I’m not a burger, I’m a shawarma

Living abroad has its perks, obviously. Security, excellent education, availability of international brands — the list goes on. Having to move back to Pakistan has perks too. Barring security issues, as my father says, “Pakistan is heaven.” He refers mainly to the quality of fruit, the fact that he gets to spend time with his mother and the prospect of not having to drive.

Moving back to the country, as I did six months ago, was more of a culture shock than anything else. This, in all honesty, is quite ironic because, at the end of the day, most people who have been brought up in the Middle East are Pakistani through and through. We speak Urdu, wear shalwar kameez on a regular basis and have Pakistani friends. Why, then, is it difficult to adjust?

Introducing the term ‘burger’: the current definition of the word leans more towards being too ‘Westernised’. Time and time again, throughout the summers I spent in Karachi, I’d be subjected to the term. This, unfortunately, hasn’t changed. Be it my accent, or the way I would slightly pepper my Urdu with snippets of not only English but also Arabic and French, I was constantly referred to as a ‘burger’. It would confuse me because I didn’t grow up in England or America or any Western country for that matter. I grew up in Abu Dhabi (you know, the city next to Dubai). I would then think, ‘why are they calling me a burger? I’m not Westernised.’

I then came across an article on Third Culture Kids (TCK). According to sociologist David C Pollok, a TCK is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her development years outside their parents’ culture. This term appealed to me more than ‘burger’ did, but it was too broad. Being a TCK meant that I could have been brought up anywhere, from Ghana to New York. It didn’t fit.

Enter the term ‘shawarma’: a Middle Eastern food staple, there’s the classic Lebanese shawarma, or the spicier version, known as the Mexici. Much like the beef or chicken burger is an American one. The shawarma is the epitome of Middle Eastern food, making it the perfect term to describe a person like me. It’s not a term I’ve coined, but one I came across online. It’s perfect in every sense, both literally and figuratively. People like me, or shawarmas, are accustomed to a multitude of cultures. So, I’m not a burger, I’m a shawarma.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2014.