on karachi
bina:
am not sure who told me this first...my late mother...god bless her...or a teacher in school...'if it (words or advice) hurts, take the truth and throw away the rest'...
...so the time's reporter saw the glass half empty...
...karachi will live forever in the heart of this karachite...but based on what you reported....this could be about any third world city…karachi being a microcosm of the country...your comments, his/her comments can be extrapolated to the entire country...
...beg to differ with you...this time for real...a digression first...when i was growing up the houses had low walls or hedges...then sometime later we saw four or five feet brick walls...that were raised to six and seven feet...and later even higher...and in some instances and localities topped with barbed wires and monitoring cameras and alarms and of course the now mandatory7/24 armed guards...will call this the siege mentality...it has permeated the core of our society...
...(another digression: you may ask this may be a description of the elites but this does not reflect the reality for the poor...to which i would say...yes, but their ramparts are different, their guards are different...just as their needs…their need for safety is partly fulfilled through religious and ethnic association...the local mafia, gangs, parties, madaris)
...folks across the SM divide could be sensitive, caring, almost normal in terms of their personal feelings and relationships...but collectively and largely they are almost immune to the needs of the larger whole that lives across the proverbial different sides of the bridges, rivers and tracks…(this in no way negates the works of Shehri, CPLC, Edhi, and other admirable NGOs and organizations...but collectively it is a pittance and an insult to the suffering masses)...
this siege mentality of those blessed with wealth and power...and now i am talking of the country not the city, if you forgive...is what will lead to a quake...a leveling storm...sooner or later...please make no mistake...our situation...our divide is far worse than appears in other third world cities/countries...
am not sure who told me this first...my late mother...god bless her...or a teacher in school...'if it (words or advice) hurts, take the truth and throw away the rest'...
...so the time's reporter saw the glass half empty...
...karachi will live forever in the heart of this karachite...but based on what you reported....this could be about any third world city…karachi being a microcosm of the country...your comments, his/her comments can be extrapolated to the entire country...
...beg to differ with you...this time for real...a digression first...when i was growing up the houses had low walls or hedges...then sometime later we saw four or five feet brick walls...that were raised to six and seven feet...and later even higher...and in some instances and localities topped with barbed wires and monitoring cameras and alarms and of course the now mandatory7/24 armed guards...will call this the siege mentality...it has permeated the core of our society...
...(another digression: you may ask this may be a description of the elites but this does not reflect the reality for the poor...to which i would say...yes, but their ramparts are different, their guards are different...just as their needs…their need for safety is partly fulfilled through religious and ethnic association...the local mafia, gangs, parties, madaris)
...folks across the SM divide could be sensitive, caring, almost normal in terms of their personal feelings and relationships...but collectively and largely they are almost immune to the needs of the larger whole that lives across the proverbial different sides of the bridges, rivers and tracks…(this in no way negates the works of Shehri, CPLC, Edhi, and other admirable NGOs and organizations...but collectively it is a pittance and an insult to the suffering masses)...
this siege mentality of those blessed with wealth and power...and now i am talking of the country not the city, if you forgive...is what will lead to a quake...a leveling storm...sooner or later...please make no mistake...our situation...our divide is far worse than appears in other third world cities/countries...
posted by temporal at 8/28/2005
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