Hypocrisy in American / British of Pakistani Origin
The path that I am trying my friends at large to follow, given the present environment, is difficult.
In the words of a poet, (late) Mustafa Zaidi:
Translation is something like:
My experience of Pakistanis who have settled abroad, especially in USA / UK, is that in an effort to exhibit their advancement, they try to belittle Pakistan / Pakistanis while from inside they are like the ones whom they try to belittle.
A young lady, who lived and studied in USA, talks of her experience at her blog.
Here are relevant excerpts.
In the words of a poet, (late) Mustafa Zaidi:
In he pathron pay chal kay Aa sko to aao.
Meray ger kay rastay main koyee kehkshan nahin hai.
Translation is something like:
If you can come walking on the stony path, you are welcome.
There is no Galaxy in the way to my house.
My experience of Pakistanis who have settled abroad, especially in USA / UK, is that in an effort to exhibit their advancement, they try to belittle Pakistan / Pakistanis while from inside they are like the ones whom they try to belittle.
A young lady, who lived and studied in USA, talks of her experience at her blog.
Here are relevant excerpts.
Children raised outside Pakistan somehow consider themselves superior to Pakistanis.
Parents, instead of giving them better knowledge and understanding of their culture, keep talking about the flaws prevalent in only about 5 % of our society.
Somehow there exists this custom that overseas Pakistanis like to import brides and grooms for their kids from Pakistan; primarily because deep inside they feel that someone raised in Pakistan will be much better than the locals...
I am not saying that this is true for all cases, but during my frequent trips to America since 1992 I have seen all types of Pakistani families there and trust me 99% of Pakistani Americans are not what they say they are.
posted by افتخار اجمل بھوپال @ 7:15 pm
6 Comments:
At 6:43 pm,
Zack said…
Dad: Can you please you the blockquote thing from the Blogger edit window so that it is clear which text is being quoted from Maryah? Thanks.
At 8:24 pm,
افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…
It has been done. Is that O.K now ?
At 12:04 am,
Zack said…
Yes, thanks.
At 3:29 am,
Anonymous said…
That is a very beautiful saying by Mustafa Zaidi.
I think what is happening in America and in Britain, is fear. The Pakistani families who have settled in those countries may put their own countrymen "down" for fear of being associated with a possible "terrorist element".
I have friends who are Seikhs, who wear turbans, but because of ignorance and fear, are being harassed just because they look "the part".
This is a tough world....all over the world. People are people everywhere. Human nature is the same all over...no matter the religion, the culture, the language. No matter where you find yourself, there will always be people who hate, people who are jealous, people who care about their children, people who love...people who struggle to make a living everyday for their families. Wouldn't it be nice to change the hearts and minds of all Mankind into one harmonious blend? But realistically, we have differences. Even husbands and wives have their differences. So, we all struggle to get a long and hope that we can change the other one into someone like us....so we struggle, we hope, we aspire, we love, we forgive...in hopes to change the hearts and minds of those we care about...even in what we might perceive as an enemy.
At 9:05 pm,
افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…
Mr Anonymous : Firstly, though examples were given of USA & UK, even Pakistanis settled in middle east or far east generally have the same behaviour.
Pakistanis families may be doing something under fear after 9/11/2001, but the story is in general and referes to much earlier period in my case America in 1999 and UK even ealier (1967, 1978) while the blog I referred talks of period starting in 1992.
Idea of to change hearts and minds of Mankind is good but how can that be done in presence of Hypocrisy ?
We must take spare some time from our busy schedules to consider why, knowing we are wrong, we try others to change. Because we are Hypocrites but we do not like to cofess.
At 10:42 am,
Anonymous said…
In my country there are a lot of different cultures. Despite the laws, there are always prejudices one must face. The Vietnamese, the Chinese may not necessarily like the culture nor the European Americans but in my country they have a chance for a better life. I myself am Native American Indian, African American and of European descent. My African and Native American genetics helped me realize the ignorance of prejudice and to take pride in "where I came from". My Native American Grandfather was considered a non-person. Sub-human, but when you compared his culture to the European culture, his culture was more refined, more strict with behavior than the "white" culture. My mother, told me I was Native American Indian when I was 16 years old. She had seen so much hate towards the Indians that she always denied her heritage even to Indians on the reservations. My Mother's Uncle even joined the Ku Klux Klan and killed other Indians to show others that there could be no way he was Indian. In those days you learned to hate what you were because of how you were treated by others.
My Great Grandmother was bought by my Great Grandfather, a shipbuilder. She had 9 children when he died and the entire family had to move to the "black" side of town and were raised in poverty.
I am also descended from Benjamin Franklin, one of the people who signed his name at the bottom of the U.S. Constitution, making him an enemy of England and a terrorist against the Royal Crown of England.
Prejudice can cause your children to hate you for what you are. Then again, your children may see the strength that it takes to retain your language and culture and see you as a hero in their world.
It is also difficult to go from one culture to another and expect acceptance. I have a totally different culture than my husband. Eventhough I may look as if I am of European descent, I am Native American and African American in my heart. I have taken from those cultures wonderful belief systems not found in the "white" European culture. My husband's family do not understand me and they hate me. I am used to hate. Human kind has a tendency to hate what they do not understand or hate what they find as different.
It could be that the Pakistani's in America and the U.K. have to cope with being Pakistani in a land with a totally different culture. It is difficult with raising children.
I have friends and friends who have become my family from totally different cultures because we respect one another's culture. I have friends who have made me a part of their family and their cultures vary from Punjab, to Chinese, to Vietnamese, to Arab. I am an honorary sister and I take that position with pride and love in my heart. I make sure that I learn the language of my "new family", the culture (so I try not to hurt anyone's feelings), eat with "my family"...learn about their religion. I help them learn to cope with living in strange land with strange ways...because my family was once in that condition just a few generations ago. I know what it is like to be a non-human as the stories have been carried down from generation to generation. I also know that it is my family who made this nation open to all people and many of my family died to keep it free. You know what? even though I have light color skin and blue eyes, I do not like the culture that is associated with the skin color. My heart is with a people who have permanent suntans...Man's inhumanity to man will never end. It is the dark side of human nature. We can only survive together if we cling together as "One big human family" and respect one another. But there will always be those who are arrogant, ignorant, childish and warmongering.
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