Hillary Clinton talked about possiblity of presence of Amyn-al-Zawahiri in Pakistan and demanded Pakistan to do more in interviews and Press Conference in India. She immediately received a powerful ‘shut up’ call from Pakistani social media. Hashtag #ShutpClinton started trending, showing the unity of Pakistanis across the board on this sensitive issue. Hillary clinton was shown the real face of America in various tweets, highlighting the reasons behind the anger. A video containing confession statement of Hillary was also virally tweeted in which she confesses of USA being responsible for a lot of mess in the area. Mainstream electronic and print media also took notice of the twitter activity and reported it accordingly.
For me, it signifies that Pakistani people on social media have responded quicky and forcefully to the accusations and allegations (without evidences). It showed that despite our differing political opinions, we stand united as a nation, which has been hit hard by drones, loss of civilians and soldiers, casualties terrorism brought home by US war on terror, and corrupt puppet rulers bowing to the neo-colonial forces. It shows integrity of the people and their commitment with the homeland. Twitter especially has given voice to everyone and it was a pure display of public sentiment which showed the love of people for Pakistan. Our youth is awake and these words can be translated into actions if appropriate guidance and platform is given to them. Social media is indeed proving powerful and it can bring us closer and grow us stronger, if used properly.
While some tweets only displayed rage, a lot of tweets (opinions) were based on logical arguments. People pointed out the double standards of US policies, committing genocide in Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq and turning a completely blind eye to Indian and Israeli atrocities. Clinton was told to look into her home country first and clean the mess up. Human rights abuses and repeated lies of US government were tweeted vigorously. Even in United States, #ShutUpClinton became a trend which shows that the sentiments crossed the borders. The message was loud and clear, that USA should not interfere in the internal matters of Pakistan and any threats to the sovereignty of the country will unite the people.
Some people might term it as a ‘on-line lip-service’ of ‘keyboard jihadis’ but it certainly showed a spark in the nation which will be converted into a flame if these double standards continue. ‘Word of mouth’ is very important tool. Even marketing professionals consider it extremely important to have a positive ‘word of mouth’. People have started talking about the US atrocities and these words can transform into actions just like Arab world. Important thing is that all those who are using social media are literate and educated people. The common perception was that educated people remain aloof of the problems of the country especially pertaining to the foreign affairs, but this was proven wrong by the whole activity. People today are more aware of the injustices and double standards done by super powers. Gone are the days when you were to blamed as conspiracy theorists if you were to expose the lies of the powerful. For me, not only Muslims, not only Pakistanis, but the whole world is now exposing the hypocrisy of the US government and the terrorism trend, it has introduced to the world due to its unjust policies.
“Every truth passes through three stages before it is recognized. In the first, it is ridiculed, in the second it is opposed, in the third it is regarded as self-evident” ~Arthur Schopenhauer German Philosopher (1788 – 1860)
‘Branding’ as modern and targeting a niche which tags itself with ‘ultra-liberalism’ is certainly a matter of bread and butter for a section of media which is trying to bash every moral value. The target market of some newspapers might be the ultra liberal, highly sophisticated and modern society; where ‘everything’ is allowed as long as its not religious. It’s a source of earning for them to target that niche. But there must be some standard moral values for everyone to follow.
When society raises its voice against immorality, a section of press and media retaliates by raising hue and cry over it. Raising voices against vulgarity is immediately tagged with honour killings, acid attacks and terrorism support. These people simply fail to realize that if someone is against obscenity, it doesn’t mean that he is in favour of acid attacks (its not an with/against situation). It simply means that people are against a set of crimes which are committed in the name of liberating women. Treating woman as an object is the worst form of slavery, because the victims (women) usually don’t even know about it and they don’t realize the repercussions they have to face afterwards. Women objectified as a commodity in the commercial world often lead to their worst slavery. Indeed vulgarity is a great marketing tool for attractiveness. It has its own charm, but its killing the basic moral values of a society. With the current pace, its leading us to collective suicide.
The greater evil is actually defending the evil. Why do certain people think that they look cool when they play devils advocate? As described by Peter Robbins, everyone wants to get attention but some want it by hook or by crook. Even if it means becoming a terrorist or taking your clothes off, both have the same purpose of seeking attention. A lot of poor girls are promised of a bright future and high levels of fortune in the fashion world by encouraging them to loose their moral and ethical values.
Those who defend vulgarity, also use the argument that it’s a non-issue and we are facing issues like poverty and lack of education. Indeed poverty is a greater cause to be addressed but moral values are also equally important. With no morality, we can not call ourselves human. Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) said that ‘Haya (modesty) is an ingredient of faith’ (Sahi Muslim). Alot of ahadith (sayings) of Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) indicate the importance of modesty. All religions give value to modesty, as its the one of the main things which mainly differentiates the humans and animals.
The problem with the liberal fascists is their confused ideology. They are westernized products in desi packaging. They can’t get rid of their packaging and that’s their dilemma throughout their life. They even go to the extent of ridiculing Islamic values, just to ‘qualify’ being a liberal. They try to promote things which are forbidden in Islam (and other religions) just to look modern. Under the label of ‘personal choice’ they want to legalize homosexuality, yet they claim to be praying five times a day. Deep inside their hearts, somewhere they know that they are going against the human nature (Islam), but still they continue on the path of glitters, leaving gold aside.
Islam categorically is against promotion of vulgarity in masses. Even the purpose of offering daily prayers is defined in ch 29, v 45 as
‘ Verily, As-Salât (the prayer) prevents from Al-Fahshâ’ (shameful, vulgar deeds) and Al-Munkar (i.e. disbelief, every kind of evil wicked deed)’;
which simply means that if you are offering daily prayers, it should result in modesty. If its not, then there is some shortcoming somewhere. Quran has given very strict remarks about those who propagate nudity and vulgarity in the society, in Ch 24 v 19 it says:
‘Surely, those who like that lewdness spreads among the believers, for them there is painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter’.
But here comes again the same problem. Pseudo liberals always ridicule the solution of ’repentance’ and returning to Almighty. For them creating a bond with the Creator is not a solution, but then they can’t provide any substantial solution either. In their own minds they are confused-but rather than trying to find answers, they continue to follow the blind path of ignorance. In the end, its for us (the masses) to decide what path we choose. Media depict of such issues brings vulgarity to the forefront & when viewed or read about over long periods of time, it will have a sadly numbing affect on our society (especially the future generations to come). Hence, whatever path we choose to follow must be clear & transparent. Right and wrong are clearly identified, choice is ours.
The news of Bhoja Air crash shook the entire country all at once. Every local news channel was covering the accident insensitively, showing dead bodies and wreckage of the plane. Each anchorperson was pointing fingers and raising questions about the accident. 127 people lost their precious lives but it was merely an exclusive news event for many channels. Thanks to the free media, the news reached everywhere immediately, but no one was considering the ethics related to such reporting. News Channels were trying to achieve the mileage and earn more viewer ratings. This event will be in the headlines for few days, but eventually the media will forget this event and will get busy in some more exclusive issue like that of the ‘wedding of a sania mirza’.
One thing which was brought again to the limelight due to this crash was the forgotten Airblue plane crash at Margalla hills. Airblue plane crashed and resulted in a similar hue and cry all over the country. Promises were made for a thorough investigation, but nothing substantial happened. The families of the victims still don’t know the real reasons. Bhoja Air accident happened near same airport and under same weather conditions again because lessons were not learnt from the first one. No one was held accountable, which led to conspiracy theories related to the air crash.
Few weeks before the Bhoja Air crash, Dawn news reported about Airblue plane crash that and said: ‘ It is regrettable that the causes of the crash, compensation to the families of the deceased and preventive measures are yet to be fully resolved even after about 21 months’. It further says ‘Worse still, this will also show that Pakistan does not have even a handful of persons of competence to handle its domestic air crash’.
As it is said in a famous urdu verse :
حالات پرورش کرتے ھیں برسوں
حادثہ ایک دم نہیں ھوتا
Neglecting mistakes over the years lead to accidents. And once again the similar accident occurred. Had we properly enquired the previous air crash, this one could have been avoided. The sense of accountability and responsibility towards human lives is totally missing in this scenario.
Islam doesn’t forbid us to take safety measures. Being a biomedical engineer, I have witnessed a lot of such events in hospitals, where ‘technical’ mistakes of medics and paramedics lead to the death of a patient, but the family members are told that ‘its will of Allah’. Indeed its will of Allah, but HE has made us accountable for what we do. This is a ‘trick of the trade’ in all the professions in Pakistan that when some human calamity occurs, blame Almighty for it and avoid lawsuits which may follow in any civilized country.
There is a commercial aspect to the whole story. The plane of Bhoja air was apparently old and unfit for flying, yet it was allowed to fly ‘this one time’. The pilot was probably under pressure for not diverting the plane to any other destination because of the fuel consumption. Still the circumstances are not unveiled that what made the pilot to decide for landing in such weather conditions. The known thing is only that 127 people lost their lives. Saving a human life, is like saving entire humanity. But here, we don’t care about the safety of hundreds of lives.
While i was typing these lines, news were coming in about a plane of Shaheen air, whose landing gear broke while landing. Thankfully the aircraft narrowly escaped the disaster which could have been terrible. This clearly indicates that rules regarding technical aspects and safety of aircrafts need to be forcefully implemented.
Its pity that we don’t plan for emergency situations. Alot of incidents of fire eruption occur, but we rarely find that something has been learnt from these mistakes. Precious lives are continuously at stake. I wonder when will be ‘grown enough’ to realize our social responsibilities as citizens of this country. Human life is the cheapest thing available in Pakistan.
The media is more focused on increasing its TRPs. The entire coverage is based on sensations. Media did the same in air blue crash and then never took up the matter in upcoming months. Airtime was then reserved for the the likes of veenas and meeras and no one pointed out the mistakes that led to the air crash. This will happen again, people will forget it, and the government will get busy in protecting its corruption.
Some lessons need to be learnt from this air crash. Better we learn them sooner and avoid repeating mistakes.
Do we follow any common rules whenever we debate over social media? The stories of bashing and abusive languages are very common when anyone tries to share personal opinion, in favour of or against any issue. Those who portray themselves as tolerant and liberal also lose their patience when they run out of arguments. The debates become heated discussions and usually no conclusions are derived in the end and no opinions are changed.
Debates on social media remind me of my college days when I actively participated in study circles and group discussions. Those forums were used to share our thoughts on a pre-decided social or religious topics and everyone would have to come prepared with their research and opinions. The rules were strictly defined, i.e.; no personal attacks and no point scoring techniques. It wasn’t about winning or losing an argument, rather the whole idea was to develop a better understanding on issues. ‘Sacrifice of opinion’ was categorically taught and was instrumental in reaching consensus over the issues. The moderator used to have a very crucial role to play to keep the things calm.
Social media has given everyone an opportunity to express their opinions. Whenever you say something, you have to listen to the other side too, in order to keep a balance. It’s an utter failure if we are not ready to listen. Our society is going towards two different extremes and one easily gets tagged with one or other extreme even if you have nothing to do with either of them. You are put into camps and tagged with the payrolls without any logic. The point that you are in ‘opponent’ camp if you aren’t uttering my words, is taking us nowhere. Many a times, emphasis is given to pressurize others to speak the words which they don’t necessarily believe in, and this surely comes under fascism. Also we have different rules for ourselves and for others. One thing might be commendable if our hero is doing it and something similar might be a nuisance and condemnable, if it comes from the opponent camp.
We have a serious problem with ‘active reading’ as well. In our schools, we are taught the skills of ‘active listening’, but very little focus is done on active reading. Probably that is the reason that on social media we only seldom read what the other person is writing. Usually the twists and turns of the words and out of context statements and misquoting are done for point scoring, negating any logic and negative propaganda based on lies. The haste of commenting and replying just adds to the problem and very soon the debates turn into an online fight.
A much deep-rooted problem is the confusion of ideology. Uttering two opposite things in one sigh is such a common phenomenon that it amuses me. A lot of times, people don’t understand what they are talking about. Information from internet is randomly copied and pasted without even understanding the basic idea. Also, new questions are put forward in reply of previous questions while the originals remain unanswered. Sometimes the answers aren’t read or understood and a new question is raised. More and more confusion is raised for no reason which is resulting in division in the society.
Blogging world also witnesses many blogs just conveying one side of the story and promoting hate speech. Criticism for the sake of criticism is in fashion on one hand and lack of tolerance reigns. Harsh comments and retaliatory responses reduce the influence of actual message.
A lot of people also have their own connotations of the words. Some even find the word ‘female students’ as abusive to women and if argued, they just retaliate without any logic. The approach of ‘holier than thou’ and concepts of ‘learned than thou’ are embedded in the mind-sets of many.
Most of the bashing is done in the name of religion (for/against) and politics. Even if you tell something specific about someone which is positive today, immediately a rebuttal will come for something negative done decades ago by them. Can we appreciate something positive without ifs n buts? A difficult question, I guess.
Due to these reasons, more humble and literate people avoid online social media debates. And the result is that sensible voices are reducing in the social media world. If the trend continues, I am afraid social media will be left to abusers only. The life on social media is not in isolation. It definitely has an impact on our daily life routine. The discussions on social media leave a bad taste in mouth at times and spoil the mood. So these debates are creating a negative impact on our daily life as well. The language we use in social media, very much becomes the part of our daily life.
There is a simple rule of debate, mentioned in Quran (chap 25, v 63 and v 72)
‘The (faithful) slaves of the Beneficent are they who walk upon the earth modestly, and when the foolish ones address them answer: Peace; (63).
And those who will not witness vanity, but when they pass near senseless play, pass by with dignity. (72)
Peaceful debates and dialogues are healthy and needed to develop better understanding of the situation and working towards solutions. The strife for winning an argument or point scoring will not help us. Competition is a good thing but when we compete in terms of leg-pulling, it becomes destructive. Constructive debates are only those, where we share the knowledge and experience to develop a better understanding.
During our undergraduate years, we often used to ask our foreign qualified professors in Pakistan about life away from the country. Most of the time, we heard the stories of their cooking ventures. One of our teachers was well known in this regard, and whenever we asked him about his experience during his Masters, we ended up listening to something like recipe of ‘making biryani using a rice-cooker’. It was a source of fun and humour for us, while being in Pakistan. Things got changed and I realized the importance of cooking when I landed in Korea to pursue my Masters.
Korean food was shockingly ‘different’ in taste. I had no experience of cooking whatsoever and had to live on biscuits, chocolates, bread and milk for a couple of weeks before I met few Pakistani fellows to learn the cooking skills. For the first time I ate tuna-palak (Tuna and Spinach) and the ‘chef’ told me that there was no special recipe he followed. He literally ‘threw’ into the cooking pan whatever he got in his kitchen cupboard. It was his way of consoling me as to not to worry too much about the recipes. His quotable quote for me was, ‘Don’t be afraid of experimenting’.
I watched my friends cooking chicken-aalu, chicken palak, tuna kebabs and a lot of other ‘emergency’ dishes. A friend told me that I need to be domesticated and if don’t start cooking, I won’t survive. The idea of cooking once in a week and eating the same dish for rest of the week was terrifying. Also, cleaning and dishwashing after cooking was even tougher. It was an immensely time consuming activity definitely had an impact on the studies too. A friend, who happened to be a ‘pakora expert’ once said out of frustration, ‘banda ya tu bawarchi ban sakta hey ya phir parhai kar sakta hey’ (A person can either cook or study). I experimented with daal for the first time, and honestly, I ruined it.
It wasn’t a gender related issue. A lot of female students, who go for higher studies, face a lot of problems in cooking. A fellow Pakistani girl student was telling me about her ventures with dough and chapaati. It is very difficult for females even to start cooking if they have no experience beforehand.
The problems aren’t limited to cooking and dishwashing either. Laundry is another issue. Typically, the laundry of socks is a highly technical matter and ‘scholars’ have sometimes been seen wearing different socks, but who cares as long as they aren’t visible. Keeping wardrobes tidy and cleaning the rooms are also gigantic tasks. They consume time and time is money.
As the time goes on, these Pakistani scholars get domesticated; mastering the art of cooking, cleaning, laundry and other chores. Those who are living outside dormitory in private accommodations especially get trained in all domestic affairs. When asked whether these eminent scholars will continue doing house chores after returning home or getting married, the response is mixed.
A ’roti-expert’ friend who has returned to homeland told me that he does not help his wife even with simple cooking because he is tired of kitchen jobs. One commented that he can now criticise his wife in the kitchen, while another one was happy that his wife cannot threaten him with ‘no dinner would be served tonight’. Very few were willing to actually help their better-halves in the house chores.
Life teaches us a lot. All we have to do is to implement it at the right time and place. Why do we associate social taboos with men doing house chores? Does our religion stop us? Or is it our culture, which is different from our religious teachings? We have learnt in our schools that Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) and his companions used to help their wives in the domestic stuff, but we are not ready to implement it in our society. And, why do our mums tell the potential in-laws with pride, ‘hamari beti ney tu kabhi kitchen mein qadam hi nahi rakha’ and your son would have to arrange a cook or a maid. We have learnt very well that Hazrat Fatima (RA) did all the household chores herself.
Through my experience abroad, I have loved and missed my mother more every day. Women should be respected and loved for the marvellous full-time jobs they do which we only come to know when they are not around. Our men should be thankful and more helpful to them following the ways of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWW).
‘I have been an A grader throughout my life and now a possible B grade is giving me terrible nightmares’, Faiza, a Pakistani medical student in USA was telling me. She was worried about her grades and told me about her sleepless nights despite immense hard work. She wanted to stand first in her class. For me, she is already an extraordinary girl. Being from a conservative family and studying at a medical school in United States is an incredible dream for many. She is already a leader and role model for many girls in her family and friends but Faiza is not satisfied with her current situation.
The problem is not only with the students, but parents as well. They would queue outside ‘top schools’ for many hours in order to enrol their children for admissions. Sumera, another good friend from Lahore, worries about the performance of her son, who is a super active ten year old kid. He grabs decent grades despite being a ‘happy-go-lucky’ child and that is what bothers Sumera. She thinks he can outshine the rest if he gives a little more time and attention to his studies. She wants to see her kid at the top of the world and be a ‘star’.
The competition is not limited to education either. In every walk of life, we want to excel and beat the queue by any means possible. Be it the most luxurious car or high-tech cell phones, designer clothes or branded jewellery, we want to have the best of the best available. In career, everyone wants to have the fortunes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. Nothing satisfies us more than overtaking the crowd in trivial things and possessions.
I remember one of my professors once said, ‘Be a leader in your field and if you fail, create a new field and lead’’. Everyone knows about ‘Neil Armstrong’ who stepped on to the moon, but no one knows about the second one who stepped twenty minutes later. The stories of cut-throat competition in the markets are prevalent, asking to move up the ladder by hook or by crook.
The issue is not only with Pakistanis. In Korea, the issues like which university to choose, which company to join and who to marry, depend quite a lot on your performance in the high school examination. One exam almost shapes the entire life of the person and the repercussions are drastic. Children’s days and nights revolve round exams more than any healthy activities, and the teenage suicidal rate in Korea is the highest in the world.
So is the world all about being at the top? And more importantly, those who have big achievements in their portfolios are they satisfied with their lives? Or do they want more? These questions need to be pondered upon? No one is happy with this fast paced life. Everyone looks for the missing pieces in the puzzle of happiness. So it comes down to the phenomenon of contentment. We need to draw a line where we feel contented. That is when we can enjoy all what we have and stop looking for more. There is no problem with the notion of standing out in the crowd and having a few extra feathers in the cap. The problem comes when it becomes the only motive of life.
The solution was given by Prophet Muhammad (SAWW) centuries ago by saying ‘In matters of deen (righteousness/virtues) look at those who are higher (better) than you and in the matters of the world (material things), look at those who are lower (less fortunate) than you. This simple solution will fill one’s heart with contentment. Thanking God for what you have will give you the option to enjoy it to the full.
Being first is not important at all times. In my opinion, the role of the Michael Collinswas most important; he orbited the moon in Apollo 11, and brought back Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin safely to the earth. He went to the moon, not to step onto it, but to bring those back who landed there. Sometimes staying behind the scene and playing role is much more important than coming to the lime light.
Are you really laughing when you are writing LOL and do you really mean it when you show love/hate expressions on social media networks? Are the emotions expressed on social media real or fake? These questions pop up on a daily basis asking about the credibility of this virtual world. The answer is not simple; the feelings expressed can be genuine, forged or a mixture of both.
Virtual world has given us a chance to modify our image; it gives us an opportunity to portray ourselves the way we want to. This image is based on what we actually want to be. It normally reflects the aspirations and desires. It certainly may be not be a real picture, but it is a desirable picture for us. Thus, it is difficult to judge the validity of that picture portrayed on the social media.
There is more to social media then merely a pretty self-picture. Virtual world has given us an opportunity to express our opinions. The opinions which were hidden deep inside our hearts and minds can be expressed more freely now. We want to tell the world what we believe and this results in more difference of opinion. An opinionated society is an appreciable quality but certainly it has led to more disintegration of the society as we haven’t yet learnt how to sacrifice our opinion and unite on a common ground. It has created polarization in the society and everyone is stuck strictly on one extreme or another; thanks to the ‘’freedom of speech’’. Additionally, social media has given us the access to people across the globe and psychographics have certainly become more important than demographics.
In this scenario, it has become very easy to manipulate the situation. Sentimental news can break up across the borders within no time and everybody on the social media will be talking about it. A recent case of Shamsul Anwar is an eye opener. His story (fabricated) was published in a trusted daily newspaper with high sensuality elements in it, targeting the soft hearted people across the country and the news became viral. The authenticity of the news item was not questioned in itself because of the brand names associated with it, the heart wrenching plight of the ‘poor defender of the nation’ paying a ‘high price’ and the ‘deadlines of the abductors’ mentioned in this article. On humanitarian grounds, the people like Marvi Sirmed, Ansar Burney, Awab Alvi and My Bit for Change joined hands for the cause, regardless of their political opinions. Here are some tweets regarding this issue:
‘’marvisirmed Marvi Sirmed
Good progress on #JusticeForShamsulAnwar. Political, military authorities on board. We are now waiting for the abductors’ call @AnsarBurney
marvisirmed Marvi Sirmed
#JusticeForShamsulAnwar Dear all, please use your influence and contacts to help him bit.ly/xxveY8 Buy time, collect money. Whatever
marvisirmed Marvi Sirmed
#JusticeForShamsulAnwar @AnsarBurney is on it. might be traveling to Isd for this. Hope he can help set up an emergency fund too
MyBitforChange My Bit for Change
“RT@AshAijaz: @AnsarBurney May Allah give you courage and accept your efforts. Thank you so much! #JusticeForShamsulAnwar”
AshAijaz Aisha Aijaz
Thinking of Madina Anwar and her distressed family. May Allah protect you and you return safe dear. #JusticeForShamsulAnwar
10 Jan
Retweeted by MyBitforChange
But, unfortunately (or fortunately) the whole case turned out to be a fraud. Now this situation can be looked upon at two different angles. On one side, it’s the problem of social media that anything can become viral without any authenticity or validity associated with it. But on the other hand, it also shows the power of social media to unite the people of different ideologies on a single cause.
Another dimension to this whole episode is that people give more attention to sensuality. It’s a sad reality, my own blog right next to the shamsul anwar’s story, which was about a genuine school system for the poor kids but attracted very few people. It shows the mentality of our society, we focus less on positive things and negative things pop up out of proportion. The baseless story caught hearts of people because it was written in a very sentimental manner. Everybody wanted to contribute to the cause and thus the story became viral. The freedom of expression and opinion provided by the social media was utilized to its fullest. But I see a ray of hope in all this. If such sentiments can be shown for a fake story, a real problem will attract more people I believe and it surely has, in the past. I believe the emotions expressed on the virtual world were real, though they were exploited badly.
The newspaper and the journalist owe an explanation to the Nation on this issue; but simultaneously we should not feel let down. Rather it was an indication that this nation can become united on humanitarian grounds and dig its pockets in need without a second thought. The spark is already there, it needs to be ignited only. And yes, for all those who sent their monies out should be reminded, their rewards with God are safe according to their intentions.
Education is the first step towards change but unfortunately it is one of the most neglected fields in Pakistan. While poverty is skyrocketing in the country, education for poor is becoming a farfetched dream.
Baithak School System is trying to change this for better. It operates under the banner of Society for Educational Welfare (SEW); a movement which is organized by female volunteers to educate the destitute children across the country.
It didn’t start as a school system; rather it was a single room and a few fresh graduates from Karachi University took up the gigantic task of teaching those who can’t pay for their education. Tayaba Atif and her enthusiastic friends took the initiative to payback the society in the form of education. These remarkable ladies joined hands to create a difference. Their goal was simple; to contribute to extent to which they could by teaching poor kids in an area where there was no government school and hence the first Baithak School came into being.
The feedback was great; more people were motivated with the move which helped in gathering human and financial resources and within short span of two years, 57 baithak schools were opened in those areas where the government didn’t bother to provide education. Schools were more focused on imparting primary education to those kids who usually didn’t turn up to the schools. Social activists went door to door to convince the parents for education of their children. Things started improving and now almost 14000 students are studying in 134 baithak schools across the country. In the year 2000, Society for Educational Welfare (SEW) was registered as a non-profit organization to provide the umbrella cover for the school system.
The aim of the Baithak schools is to provide quality education to the under privileged students. Even with low level infra-structure, high quality education can be imparted to those who cannot afford it. More focus is given to the girls and hence 80% students are girls in these schools. Funds and donations are raised for children who cannot afford their school books and uniforms. There are some salaried teachers, but most of the staff and entire management consist of dedicated volunteers.
There is more to the SEW than just being a school system. It is totally managed by female volunteers, a rarity in our society. Pakistan is a country, where women are usually tagged with being victims of violence and oppression. It is propagated that they are not allowed to work in the main stream. “The developed world” continuously asks questions if women are allowed to go outside their homes and get education in Pakistan. In this scenario, an organization, fully managed by women and doing something meaningful is more than merely appreciable. This is the bright picture of Pakistan we need to portray to the world that our females are contributing to the fullest in the development of the country, under the guidance of Quran and Sunnah.
Unless the residents have a desire of self-help for the change of their life, even if they wait for 5000 years, there will be no change. If the village residents try to change their life now, even with little support of government, they will be able to change their life in 2-3 years’. (Ex Korean President Park Jung Hee)
These simple words underline the spirit of the a movement which revolutionized the life of Koreans. The lesson is very important __ No one will bring change for you, if you don’t want it yourself. And small consistent changes, will lead to a big and visible transformation.
Korea was ruined by Japanese colonization and inter-Korean war. In 1950s, the plight of Koreans was miserable and the nation was extremely poor, with very little food to survive. Harsh winters added to their miseries and ‘food n shelter’ was first priority for all Koreans. Per capita income was $79 in 1960, while that of Pakistan was $91 during the same Year.
Koreans studied Pakistani 5-year plan system and adopted it in 1962. They started industrialization and the results were soon obvious in shape of industrial growth and development of cities, but the rural areas were still lagging far. Koreans soon realized that sustainable growth cannot be achieved without rural development. The standard of life in the villages was very low, with only 20% of the villages having electricity and only 20 % houses having roof. Roads, infrastructure, tools and equipment for farming were missing altogether. The positive things were good literacy rate and mandatory military service which produced a disciplined workforce.
In 1970, Saemul Undong (New Village Movement) was launched, aimed at improving the life of villagers. The idea was to pave the gap between rural and urban life, improving the living standard in rural areas and increasing the opportunities for the villagers to earn more. The idea was to stop migration to cities. ‘A better village to live in’ was the goal of the movement.
Government started with SMU in a unique way. They asked the villagers to participate in the program on self-help basis. Three principles of ‘diligence, self help and cooperation’ were decided to be the basis of the movement. The underlying spirit was to work with diligence as there is no freebie in the world and ‘early bird catches the worm’. The lazy and lethargic Koreans were taught to take actions for fulfilling their desires. The spirit of cooperation was also very important, as one cannot wash face with one finger.
When the movement started, government was not in a very good financial situation, so they asked for the cooperation of residents of villages. It provided 335 packs of cement to each of 33,267 villages in the country. Government suggested ten projects such as making roads, reforming roofs of homes, constructing public wells, making small water reservoirs and small bridges etc .Villagers had to decide one of the projects and then implement it. They had to arrange the material such as sand and pebbles themselves, and had to work together to execute the project. They had to select Seamaul leaders for themselves, who were volunteers, and would play the role of coordinators and arbitrators.
After one year of evaluation, the success ratio was about 50% .The performance of 16,600 villages was good, and they had completed their first task. It was a turning point, the government decided to generate competition. They gave 500 sacks of cement and one ton steel to only these 16,600 villages, which were able to complete their first task, while remaining villages were told to do something with self-help and then government will decide accordingly.
This produced amazing results; a lot of villages improved very quickly, and more and more were joining the movement actively. Based on this, government classified the villages into three categories according to their progress, and supported the outstanding villages more, which generated high competition.
The government established central council for the movement, to analyze and evaluate the performance. A training center was instituted to train the leaders elected by villagers. This helped in development of leadership at grass root level. Women and youth were given equal participation, each village selecting a a leader, woman leader and young leader for the project. These voluntary leaders helped the government to plan, cooridnate and carry out the projects in a proper manner.
New projects were considered on the basis of their benefits to the entire community. The government did not interfere directly into the selection of projects. It was just overseeing the technical aspects and providing help with which the villagers couldn’t do themselves.
Soon they realized that without improving the income of villagers, their life could not be improved, so the next step was to improve the income level of villagers and eliminate poverty. Projects were focused to improve roads to the farms so that tractors and other machinery could be used in farming. Farmers were provided with basic tools and were trained for the better productivity. Irrigation system was improved and small water reservoirs were built to preserve water. Also green houses were developed to do farming in winters. Investments were done in live-stocks and villagers were encouraged to grow live-stock for better income.
Agricultural complexes were made for profitable products such as mushrooms and tobacco, which helped to increase over all income. Greenhouses allowed farmers to harvest during harsh winter season. Fishing villages changed their production methods from fishing to breeding fish. All of this improved the income level of villagers. As a result, agriculture household income was more than that of city workers. After only four years, the rural community household income was $674, more than that of urban household income of $644. This economic growth led to subjugate poverty and brought revolution in the mindset of people.
Residents were given the sense of ownership and they were the direct beneficiaries. During initial stage, the focus was on improvement of thatched houses, heating system inside homes and agriculture roads. Then the focus shifted to more infra-structure reforms. Electricity and water supply, agriculture machinery, irrigation system, all were aimed to improve the life of villagers with their involvement. The concepts of hard-work and self-help were embedded in this whole movement.
Due to proper evaluation system, government soon realized the mistakes of the movement. Villagers lacked technical skills to build bridges and roads. So government provided technical support and training required for the projects.
Grass root level leadership evolved as a reason of this movement, which lead to the development of Korea on many fronts. Corruption wasn’t a problem in this project, as population was involved in it, and the residents carried out the projects themselves. They also contributed financially to the extent they were able to do. The collective participation brought in transparency and better utilization of resources. The change went from rural to urban areas of Korea, whereas it is usually the other way around.
Korea today has become one of the top growing economies in the world, with national income of $ 20,014 per capita, (remember in 1960, Korea was at $79, and Pakistan was $91). This is despite the fact that Korea has no natural resources, and it relies only on its human resource. It is now one of the most advanced countries in internet usage, banking system and industrialized nation.
Korea has started to implement this project in African countries. While other countries prefer to perform charity work, Koreans are trying to engage villagers by asking them to contribute equally. For instance, the project of establishing a goat bank is very good idea. Villagers are given goats, to raise, and when they breed more goats, the original ones are returned, thus establishing a live-stock bank.
In Pakistan, if we want to do something, our ‘actions must speak louder than words’; so the projects must be aimed at ‘doing more-talking less’ spirit. The basic element in these projects should be consistency and continuity, learning from past experiences and improving with time. We can learn from these experiences as we are a resource rich country. We don’t have the problem of poverty similar to that of Koreans, our infra structure is not very up to the mark, but we do have something to build upon, so we don’t have to start from zero. Our villages are usually big, and we lack consensus on leadership and projects. We are heavily divided and our women don’t work usually as labour workforce in building the bridges and widening the roads. So we need to make certain changes in this model and in our society too, for our growth and development.
All we need is to participate on community basis, helping ourselves, and taking bold initiatives. When this movement started in Korea, a lot of people criticized it, but government continued persuading villagers to take part in the development process, and it yielded results. The evaluation of projects was step-wise and better performing villages were rewarded on the basis of merit. This helped a great deal in raising awareness and competition level.
Saemaul Movement members hold a briefing session with locals in Tanzania, to explain the concept and meaning of the Saemaul Undong
Most important notion to learn is the reforms of the mind-set, to ‘we can do it’. Starting by simple, small projects, doing something tangible, will lead to something better and bigger eventually. We think of big projects first, but sometimes we need to think ‘small’ and ‘in the box’. Making roofs for homes, kitchens in houses, toilets, small water reservoirs, improving sanitary conditions, building small bridges, improving water supply and sewerage systems- eventually the change will be getting bigger and visible which will help in improving the living standards.
Another point to focus is to increase the income of villagers, to stop urbanization. We believe in giving alms and charity, but instead we should focus more on trying to make poor people earn more money. Increasing their income will change their mentality. As I mentioned earlier, Saemaul Undong wasn’t focusing on education and public health in the start, because people were mostly concerned about food and shelter, but as the movement went on to bring the change, people started thinking about education, health, learning opportunities and community life. Koreans did that successfully and now their rural life has almost all the facilities of their urban life so more and more people are preferring rural life.
In short, collaborative efforts will bring change, and rural development is the key to sustainable development even in the industrialized nations. More importantly, the focus should be to ‘ do more, talk less’
Hillary Clinton talked about possiblity of presence of Amyn-al-Zawahiri in Pakistan and demanded Pakistan to do more in interviews and Press Conference in India. She immediately received a powerful ‘shut up’ call from Pakistani social media. Hashtag #ShutpClinton started trending, showing the unity of Pakistanis across the board on this sensitive issue. Hillary clinton was shown the real face of America in various tweets, highlighting the reasons behind the anger. A video containing confession statement of Hillary was also virally tweeted in which she confesses of USA being responsible for a lot of mess in the area. Mainstream electronic and print media also took notice of the twitter activity and reported it accordingly.
