It may have been the Saudis who were responsible for 9/11 but Al-Qaeda had undoubted links in Pakistan
KARACHI:
I bet you never knew there was a Beatles song that goes, Don’t dig no Pakistanis taking all the people’s jobs. Actually I would be surprised if you had ever heard it. The peace-loving band that produced hits such as Let it Be, had satirically aimed the song at racist politicians such as Enoch Powell who, back in the ‘60s, campaigned vigorously against immigration.
Fearing that the satirical song could become a racist anthem, they never released it and ended up changing the lyrics entirely. The “Paki” immigrants invoked by the song were one image of Pakistanis that pervaded the public conscious at the time. Another was of the corner-shop-owning Pakistani, who works all hours in pursuit of a better life. Both stereotypes were undoubtedly real though barely representative of us as a nation. But between them and our cricketers, we as a nation had a fairly positive image in the minds of people at large as a hardworking, somewhat mercurial race. Post 9/11, all that has changed.
It may have been the Saudis who were responsible for 9/11, but Al-Qaeda had undoubted links in Pakistan. It was British Pakistanis who were responsible for the London bombings. Osama Bin Laden was found in Pakistan. The would-be New York bomber was a Pakistani. It’s a damning list. Hearing about the Boston Marathon bombing, the first thought most Pakistanis probably had was, “Please don’t let it have been a Pakistani who did this”.
And yet, these violent terrorists are no more representative of our nation than the gun-toting lunatics who kill school children are representative of America. In the last two years, America has seen the Tuscon shooting, the Aurora Movie theatre shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Yet Americans aren’t invariably portrayed as gun-toting lunatics.
Conversely, it is difficult to find a portrayal of Pakistanis in popular culture other than as terrorists. Whether it’s in the GI Joe sequel or Agent Vinod, the only Pakistan we see in films or on TV is a dangerous place. Where are the urbane Pakistani doctors and the vain fashionistas who think a Birkin is a substitute for a personality? Where are the jetsetting bon-viveurs, the ordinary conservative Pakistanis and the misfit second generation immigrants?
Eastenders, a British Soap Opera, is an exception in that it had Pakistani characters from 2007 to 2013, none of whom were involved in terrorism. Of course being a soap opera, the characters were involved in story lines that covered everything from domestic violence to embezzlement, but at least there was no terrorism.
It’s bad enough that there is rarely anything positive about Pakistan that is considered news-worthy. India gets features about its fashion and glamour as well as feel-good stories to counter the stories of rape and corruption that also hit the news. Pakistan, on the other hand, suffers from negative reporting from even respected broadcasters like the BBC. Less reputable but still popular broadcasters like Fox News have no compunction in painting us as black as sin, jettisoning accuracy in the pursuit of their own agenda.
In this environment, it’s a shame that the usually liberal, free-thinking types that make up the entertainment industry, can’t find positive images of Pakistan to use in their art — whether it’s music, film or canvas. We ourselves have produced some cracking novelists and musicians but our own film industry is a crippled mess. The renaissance in our television production has put across various positive images of Pakistan but this has a limited audience.
So it’s the ordinary Pakistanis who get a double whammy. We are the ones who have suffered the most at the hands of terrorists and yet, abroad, we are lumped together with the fanatics. We may be conservationists or teachers, artists or financial wizards but to most of the world, we are all terrorists.
Oxford-grad Salima Feerasta is a social commentator and lover of style in any form or fashion. She blogs at karachista.blogspot.com and tweets @karachista
Published in The Express Tribune, April 28th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (15)
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@waste: And other thing all the Developed countries in the world are also slaves to western culture so why count only Pakistan?! I dont think their is anything wrong in that!! Because we cannot stay Conservative always!
@waste: Fashion , Music and |Film are counted because a happy and progressing country has a good entertainment industry too . But we have nothing for entertainment , Entertainment is the need of life you cannot ignore it!!
I dont understand why we as a society are fixated on our "Image" ! It doesn't matter what your image you cant change people's mind. Till this day and for however many years to come Germany will be synonymous with Nazis and Hitler, America with its ethnocentric Gun totting hilly billies with beer-guts. Prejudice will always exist, just focus on progress and growth. And Understand that as resilient as we are we will one day crawl back out of this hole. Self pity is for the weak
@Author
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad has been identified as "the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks" by the 9/11 Commission Report. The Saudis were mere pawns in this attacked planned by a pakistani.
@USIndian
I wonder why they have to impersonate themselves as Indians, when they are ethnically/culturally/idealogically/...closer to the turks/uzbeks/tajiks/arabs/persians/afghans.
Pakistan sells as a villain these days in media. They no longer have a Soviet Union these days or a repressing Chinese regime, so we are making up for them!
@Deepwater: Please read about the controversy in the USA about gun regulation. They are not managing to do anything to even make it slightly harder to get guns despite many high profile massacres. That said I do agree that violence here is a daily and soul sappin experience while they live in comparative peace in the US
So true n spot on!
@Deepwater: Sorry deepwater, but I agree with what is written. What the lady has given here is a succinct mirror of what we were and what we have morphed. The comparison is a grasp of how we behave, think, act, and what we have morphed into. All in all the article is a good reminder of what we have to re-define. No hard feelings and have a nice day. Salams
PS: Of course, a hit on the head of the mullahs would have gone a long day in making my day.
It's unfortunate that all Pakistanis are branded that way. I have Pakistani friends who I play cricket with after office. They are all nice. Having said that, Pakistanis have brought it upon themselves. They need to strongly protest terrorist activities through their blogs and whenever get a chance they should expose suspicious activities of a fellow country man. It's not happening enough because liberal pakistanis abroad are scared of going against the masses.
Most of the pakistanis in Pakistan live in a world of denial and that is a contagious disease. Pakistanis leaving abroad should be careful of that.
"And yet, these violent terrorists are no more representative of our nation than the gun-toting lunatics who kill school children are representative of America."
Hardly comparable, terrorism in and from Pakistan are on whole orders of magnitude greater than anything coming out of the US or most other nations on this planet. Yes you get the occasional crazy person who is a mentally ill loner (Lanza), who thinks he is the Joker (Aurora), or who was diagnosed with schizophrenia (Loughner). However that pales in comparison with the constant sectarian attacks, weekly bombings, mafia violence, and seemingly endless terror plots that emanate from Pakistan. Sorry but the small group of emigrated doctors, fashionistas, and their progeny that may make up maybe 0.2% of the population will not change the image of any country let alone Pakistan.
Awesome, awesome article! Seems like you took the words right out of my mouth! And this is to be seen in almost every second indian movie. The biased secular neighbors! Fie!
100% Agree with you. I have many Pakistani friends in US who impersonate themselves as Indians for this very reason.
There is a big difference between the violence that takes place in America versus what happens in Pakistan on a daily basis. The violent incidents in America are universally condemned and law and order machinery quickly takes charge. All of the perpetrators involved in the crimes that you mentioned were either killed or are in jail. Introspection happens and steps are taken to prevent such incidence from recurring.
The violence in Pakistan is hardly ever universally condemned within the country. Law and order is ineffective and incompetent. Evil men are bred in the foolish hope that they will only target the enemy. Discrimination against the minorities is written into law. Fundamentalist believes are prevalent and the brainwashing begins in school at a very early stage.
Comparing the two countries therefore has no merit.
why movies and music and fashion kind of things are always mentioned as standards of positive image... many countries in world dont have hollywoods and fashion weeks, but they still have heir own image, this is one of many articles that show our minds being slave to western culture, respect yourself and the world will respect you, we dont necessarily need western standards to prove our self good, even why to prove ourslef are we standing in their courts as culprits, we dont we do all these good things for our own sake...