Tag Archives: India

Building bridges with peace parks

Posted on by

We all have to start somewhere and why not start with the citizens in the case of India and Pakistan

An instalment of ‘Conversations’, the ongoing email exchange between an Indian and a Pakistani journalist in this newspaper included a discussion on war memorials and peace parks, and the notion of such memorials and parks in India or Pakistan, or potentially a joint venture as a path to reconciliation (‘Push for peace parks,’ Aman ki Asha page, Political Economy section, Mar 28, 2010).

The inspiration stemmed from some precedents already set, hinging on universal philosophies of peace parks as places of introspection, reflection, greater understanding and healing. For example, the one between Israel and Jordan, the one running along the former Iron Curtain and a proposal for one between the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot territories, which incidentally would be more vital than ever given Cyprus’s recent election results.

Initially, I found the idea rather jarring – pretty out there and even alien. Then another example sprang to mind: the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Commemorative Site at the Gallipoli Peninsula (Gelibolu) in Turkey. During the First World War, a protracted military campaign took place mainly between the Australian, British, and New Zealand forces and the Turkish Army. An annual dawn service is held there to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of the ANZACs.

Many say that these battles left an indelible mark on the Australian psyche and have become a large part of Australia’s national identity. Even though all the Australian First World War veterans have passed on now, the numbers of attendees are increasing every year at the Gallipoli dawn service. ANZAC Day parades are held in most Australian cities and descendents of First World War veterans have been given permission to participate in place of their deceased relatives, proudly wearing their medals.

Due to the increasing number of people making the pilgrimage to Turkey, the Gallipoli Peninsula underwent extensive excavations and rebuilding between 1999 and 2000 through a co-operative process between the Turkish, Australian and New Zealand governments: http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/3building/

On the tiny beach affectionately called ANZAC Cove, where the ANZACs landed at dawn on 25 April 1915, an enormous epitaph is inscribed with the moving words:

“Those heroes that shed their blood

and lost their lives…

You are now lying in the soil of a

friendly country.

Therefore rest in peace.

There is no difference between

the Johnnies

and the Mehmets to us where they

lie side by side

here in this country of ours…

You, the mothers,

who sent their sons from far away

countries

wipe away your tears;

your sons are now lying in our bosom

and are in peace.

After having lost their lives on this

land they have

become our sons as well.”

–Atatürk, 1934

The writer of these lines was the Turkish commander at Gallipoli, Mustafa Kemal who later became Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president. Atatürk means ‘father of Turks’. It could be said that he played a similar role to Mohammad Ali Jinnah Quaid-e-Azam in the creation of Pakistan.

On a visit to the Gallipoli Peninsula some time back, I felt a sense of unification about the whole place. The Lone Pine cemetery set up on the hill above Anzac Cove has a Wattle Bush, which is an Australian native flower. This addition gave the whole place a further unifying feel.

These days, Turkey and Australia have remarkable political and diplomatic relations. At the time of the First World War, Australia was allied with the British forces and, along with New Zealand, became involved in the war effort due to its close ties to Britain. Some would say that Australia’s involvement in the war was therefore a case of ‘guilty by association’; nonetheless, if it weren’t for their enemy status at one time, perhaps the ‘friendship’ wouldn’t be so strong today. In other words, this shared historical enmity seems to bond the two countries today in such a way that if they hadn’t have been through this, then this sense of fraternity would not be so vibrant.

Two further examples come to mind: first, Japan and Australia were enemies during the Second World War. Despite some existing tensions with regard to Japan’s involvement in whaling, on the whole the two countries enjoy strong economic, commercial and cultural ties.

Second, the recent plane crash on Russian soil and subsequent deaths of many of Poland’s highest government officials, including its president, appears to have been a catalyst in the thawing of Polish-Russian relations; united in tragedy. We all have to start somewhere and why not start with the citizens, in the case of India and Pakistan?

A friend recently reminded me of the relatively new social networking media in our midst, such as Facebook and Twitter to name a few. These have become invaluable social tools, connecting people all over the world. So, why not get the citizens of India and Pakistan connected? From little things big things grow.

The examples of Turkey and Australia, Japan and Australia, and the recent positive development in Polish-Russian relations suggests that shared bonds of enmity do not exclude a future productive relationship between two countries. There is hope.

The version above has some minor modifications. The original article can be found at: 

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/may2010-weekly/nos-09-05-2010/pol1.htm#10

Beyond the conditioning

Posted on by

The email was brief and to the point:

Dear Danielle,

If Pak stops sending murderers to India things will improve.

Thanks,

Raj*

I was pleased to receive this comment, because it showed the writer had read the piece and thought about it. Unfortunately, he hadn’t understood my main premise: that citizens can’t be held responsible for the policies of politicians and the misdemeanours of a few.

I wonder if he’s heard of the Amistad, a project that aims to establish constructive communications between the people of Cuba and the United States. The politics of both countries continue on a divisive course; however, there has been some relaxing of visa restrictions between the two countries in recent months, paving the way for people to see relatives after years apart (see: http://tinyurl.com/37exgqe).

The blame game is clearly counterproductive and juvenile. I believe that a shift from the high-handed and seemingly futile political maneuvers towards open and honest communication between citizens can lead to greater understanding.

My faith was restored by another email, in which the reader – let’s call him Ash* – felt compelled to share what he termed as his “personal experience and understanding about what we as children have been taught”. He wrote: “What we have been exposed to as children reflects who we are as adults. I was born and raised mostly in Pakistan growing up on the constant negativity about the nation “across the border.” It was not til I went to study in the US that I realized that so many of us (Pakistanis and Indians) have been fed all this hatred against each other since childhood. Although there are some issues that spark instant reactions from both sides (Kashmir, or the wars and terrorism) but I have found that on a common ground (the US) we tend to leave our prejudices aside.”

He continues: “I was really surprised to find out from an Indian friend of mine that they are taught the exact opposite of what we are taught in primary school regarding the war of 1965. We are taught that the Indian army was planning to attack and they had decided ‘we attack tonight and we’ll have breakfast in Lahore.’ They are taught that the Pakistani army had planned the attack and decided that ‘we attack tonight and we’ll have breakfast in Delhi.’ So much propaganda to justify who actually won the war.”

He feels it is such conditioning on both sides over the years that has brought us to where we are today: “It would be a great advantage to both the countries and the whole region if this animosity ends. Generation after generation being played by a handful of leaders on both sides for their own political agendas.”

His point about what we are taught from a young age and the impact that has on shaping opinions into adulthood reminded me of a Bulgarian friend whom I travelled with in Turkey a few years back. When we met up in Istanbul, she confided in me her initial reluctance to visit Turkey. What had been ‘drummed into’ her at school about Ottoman history and their iron-fist occupation of Bulgaria from the twelfth to the early twentieth centuries had led to her negative preconceptions of Turkish people.

She even told me how acutely aware she was of having the chance to turn back before reaching the border. This was how strong those instincts were. She was to call me on arrival at the bus station in Istanbul and asked a fellow passenger if she could borrow his phone. The passenger, a Turkish gentleman, happily obliged. When a second (Turkish) person, an employee at the bus station, let her also use their phone, she was floored. Her perceptions about Turkish people were turning out to be ill-founded. They were capable of kindness and compassion!

As Ash puts it, “conditioning” does appear to play a major role in shaping an individual’s opinion. That is why it’s important for people anywhere to question what they ‘hear’, by doing their own research and creating their own experiences, no matter how they go about that. The stories recounted above support the mantra of not believing everything one hears or reads without giving it a second thought.

Broadly speaking, I see one of the functions of a diplomat is to iron out the mistakes that politicians make; then let’s hope we, as individuals, can take on a more prominent diplomatic role; precisely a role that Ash has discovered outside Pakistan on neutral territory. Having forged such friendships outside India and Pakistan indeed may demonstrate the positive potential meeting under those circumstances holds.

Call me an idealist, but if governments and individuals gave less thought to competing than to engaging with each other, our world might become a more peaceful and harmonious place.

*Names changed to protect privacy

This article is a follow up to ‘You lived through the experience?’, Aman ki Asha page, The News, Mar 31, 2010.

This version has some minor modifications. The original article above can be found at: 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=240048&Cat=14&dt=5/19/2010 

You lived through the experience?

Posted on by

“Your words are guesswork.

He speaks from experience.

There’s a huge difference.”

So wrote the thirteenth century Sufi poet, Jelaluddin Rumi. The translation from the Persian original of his poem, “Judge a moth by the beauty of its candle”, continues to resonate today, even in our post-modern world (The Essential Rumi, C. Barks & J. Moyne, New York: Harper Collins, 1995.)

Rumi sought a higher form of spirituality then, just as many millions of people do today around the world.

I would describe my own spiritual experience so far as, in a word, holistic. I consider myself rather fortunate – or perhaps just brainwashed – by a mother who espoused acceptance of people no matter what their culture or religion. She taught me about the importance of what comes from a person’s heart, rather than how often they go to their house of worship or what they eat on a certain day or do at a certain time of year. She practiced kindness and goodwill towards her fellow human beings every day. For her, religion was essentially a private matter – and what has religion got to do with friendship anyway?

As a child, I remember visiting the homes of family and friends from Germany, Iran, South Africa and China, to name a few. Looking back, I guess you could say that my childhood was a cultural tapestry, with a German father and a British-Irish mother. My mother was an excellent judge of character. She recognized positive and negative traits in people regardless of cultural or religious assumptions or stereotypes. This forms part of my set of values that I have happily chosen to continue to practice.

In 2007, one of my university lecturers invited me and five other students to present papers at the Society for Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT) conference held annually in different cities of Pakistan.

After visiting Pakistan, I also travelled to Dubai. Since I was wearing a shalwar kameez and had mehendi on my hands, let’s say I did attract a bit of attention. Expatriate Pakistanis in Dubai were delighted to learn that I had just come from Pakistan and were very interested to know where I had been and how I found Pakistan I wrote about this trip for Sada-e-Watan in 2008: ‘Sydney University students visit Pakistan,’ http://sadaewatansydney.com//students-pk.htm.

When my friends and I encountered expatriate Indians, they couldn’t hide their astonishment. We get similar responses in Australia; comments range from: “What on earth did you go there for?” to “You lived through the experience?” One day in Canberra, some Indians approached my friends and I, curious to see us dressed in shalwar kameez (we had just had lunch at the Pakistani High Commission). The conversation turned to music and one of them said: “Oh, they (Pakistanis) just rip-off Indian songs and palm them off as their own.” I was flabbergasted by their continual cynical remarks. Happily, I know several Indians in Australia who have unprejudiced thoughts towards Pakistanis and associate regularly with them. Invariably it turns out that those who have unkind words to say have not ever even visited the country. I wonder how they can pass comment on a place they haven’t ever been to?

Perhaps such prejudice is not surprising given the lack of contact between the people of both countries. During my visit to Pakistan in 2007, I remember meeting a charming lady who runs the Modernage Public School and College in Abbottabad alongside her husband. She told me about an exchange program some students from their school were arranging with a school in India. Unaware of the significance of such contact, I thought of this simply as a wonderful way for young students in different countries to get to know each other. I also didn’t really understand what she meant by the struggle that Pakistanis face when trying to obtain a visa for India. I recently learnt of the reciprocal visa restrictions on Indians and Pakistanis trying to visit each others’ countries: city specific, police reporting, no tourist visas etc.). She also talked about the malleability of children in general and how they don’t seem to harbour prejudices like adults do. I still didn’t understand exactly what she was driving at. It was only recently after subscribing to a friend’s newsletter that I began learning about the divide and even lack of knowledge in general about every day life in Pakistan and Pakistanis.

It is obvious that the media on the whole tend to project a distorted view of Pakistan and its people. If I believed even half of what I saw in the nightly news in Australia, I doubt I would have visited Pakistan in the first place. Now, having enjoyed my first visit tremendously, I jumped at the chance of a second visit with a friend and her four children this year.

My travels to several countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, including six months studying in Italy, have taught me much about our marvellous planet and the peoples who inhabit it. It doesn’t appear to me to be particularly complex. On the contrary, it’s rather simple. Everywhere I’ve found similarities: people thinking about their jobs and their children’s education, going shopping, making sure their family has enough food or going to various houses of worship for spiritual guidance. Everywhere there are a few rotten apples in the barrel who spoil it for everyone; but at the end of the day, we probably all have pretty similar aims in life.

We would be hard pressed to find two countries with closer historical, cultural, ethnic and in some cases religious bonds, than India and Pakistan. With so many similarities why is there such a focus on perceived differences? I have faith that Indian and Pakistani brothers and sisters will not continue to play into the hands of those individuals who have decided that a particular perennial line of argument keeps their political agenda alive. Most politicians and sections of the media have not really contributed to any sense of courage and hope among their people or attempted to shed past antagonisms, moving forward to embrace a positive future. Most rely on blaming the other country for all their problems, making the citizens of India and Pakistan pay for failed governmental policies.

My vision for India and Pakistan is that their peoples will start to listen to each others’ stories and begin demolishing the wall that hinders efforts to live in harmony as neighbours.

The original link can be found at: 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=231775&Cat=14&dt=4/8/2010

This version has some minor modifications.