put some quality minds, caring hearts and focused efforts. Always remember that tough times do not last, but tough people do.
@Canadian Hindu: We have a long way to go, a lot of issues and serious problems with poverty, illitracy, health care, corruption, etc. But we still have scores of caring and empethatic peoples and organizations. We have a lot of people who love this country and its people and would work towards making Pakistan a place for everyone.
@Harry Stone:
To own yourself, you must assert yourself and to assert yourself you must know yourself.
All I intend to do is propagate and resonate our strengths. Hope too is infectious...
@Citizen of Pakistan:
Yes none of the nations you listed except Russia comes close to having over 180 million citizens. What you failed to point out is which of those nations have a higher standard of living and a better quality of life. I would think PAK in that mertic would rank nearly as high.
@Citizen of Pakistan: Dear Friend - Rehmat has actually said nothing good about India - he in fact says that despite having a very high GDP (not PPP but in absolute terms as well), poverty is still a serious concern in India. Having a larger GDP than countries with far lower population is no consolation - it is the per capita income (absolute) that needs to rise. And the fact that Pak GDP per capita was higher than India's for a very long time is well-known.
Well said Saad! A much needed boost of positivity!
Despite all the problems and challenges (mainly due to mismanagement and lack of good governance) Pakistanis remain a hard working, enterprising, solution-oriented people. We need to spread a feeling of hope and optimism and balance the negativity (often justified) with positivity (equally justified!). If you don't believe me, check out this roundup of the amazing news stories from the month of January (2012): http://goodnews.pk/2012/01/29/good-news-roundup-jan-2012/ For a change, let's talk about The Good News! :)
As much as i hate the negative about my country, i would like to ask the writer to please inform as to where did he get this philanthropic capital statistic. statics are a liar's best friend they say
@Aviator: We just need to hang in there with this ongoing democratic process. Things won't get rosy overnight, corruption etc. are routine in almost all of the world, some desparate politicians are trying to make institutions fight among themselves but if we keep our patiance alive and wait out this evolving cycle of electing our reps in the government, we'll witness rapid positive change that we all deserve. Next assembly will be composed of better people. I can swear by my statement.
This message should be forcefully delivered to our government.
@Canadian Hindu: That is true and I already stated that we have a lion's share of problems. All I am asking is to give a balanced picture, positives with negatives ... as we also have a lot of positives .
@Citizen of Pakistan: Appreciate your patriotism. The reason the Pakistani people do not feel the power of the type of indicators you mentioned is that these are gross numbers and not per capita numbers (which is what people experience). To quote your logic and using the same source (for which let me provide the correct url http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ListofcountriesbyGDP_(PPP) , India's GDP is greater than that of ALL ARab countries put together )including KSA + Turkey + Pakistan. This does not however mean that India has a lot of poor people who cannot find consolation in such facts.
If the author can't figure out why there aren't Pakistanis that are writing positive about Pakistan when there are so many local and foreign journalists that criticize it - then he's either not that bright or chooses not to say. The reason these 'local and foreign' journalists criticize Pakistan is because they are paid handsomely for it. Trust me, I know one such person and you wouldn't believe how well he's compensated. How much money is being poured into writing positively about Pakistan?
@ahmed
Its good to be proud of your country, but here is the 2011 UNDP report. You'll notice that Pakistan ranks as "Low" in the Human Development Index, just slightly higher than Bangladesh and Nepal. while India is ranked "Medium".
Reference: http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR2011TablesSouthAsia.xls
@ Mehdi Zafar ... very encouraging. Wish you all the best and would like to help or assist in spreading a postive word about Pakistan. All the best with Emerald TV :)
Excellent. For this reason I don't watch TV much time because they highlight only negative things.
There is a very systematic media war against Pakistan but the most unfortunate thing is that Pakistanis are number 1 in promoting this propaganda.
The problem is that Pakistan is a hard country to sell at the moment, and this is entirely owed to the 'War on terror' which has overshadowed all the 'good' that Pakistan has to offer, whether these are individual sacrifices, philanthropy and countless wonderful attributes you have cited in this article.
Pakistan can only rise in the eyes of those abroad once it starts to disengage from (a) This war, and (b) Sponsoring militancy. It is only when Pakistan starts becoming politically stable and removes these skeletons from its closet that it can project its virtues.
Pakistan is currently lawless, its reputation bites the dust with report of intolerance, terrorism and extremism - not to mention events such as Salmaan Taseer's assassination and the political intrigue that has gripped the country. These are far more 'newsworthy' and 'exciting' stories to report. These events and policies simply overshadow everything else.
We, as Pakistanis, first need to tackle these issues in our society and state policies - i.e. political change. Once that is achieved and an environment is created whereby extremists start to calm down and lawlessness is abated, the virtues of Pakistan can be projected without the overwhelming stigma of terrorism and militancy. I know that this is a simplistic narrative, but history bears witness to the fact that after wars, societies mend their ways, they undergo reflection and try to reform (Japan, Nazi Germany, the USSR, Indonesia, Vietnam, Turkey after WW1, China, etc).
Here's another interesting fact about Pakistan.
The world's dream economy India had an absolute poverty rate of 43%, according to UNDP report. That same figure stands at 17% for Pakistan.
For us Pakistanis, India has always been the nearest yardstick that we could compare ourselves with. I have lived on three different continents, and always found Indians and Bangladeshis dying to get low paying menial jobs, in construction or sanitation etc. Where as Pakistanis, whether they are Pashtuns in the Middle east or Gujuratis in Europe. The all had an innovative spirit and ran their own businesses and never settled for something which was menial.
Based on purchasing power parity principle (PPP)*. Here are some interesting facts:
Out of forty five sovereign European states including Russia & Turkey only NINE have economies larger than that of Pakistan. 36 of them topped by Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland all have economies smaller than that of Pakistan.
In the Arab-Oil Zone the COMBINED economy of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq is smaller than Pakistan.
In greater Central Asia Region, the COMBINED economy of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan are smaller than that of Pakistan.
In the rest of the middle east the COMBINED economies of Syria, Israel, Jordan & Lebanon are smaller than Pakistan.
In the Indian Ocean, the COMBINED economies of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Brunei, Maldives and Bhutan are smaller than that of Pakistan
Anyone can do the math: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ListofcountriesbyGDP_(PPP)
Thanks for being positive...as you pointed out that most of our media representatives are on propagating negative agenda from unseen hands. However, still I believe, as you pointed out, that a few positive can initiate the change at no time....
Whenever there's a discussion on philanthropy among me and my foreign buddies, I do mention Edhi and all the wonderful things he has done.
I do not particularly enjoy nodding when they ask prickly questions like, "Is it true that Osama was found hiding not very far from a military academy in Pakistan?". But as it turns out, I'm not fond of lying either. For me, truth is more sacred than my nationality.
Yes, credit must be given where credit is due, and that I always do. But we ought to acknowledge our errors, and not pretend that our defects do not exist. Needless to say, I except my foreign friends to do the same when I point out the flaws of their countries, and yes, they own up to their mistakes as well.
It's not unfair to report the news and in Pakistan much of that news is bad. Your own blog makes it apparent that "good news" is hard to find since you spent the entire article complaining and only pointed out one items which was "good news".
@Naseer Muhammad:
This is great to hear some thing positve about us, I, 100% agree with Saad Khan's point of veiw, surly will do some thing to defuse wrong image portray by media and anti Pakistan fobia.
Thanks GOD i have seen something positive about Pakistan on ET and Writer really deserve to appreciate for his positive thinking ..........Real problem of this country is vision,leadership and positive thinking.The day we will start taking few things positive with self realization , many of our problems will b sought out.
Dear Anjum and JK
With your attitude it would be better if both of you left the country. Anjum, if you don't like something, change it, galvanise support to make a difference like so many others are. And JK, religion is personal. Let's try to keep it that way. Do you really think there is a Muslim Ummah? The Arabs don't give a damn about you and think all non-Arabs are dirt (except for goras of course). Our identity first and foremost is as Pakistanis. If we start thinking this way, we'll be a stronger nation and probably better Muslims too.
A. Khan
oh baba All is well.
Keep your eyes closed and Pakistan will turn in to a heaven
I am so happy to read your article. BRAVO! it's about time we start looking at the glass as half full rather than empty. Keep it coming:)
True, could not agree more. There are never reports of success stories. I got help from a Swedish company after giving them a presentation on Pakistan, if investors can be sold on Pakistan why can't the media.
Stand Up for Our Country & removes this jagirdarna System out. Wake up allllll. In this Country Pakistan we all are Pakistanis belonging to different Caste , Color & Creed . Dont bring up Religion when are apart of this land we are a Family & are known as Pakistanis . rise up Pakistanis
India has succeeded in doing so
Pakistani media needs to spread our viewpoint to global audience and not their to us. We can get their's on their own websites.
I admire you for this much needed piece. Agree with you totally.
Our media needs to focus more on the positives than the negatives. ET unfortunately also does carry lots of irevelant negatives in its main news
wrong, stand up for our religion, not country
Good for this article to stand up of our Pakistan...correct information of our country...all of people will make to our country.
Dear Sir, HAve you visited the bathrooms at JPMC? They have degenerated to being not much more than very filthy holes in the grounds. I doubt even animals would refuse to 'use' such facilities. I suggest that the 4.5 million dollars would have been better spent refurbishing the bathrooms, after all a few months down the road this very expensive imported machine will be gathering dust with a 'out of order' sign posted on it just like the CT scans in most public hospitals. I can't wait for my visa to leave this unfortunate country for good. Anjum Riaz, Karachi.
We are an immature society and don't quite understand the power of media. Developed countries use media to shape others' opinion in a controlled manner and understand the importance of confidentiality. We will go on to blabber anything in the name of freedom of expression.
Absolutely correct....koi mulk perfect naheen hota ...ussay perfect banana perta hae and i have a firm belief that Pakistanis are a very special nation if they are guided on the correct path ....they can change the face of the world i request to be positive always no matter how much the things are going in wrong direction.... this is the teaching of Islam also
That's because most the twitterati is ideologically motivated to harp on about secularism or Islamism or some other ism. Both the left and the right, they're not interested in Pakistan, only their delusional mindsets and theories. Call them the pseudo-intellectuals. Given the underdeveloped intellectual capability of Pakistanis, particularly the "liberals", they are easily taken by propoganda and become themselves an avenue for it.
I agree with the author. As an example if the only image you had of London were the TV images of the August Riots, would you conclude that London is a dark and highly dangerous city? Yes it did expose deep problems in the city, but it would be a great shame if someone were to form their opinion of the place based on those few tv images. To me, as a born and raised londoner, its one of the most amazing cities on earth!
I think the same applies to pakistan. Yes there are many dark and deep problems in pakistan which rightly should be highlighted and ways of overcoming them discussed. But it is equally important to highlight what is great about pakistan. Ive lived in pakistan for several years, ive seen the good, the bad and the ugly, there are so many great things about pakistan and pakistanis that should be highlighted.
The only reports about pakistan on BBC are about the usual terrorism, political malaise, but absolutely nothing at all about the thriving pakistani music and arts scene, the geography, and philanthropic activities.
Bravo!!!! Excellent article you have hit the nail on the head!!!!!