Pakistan

Karachi with arms wide open

The city is bleeding with no one to take care of it, no one to love it and no one to own it

Hurmat Majid June 10, 2015

Have you noticed most conversations we have with our new acquaintances play out as “Hi I’m so and so, no I’m not from Karachi, my family moved here twenty years ago.” Well guess what, if your family moved here 20 years ago you definitely belong to Karachi. What’s more, the native Karachiites have another pet habit of calling themselves muhajirs three generations down the line — not one of them has ever been to India, let alone migrated from there, why would they want to describe themselves as migrants? Both my paternal and maternal families migrated during the time of partition and yet the word is one I do not ever feel like using when telling someone my identity. I’m a Karachiite, I was born here, I’ve lived here all my life and if someone needs a broader generalisation, then I’m a Pakistani, plain and simple.

People move to Karachi, they “migrate” here looking for better prospects, they build their lives in the city. This city welcomes them, with open arms and accepts them for who they are and does not question them. People from all ethnicities, classes and religions can have a go at making better lives for themselves here. What happens once the lives have been made and prosperity won? Those very same people who’d run to Karachi disown it and say “No we belong to our native city.” Well then if you do you may as well have made your life there. Sometimes I feel it’s simply a tactic to keep responsibilities at bay, if you don’t own the city then you don’t have to care about its problems. If you’re just a visitor then it’s not your job to tackle the issues within it. The city is bleeding with no one to take care of it, no one to love it and no one to own it.

People from all over Pakistan come here, settle down and let Karachi take care of them, keep them in its embrace and yet they never proudly say that they belong here. All this city ever wants is to be owned, loved and cared for, just as it has done for us, like a mother with arms wide open ready to embrace us for who we are.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (1)

Karachiwala | 9 years ago | Reply I call myself Karachiwala, and this is not my selection, but a reflection by people in Swat. They used to Introduce me "Kurchiwala". But i also admit that i feel proud in associating myself with people who call themselves Mohajir..while residing in Karachi. Yes, my father migrated to Karachi, and i was born in karachi. i did went to India 3 times, and i have been to Many places in this world. That thought of being Mohajir did not just sprung out from anywhere. Before anything labeled as Mohajir a lot has transpired in Pakistan's History and specially in Karachi. There were punjabi, balochi, seraiki, sindhi, balti, pathans(pure breed), Kashmiri, Hazara, makranis and many others liguistic group existed in KARACHI. I wonder how people ignore all the history behind the dilemma we face, and yet only point to this only word Mohajir. I will be first to dis-associate myself from the group of Mohajirs, but i have yet to see the change that would push me. You first need to challenge the other groups, who consider themselves as son of soils, and i being the step son will join hands with out your calling. Challenge to you: At least tell them to erase the vulgar poetry, and extra mirrors from inside public buses which my mothers, sisters and daughters uses to commute. OR ask them DO you put those vulgar poetry in buses of other parts of country also? ET: if you are not bias, you must publish my sentiments to the writer post.

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