Sunday, June 22, 2008

My Week in Pakistan

June 1, 2008
It has only been a week since I landed at Islamabad airport but it feels as if I have been here forever.

After spending Sunday and Monday in Islamabad at my aunt’s house I came to Tarbela, about 120 km from Islamabad, accompanied by Farrukh, my cousin and Akif, my nephew.

My aunt has two live in maids/servants; one is just a child of 9 or 10. I kept thinking of all the discussions we had in Peoria about child labor and sweat shops. Is this a kind of child abuse?

The child, Sanya, does not go to school, but it is not so unusual in this country. I asked my aunt if any attempt is being made to educate her. I was told the girl is not interested in education. She did not go to school before coming to Islamabad . But my aunt is trying to teach her to read the Qur’an. Even that is a struggle.

I am also told that two of Sanya’s sisters – one younger and one older – are in my aunt’s older daughter’s employ. Before we pass any judgment whether this is a child abuse, lets look at the situation.. The parents are poor and uneducated. the girls are provided room and board and parents receive monthly stipend for their wages. If these girls were not employed at my aunt’s house they probably would end up in some other household. It is unlikely they’ll be better off.

In Tarbela Khalida, my sister and her daughter, Seemab, are winding down their school year. On Friday evening we all went to their last of weekly women’s Qur’anic session. There were three of them, my sister, her daughter and another woman, taking turns reciting the ayas and explaining what they meant to about 20 women of all ages to an audience of 25 women ranging in age from ~12 to 50+. It was quite impressive how keen the women were interested in listening to a different kind of interpretation of the Qur'an.


Today, sunday Khalida, Farrukh and i are going to Peshawar, the big city closest to Afghanistan border. Seemab could not join us. I'll write about our visit to Peshawar another time

Blog Archive

israeli gunman

israeli gunman
palestinian in class at the check point

Israeli gunman

Israeli gunman
palestinian children

Musician!

Musician!
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Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, Pakistan

Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, Pakistan
LAHORE - March 24, 2006: No way-out to avoid a traffic jam near Urdu Bazaar. — Dawn

poor animal!

poor animal!
MULTAN - March 24, 2006: A camel performance at the spring festival organised by the City District Government to mark the Pakistan Day

beast of burden

beast of burden
LAHORE - March 20: BEAST OF BURDEN: A damaged vehicle being taken to a workshop.—APP

Communing with pigeons

Communing with pigeons
KARACHI - March 20: A child enjoys the company of pigeons, whom he feeds, at Hyderi on Tuesday.—APP

Waiting for drinking water

Waiting for drinking water
HYDERABAD (India) - March 20: People stand in a line as they wait to fill containers with drinking water supplied by a mobile water vehicle in a slum area in the Saidabad colony here on Tuesday. More than 500 families living in this slum area depend on water supplied by a mobile vehicle and provided by the Metro water works once in three days. 'Coping with Water Scarcity' is the theme for the World Water Day 2007, which is celebrated each year on March 22.—AFP

Mud slide in Kashmir

Mud slide in Kashmir
BAGH - March 20: A man marooned in an area of Azad Kashmir affected by hill torrents following heavy downpour over the past few days is being rescued by local people on Tuesday.—AFP

Palestinians

Palestinians
BETHLEHEM - March 22: Palestinian students wear traditional clothing during a cultural event taking place at the Bethlehem University here on Thursday. The event, which included a mock wedding, is to promote the education of traditional ideals of Palestinian culture.�AFP

The World Water Day,

The World Water Day,
HYDERABAD - March 22: Peasant women make their way to a distant place in order to fetch water. The World Water Day, being observed on Friday, is intended to highlight the need for reducing wastage of this precious commodity. � Photo by Yousuf Nagori