To start the discussion here’s what Fatima Husanain, a social science major at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, has to say about Tuesday’s events:
I have never wanted to go to school so badly as I do today. Heck, I’ve never wanted to take an exam I haven’t even prepared for, as badly as I do today! But we are stuck, you and I and scores like us. Because we live in fear and we breathe death.
LUMS has been shut down for a week. And as I said to a friend, maybe it’s a good thing. Because we, the ones at LUMS, are so disconnected from Pakistan, that it had to take the death of seven students, seven of our people, to make us pause our movies and type google news instead of facebook in our urls. Because with the divide between classes here, it’s as if Pakistan is two countries; one where all the news comes from, bombs, stampedes at ration lines, acid attacks, rapes and one where LUMS is, where people (even a few crazy women) can walk the clean quiet streets of defence and cantt, where people dine in every increasing style, where the only effects of terrorism are a few tiresome roadblocks and the echos of blasts far far away. Terrorism has reached our country now and we are slightly disturbed at it.
So finally the budding intellectuals of Pakistan have turned their attention to this problem that they had heard about but never really experienced before this. But this turned out to be a problematic exercise for me. Ask me what I want to see in this country. And I can flood your ears with concepts such as pluralism, freedom, justice, democracy, even anarchism in the style of Noam Chomsky. But ask me, “how do you get to there, from here?” And I am mute. And my hands drop uselessly to my sides. Or rather, they go up and cover my eyes because there is no point of sight when you can’t move.
My philosophy won’t work here because I know what I want but I have no way to make it happen.
I want these killings to end. I want the discourse to become more nuanced than “Islamic terrorism”. I want people to realize that all Muslims aren’t killers and that to say so, even as a joke, is to open the door to a dangerous generalization. I want Muslims to be able to criticize Israel on it’s war crimes without being attacked as fundamentalists. I want Muslims to stop defending what’s happening in our country and stop using conspiracy theories to deflect blame onto the US and its cronies. I want things to become less simplistic. But it can’t happen. Because there are certain interests for USA in creating the image of a Muslim terrorist. Because there is a certain complacency in the Muslim attribution of blame to the west. We all want to blame someone because then the responsibility to fix the problem is placed on whoever is blamed. And man is inherently lazy.
I want the people of Pakistan to be united. But for so many groups with so many nationalist claims to unite under one banner or one leader or even one party is impossible.
I want Pakistan to be partitioned into it’s four provinces. But for that to take place without bloodshed is a myth unheard of in our part of the World. And then there is the problem of our geographical location. A problem that we refer to with a mixture of pride and sorrow. The problem is that we are essential to too many interests. We are a troublesome neighbor to far too many important countries for those interests to allow us to divide for internal peace. Better a war ridden Pakistan than four small states who don’t border all those territories that actually matter to the World.
I want us to not think in terms of nationalism and patriotism. Because what use are these constructs? Why is a fellow Pakistani worth anymore than someone who just happens to be born in Iran or India? Why can’t we cherish human life and human development regardless of which boundary it occurs in? We cannot because such trajectories of thinking have never been offered to us. We cannot because if every Pakistani began to think of him or herself as an individual and began to work for their own benefit, all Pakistan would get is a slap from the invisible hand. Individualism abroad means greater progress because there are structures in which that individualism is exercised. Here, individualism is destruction. It is individualism that makes so many LUMS students rejoice that our university has closed in the middle of exams, because they hadn’t studied and would have scored “below the mean” in a course. Yes, there are Pakistanis who are rejoicing in this moment.
I want such Pakistanis, all Pakistanis to realize what it means to be at war. I want us to work. Ceaselessly. Because work alone can produce results and yes, it might be a Western concept to cherish work oh-so-much instead of sipping tea with the family but I want us to realize that tea and drawing room chats won’t do anything for us. But we can’t. Because when we go to school we die; when we talk out loud, we disappear; when we write, they write back threats. And why should we work? Why should we bother, sitting in our generator powered homes, surfing the net on our shiny laptops, going to cafes and stealing kisses on campus? Of course the greatest issue for LUMS to consider is kissing on campus. Of course. Because what effect does Pakistan’s appalling Gender Equity Index ratings have on a campus where women make up nearly half the student body? What effect do rising food prices have for us, with our regulated cafeteria prices?
So maybe it is good that LUMS has shut down for a week. But will this week change anything, I wonder? An essay here, a comment there. And this week will pass. And the rat race within LUMS will begin again. And you and I, as rational actors, will realize that nothing we do can help Pakistan and we should simply help ourselves by burying our heads in our imported traditions, getting the grades and rushing abroad the first chance we get.
I want things to change. But they won’t. Because we are stuck, you and I and scores like us. And I don’t know how we can get unstuck.
Although it feels good to read in words what’s been going on in my mind lately, reading Fatima’s views was nothing but ‘unpleasant.’ In no way does that imply that it was a bad read, but it’s just that sometimes the truth is so bitter, you wish you could avoid it. Fatima’s words reflect how majority of us students are feeling at the moment, but are speechless…
It is not rare to feel unpleasant about going to school, dreading an approaching homework deadline or an exam I never got the time to prepare for, but the sort of dread I feel right now, having been ‘sent’ back home because school—my school, my LUMS—is not safe anymore, is more disturbing than ever.
LUMS has been my home for more than two years now. It is where I feel safe and comfortable. Even at times of our country’s instability and unrest, my parents would tell me “Just stay inside LUMS, and you’ll be safe.” But now I wonder, am I ever going to be safe within Pakistan again? I try not to think about it, because as I said earlier, sometimes the truth seems so terrifying, you wish you just could ignore it… and so, we seem to be ignoring it already…
Why is everyone so determined to ‘evacuate’ the university for a week? Are they promising that a week later all will be good and we can resume to our everyday lives?
Probably not. So let’s extend this to a month? Perhaps a year? And if things get really bad, maybe I should evacuate the country… yeah, that would be safe. How difficult would it be to get my credits transferred to a university abroad? My parents can afford it. I have a good gpa. Let me just leave this place, so I won’t have to be one of the thousands that may die… Hello!
Difficult to comprehend how one can be so selfish and nonsensical? Trust me, I fail to understand it myself. Why can’t we just face the reality rather than ignoring it? Why can’t we accept that we are at war and go to back to school? Would staying back home and hoping to live help?? So much for being a Muslim & believing in predestination… If I’ve got to die, I will die even in the vicinity of my ‘safe’ home, right? So why not summon courage and go to school? But then again, what if someone comes around and blasts me up because I wish to educate myself?
My thoughts at the moment seem complicated and self-contradictory, but coupled with a feeling of powerlessness & personal insignificance, I am caught in a limbo, and the anxiety it’s causing me is actually inexplicable…
As Fati said, I wish I could change things. I wish Pakistan was a country where people could wish to visit. I wish Pakistan was a country where people would desire to migrate. I wish all Pakistanis could actually ‘feel proud’ to say they belong to Pakistan. I wish Pakistanis didn’t have to resort to circumlocutions when a non-Pakistani friend talks about terrorism. I wish Pakistanis didn’t need to act ‘diplomatic’ when explaining the concept of jihad to a foreigner. But, I can only wish…
Our philosophy has failed us. Not just because it fills that insulated bubble with expectations of ease and perfection from the rosy world beyond, but also because once that bubble bursts, it either leads us to despondency induced paralysis (that Afrah talks about), or numb, unfeeling indifference. Sometimes, we make a conscious decision to look away – and that decision cannot be reversed no matter how many road blocks slow us down on our way to our comfortable security alarm guarded homes, no matter how many times our schools and universities give threat breaks.
Maybe, it’s about time that we step up and realize that things are bad. That there’s no easy way to clean up the mess we’re in, and that there is no escaping it. Maybe it’s about time we stop looking in our philosophy reading pack for solutions and turn to bed time stories instead – one’s that teach blind hope, bravery, idealism and selfless commitment to a good cause over rational selfish survival.
These last three posts, they very beautifully and extensively highlight on many problems, relevant and irrelevant to the perceived fundemental problem under question. What they fail to do is provide any answer to the proposed problems. Is this sentiment of helplessness a sentiment that needs propogation? I’m sure even the authors would agree not!
There is no question as to whether we are in a state of war or not. We are! Now, an agreement on this fact entails a lot of questions, but lets start on the first one. Is it right for educational insititutions to remain open when we realize that we are in a state of war? In my view an answer in the affirmative is in direct conflict of the claim of ‘National Interest’. Why? Because the defined code of social/civil ethics in state of war clearly says so. Debating that would be irrelevant! Yes, if there was even one good reason to open LUMS, or any educational institution for that matter, one might even think about it. But i’m sorry, an assertion that atleast we’re doing something is not good enough. It’s not good enough because what we’re doing there is serving self-interest alone! And in my view, when one accepts one is in a state of war, one’s conscience should feel responsible for the present, not future, perhaps because i find the latter as selfish.
I very well agree with Fatima Hasnain’s assertion that the average Luminite is gravely ignorant of the magnitude and gravity that Pakistan’s current situation entails. But the reason is the system of LUMS as well. So isn’t it better, if we sit outside it? Isn’t it better that the realization of what we’re facing draws upon us whether we like it or not, as opposed to choosing to go back and hence making a choice of remaining conciously ignorant? In Maheen’s view, it’s not even possible to return to that choice, in my view the right choice is obvious. Educational institutions are one of the prime targets of the terrorists. By functioning as one we just add to the burden of the authorities who are responsible for civil security, and make no contribution to that security issue in return. Not fair!
Uptil now i’ve assumed LUMS cannot function as an entity that makes any contribution to the current problem that this country faces, hence i’ve asserted it should have the humility to comply with the view point of those who are trying to sort it out, and stay put even if its just to make the work of the authorities in countering the problem easier. The funny part is, what makes me sad is not that I might not be able to go to LUMS, but the fact that so many people want to go back, without having to question that fundemental assumption. They want to go back to secure their futures. They want to go back because they have lost faith in themselves as nationalists and patriots. They want to go back because they feel thats all that they can do. Thats what makes me sad!
Oh and the Islamic perspective, i forgot to voice my view on that. Well broadly speaking, the definition of state of war is when externalities attempt to hinder your prosperity as and Ummah. In such a state, Muslims are supposed to take up “Jehad”. The externalities are not very hard to identify today. How we do our “Jehad” in my view is open to interpretation for every individual. Although if we somehow manage to reconcile our interpretations, perhaps we’ll manage to actually come up with an organised plan of action. “Jehad” is a concept, not a sword fight! And LUMS could actually serve some useful purpose if ’somehow’ used for reconciliation of view points regarding the problem faced by us as a nation.
disclaimer: This is just my interpretation of what would be the right thing to do according to my religion. I by no means assume any authority on the religion itself.
The provincial and federal decision to close schools was a correct one. Pakistan is a developing country and we do not have the financial or bureaucratic resources to equip the police and other security agencies so quickly. No one wants to hamper your academic progress but you have to realize that the terrorists have issued a warning and have already bombed one university. Put yourself in the shoes of those who are responsible for maintaining law and order in the country. Do you know how much pressure and tension they are in? Have you seen the news or read papers? They don’t want to take any risks or chances again. Give them a break!
How we die is in a limited way in our hands. When you know there is a confirmed terrorist threat to academic institutions and you know that one institution has already been bombed then you should not be too unhappy if someone is trying to save your life by keeping you at home and away from a confirmed threat.
Why do you have to be diplomatic to foreigners? The whole world knows about how and why our country is like this now. They all know we did not breed terrorists. They all know about the foreign terrorists in our lands. The world knows we fought a proxy war and like all wars we suffered wounds. However, we did not tend to those wounds and in time they festered into the problems we have now.