Human Rights

Narrowed topic: Child labor in Pakistan (A Narrative)

My name is “Chotay”, “Oye”, “Bewakoof”,”Gadhay” and many others. Originally I was named…..ummm.. Ah yes… Karim! Although I never hear that. I was the youngest of six siblings. I don’t remember what my brothers and sisters look like, it has been six years since I went home, I am twelve now.  I don’t have a family. Well, a man comes every three months, says he is my “father” and tells me tales of this “mother” who loves me and these “brothers and sisters” who “miss” their little brother. I don’t know even if that man is my father or not, he takes the money that I have worked for day and night and only returns when its time to collect my payment. I am an orphan for all practical reasons. During one of these visits by my “father”, I asked him, “Why am I not staying at home and why am I working here?” Patting my head smilingly he said, “We need the money and people want hard workers like you.” This was perhaps the only question I had asked him in all these years. I AM AN ORPHAN AFTER ALL!

I work at a car mechanics shop. “Ustad” is a fierce and harsh man. He treats me like I am his slave, well maybe I am. After all that man doesn’t come for nothing every three months. Although Ustad does teach me what he knows, I think he is a bad teacher. But frankly, he is the only teacher I have had. In fact he is my mother, my father and my family. But I hate him. Each and every second of the day I hate him, for the way he makes me work, I hate him. The way he abuses me, I hate him. The way he yells at me, I hate him. The way he beats me, I hate him. The way he ignores me, I hate him. But I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to him. Even the thought of something happening to him shivers me to the bone. I love him after-all.

I remember hearing about "Children's Day" a few months back. I laughed the whole night. I still chuckle every time I remember the anchor on the television saying, "Children are our future, we must be kind and tender to them and provide them with a world of possibilities." My wrench and Ustad's abuses.I had my world of possibilities! Once an elderly man came to me with some sound advice. "Go to school and you can make your future bright". I cannot believe how stupid some people are. Does that old idiot actually think I had a choice and am ruining my life? Will he feed me for that time? Will he work for Ustad for the payment that has been made to my "dearly beloved father"? Maybe next time the news should be about "Common Sense Day"!

Letter to an Athlete

Dear Zeeshan,

                       Let me start off by saying that I am a Huge HUGE fan. Your playing skills of course are at excellent levels, but your understanding of the game is just marvelous. The way you mark a striker on the run is exemplary. I am a HUGE fan!!!

Olympic Games are coming up ahead. A couple of months back I heard a documentary regarding the ambitions and the dreams of the players. 90 % of them (and if I am not wrong, you as well) said that getting an Olympic gold medal is the most important achievement for a player. You might not know what that statement means to me and to all of the people like me. For us, The Olympics isn’t just some tournament that comes and goes. NO! It is much much more. The feeling when our Nation’s flag is held up high for everyone to see and know that we are a competitor to be taken seriously. The feeling when after winning a competition, all alone stands the winning team, with Flag in their hands, tears of joy in their eyes, sheer exuberance on their faces. And to the entire world showing what a nation we are. Olympics aren’t just a game.

We have all heard about the good old days, when the only powerhouse in hockey was the Pakistani team and their mere presence meant a victory. My dad reminisces about the past some times and he tells about the time when the whole nation stopped their work just to watch the match and support the Pakistani team. Even today when he recollects those moments, it’s hard for him to keep from smiling.

To be among the best is every ones dream. The chance to be able to fulfill that dream comes only to a handful of people. The rest want to live their joy in the likes of you. I remember talking to an English friend of mine and we talked about how Pakistan had beaten England in the hockey series. I told him,”WE won against your team!”  You say you want the Olympic gold medal more than anything else? We want it! Pakistan wants it! Give me some of those moments that I can just think about and smile! And the only way we are going to get that is through you. Whenever there is a match it’s not only you who play, the entire nation is behind you, and Olympics make it so much more special because the opponent isn’t just a single team, it’s the entire world! Win it for yourself, win it for the team, and win it for the Pakistani Nation.

Your fan,
Umair Ahsan

The Pakistani Nation

And I was kicked out of class

“Stand up! And leave. Now!” said professor Ikram in a meaningful tone. The chirping stopped and a grim atmosphere took over. “But sir...” muttered Haider.

“No more discussion”, said the professor. He had to leave and he did. Being fearless is good and rare but there’s a time and place for everything, this was neither.

Haider wasn’t famous amongst the teachers, because he was always questioning. Any and every thing that was obscure to him, he asked. The questions were lame at times but still professors are there to help aren’t they? Today was no different. Professor Ikram was a PhD and we - undergraduates. Obvious…. The difference in intellectual levels.

Today we were studying about the laws of physics, in particular, how the universe was created. The Professor, although knew his science better than most people I know, was a firm believer in Islam. Giving us all the details about the science of how the universe was created by The Big Bang Theory he added, “But that’s what the scientists believe and say, obviously the sole creator is Allah.”

He, Haider, had a different view. “Does that mean that all the data you gave us is incorrect?” he asked. “No, but that’s just according to the current “facts & figures”, science changes a lot.” “Well, how do you prove GOD?” asked Haider. “We can feel HIM. HE does exist” professor Ikram replied spontaneously.

“Well if you can’t see someone/something its hard to believe isn’t it sir? And the theory makes a lot of sense to me.”

“You think you know more than me? “The theory makes sense to you”? If you know so much why don’t you teach all of us. I’ll come and sit in the benches” the professor was apparently not happy.

“I didn’t mean to upset you, but sir isn’t there a teeny tiny bit chance that these scientists are right and there’s no God? Practically, what you are saying is that all the scientist and, with all due respect, you sir, have wasted their time on learning something that can never be true?” Fearless, Stupid Haider was! “You mean to say,” He added, “that all those researches are in vain? All the scientists are stupid?” Fearless, Stupid he was!

The last comment in particular angered the professor.

“All I am saying is that an open mind should be kept while studying different theories.” Haider said. That was the boiling point for the professor.


“No more discussion. Stand up! And leave. Now!”

You Know You Are a Pakistani When :

     You Know You Are a Pakistani When :

• You call every old man your ‘chacha’ and every old woman your ‘mausi’
• You feel your grandparents are there to be cute and give you presents
• Your problem is the entire family’s problem
• Getting a look from the girl you like makes your day
• You greet eid to everyone even if you know them or not
• You can name more politicians than movie stars
• You are old and have a family of your own, but your dad’s glare still makes you sweat
• A match between India & Pakistan is more important than your life
• Your girlfriends’ name in your mobile is stored as your best friends name
• Your ninja skills are checked when riding a local bus

My Philosophy of Life

"Look at what he is wearing!!"
"Do you see him?"
"Must have a bad mother"
"Careless child"

All these and plenty more. Random comments by random people. This particular incident was when I was at a market and a kid passed by who's jeans had been torn over his left knee. There could have been a thousand  different reasons why his jeans were torn. Maybe he fell, did anyone went up to see that? NO! Maybe his family cant afford a better jeans, did anyone try to help him? NO! Maybe he is being fashionable as he sees it, did anyone try and think that? NO! So why comment at all? There certainly is not going to be any effect on that kid and certainly not on the people commenting, other than the fact that they can feel superior in their own minds. But why comment at all? If you want to help that's great, but why give unnecessary and unwanted opinions about petty things?

My Philosophy of Life is "Live and Let Live!"

If anyone has a problem that they cant handle on their own, most probably they would come to another person for help. Only in a minute number of cases interference by another person is required when not invited.  Our current society and system has completely lost the respect for privacy and the need for letting other people live a life without feeling and thinking, "What other people would say?". There is a need to change. By "living and letting live" a person might be able to do things that he/she previously wont because of the fear of how the society would perceive it. A whole new dimension of possibilities can open through this frame of mind.
So please, Live And Let Live!

Importance of Voting in Pakistan

Voting is a right that every civilian of a country has. It is very important to vote and decide the future of the country. Pakistan is one of the countries that is in a major need of getting its people to vote. People of Pakistan mostly blame the “corrupt” politicians and all the government officials but they never realize that what they are doing is a greater crime. Not voting is the fact that you are not in favor of any of the political parties currently running for elections and contesting for your vote.  That leaves the elections open to inaccuracy and the results portray the votes of only few areas and deciding the fate of the whole country through some votes results in most of the people getting angry and feeling cheated. People need to realize that they Have to choose from within the political parties that have been established here and vote for the lesser of the evils if that is what they believe it to be.

Many a times it has been seen that people complain about that their favorite representative hasn’t been elected and they feel as if the elections were rigged. Most of these “un-elected” candidates fail to get their supporters to vote. So when they lose the elections, they blame it on the system and accuse the winners of foul play. But again the main problem here is that people do not realize that their not voting has direct and indirect consequences. This way they not only lose their say in the functioning of the system and society, but they corrupt the system by making a less able person in charge of their surroundings. What people mostly do not recognize is that by voting, they are using the power that they have to control the running of their system. And equally by not voting, they let go of that power and in return are weakened. Current times demand the people of Pakistan to bring about a change, a revolution. This change and revolution can easily be achieved through peaceful elections but only and only if the people vote.

Work those Fingers

You might be wondering how to get those fingers to work around the neck of the guitar. Fear Not! Remember to be patient and practice.
Hold the first fret of the first string with your index finger and play, then on the second fret with your second finger and play, then ring finger on the third fret and fourth finger(pinky) on the fourth fret, play it without the buzzing sound. Once you are able to do that, try this same exercise on all the strings. Remember the more you practice the better and faster you will learn.

DO NOT PRACTICE WRONG MATERIAL!