For the love of the city: Martin Van Camp on giving back to ‘kind Karachi’

Belgian social worker traces the origins of his Goan forefathers who helped build the city

KARACHI:

Martin Van Camp is scared. He fears the white on the national flag, which he claims he is a part of, is fading. "The green on the flag is so strikingly beautiful," he exclaims. "But sadly, it is taking over the white bit too, narrowing it down gradually. Please don't let the white part disappear," he pleaded to the 20-odd people who had turned up to listen to his tale at The Second Floor cafe on Thursday.

Their heads bow in shame. Here is one man, a supposed outsider, pleading for protection. A few people from the audience voice their concerns. Most remain silent.

Van Camp began his talk by professing his unconditional love for Karachi. He does not know why he loves it. He just knows it gives him a sense of solace and tranquillity - something he has not experienced in any other part of the world.



Maybe it is because the city is the only link between him and his illustrious forefathers, who were among those who helped lay the foundations of the city as we know it today. "My story with Karachi begins in the 19th century," he explains. He traces the journey undertaken by his mother from Rangoon to Karachi via Madras, where she settled with her parents. Van Camp's great-grandfather, Laurenco Caetano Duarte, co-founded the Ideal Life Insurance Company in 1892. Their family home, the Duarte Villa, once a beautiful house with an arched entryway, Greek columns and a decorative balcony, has crumbled into disrepair. "It is broken beyond repair," Van Camp shakes his head, despairingly.

Another architectural marvel that the Duartes gave to the city is the Duarte Mansion at Lucky Star. The four-storey renaissance style palazzo, now marginalised by dirt, broken windows, wires and illegal construction, was perhaps the first apartment building in Karachi in 1922.

But it is not the buildings that have made Van Camp fall in love with the city. It is the city's inhabitants. "The people are so friendly and hospitable," he said. "A stark difference from the people of my country who are selfish and do not care for others." So Karachi's openness and friendly cultural setting was a welcome relief for Van Camp when he first arrived in the port-city in 1995.

At the time, he had set out to search for his roots. He undertook some voluntary work, teaching children in Manghopir and also volunteered at the Mary Adelaide Leprosy Centre. At the time, he claims, there were many young Europeans volunteering in Karachi. "No one likes to come here anymore," he said.

Since 1995, Van Camp has helped raise funds for a number of projects and has kept coming back whenever his finances allowed him to. But he doesn't want to be just another fundraising campaigner, he claims.

"I want to do so much more," he said. "What I hope to be is a kind of bridge between Belgium and Pakistan." Van Camp hopes to raise awareness about each other's cultures and create a better understanding and tolerance between the two nations.

Accusing the media of negativism, Van Camp says the primary reason for Karachi's bad image in the West is the fact that the media only highlights the bad points. "They don't show you the real aesthetics of the city; its culture and people," he says.

For Van Camp, Karachi is the kindest city in the world. He said that according to reports, there are approximately two million Afghan refugees currently living in Karachi. "Can you imagine any of the European cities having more than 10 per cent of their population as migrants?" he asks incredulously. "Karachi gave refuge to my forefathers in exactly the same way over 100 years ago," he added. "It has to be the kindest city in the world."

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2014.