Posts from — November 2007

This was all over the news yesterday:

Sudan questions British teacher over Islam insult

She was jailed because she named a teddy bear ‘Muhammad’?! The school officials say she was insulting the Prophet (pbuh) but Muhammad is a really common name. Besides, that was the name of one of the kids in class, the one the teacher and students named the stuffed animal after!

This is ridiculous. Could these people not make Islam into a joke? Pretty please?

The day I came came back from Pakistan, I was going to update this blog with my final thoughts about Pakistan and all that is going on around there. Instead I spent the day I got back and the next day sitting around in my pajamas and catching up with all of my shows on the DVR and drinking Pedialyte.

So anyways. . .

Pakistan - EMERGENCY (as the Pakistani news channels we have proclaim, complete with the total number of hours, minutes, and seconds it’s been since Musharraf called for Emergency).

In an effort to keep himself in his post, Musharraf disregarded the constitution and declared martial law - effectively putting the elections on hold. Of course, he said it was because of the extremists but everyone knows better.

Because my mom and sisters are still in Pakistan, I was a bit more concerned than I usually would have been. However/Fortunately, Karachi has barely been affected. Even the shops, which usually all close when this type of political activity happens, have remained open.

I recall a conversation that I had with one cousin while I was in Pakistan about the kind of country Pakistan is. He said that it’s not an Islamic state like most people are led to believe. I said most people probably believe that since the entire name of the country is, y’know, ‘The Islamic Republic of Pakistan.’ He looked past my smart aleckness and replied that it’s actually a military state and everyone in Pakistan knows it. I think everyone else now knows it too.

Free internet in the Karachi Airport?! Who would have thunk it.

So this is it. I’m sitting in the Karachi Airport waiting for my flight to board. I spent the drive to the airport gazing out of the car window, trying to get one last glimpse of Pakistan. It’s been a bittersweet trip. Not only has it been 9 years since I’ve seen a lot of the family, but it’s been the first trip to Pakistan without my dad being present, a lack of presence that was felt by all of us.

Last night, one of my cousins asked me whether I considered myself Pakistani. I told him that I consider myself American and Pakistani because while I was born and raised in the U.S. I can’t deny my ethnicity. I am glad that I made the trip, no question, but it was still a bit hard to be here.

Anyways, there are a bunch of things that made this trip worthwhile:

Reconnecting with my cousins in Pakistan after 9 years.
Getting to see all of my dad’s surviving siblings - my uncle and 5 aunts
Meeting a cousin I haven’t seen since 1987 and now having a reason to go to Dubai.

Things I won’t miss:

Putting on mosquito repellant before I go out anywhere
Nervously looking around the bathroom for cockroaches while I brush my teeth at night
The power consistently going out
The pollution
Taking cold showers
The fact that I can’t get anywhere on my own.

So, Pakistan, it’s been interesting. I’ll upload my pictures when I get home. After I take a hot shower, that is.

Ok, time to check out the McDonalds in the airport lounge before I get on board. . .