Home, sweet ‘suckrooed’-up home…
If coming home has a sound then this week, for me, it was the gentle whispering thud of rubber wheels on tarmac as a plane brought me home. At 3 am, Lahore seemed its usually lazy and warm summer self. The promise of the arrival of a plane stirred into activity many porters and loved ones. I have been away for nearly a year and my life in the US seemed like a blur within minutes of landing home. This is home and of course I have missed Pakistan enormously. At the same time, like most relationships involving “getting back together”, this place takes some getting used to. Three hours of sweating in bed immediately after I landed (thanks to loadshedding) jolted me out of any hangover relating to the comforts of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On my flight home, I read two fantastic books: The Harm in Hate Speech by Jeremy Waldron and Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer. The latter was quite a remarkable story of how our memory works and how fascinating discoveries about memory led a journalist to compete in national and international tournaments testing memory. I am perpetually worried about forgetting things so it was some comfort to read Foer’s point that remembering too much may overload our system and cause a breakdown. In fact, individuals who remember everything have trouble making sense of words and speech that is not literal. Foer reminds us that memory, not always the same as intelligence, is about connecting the dots. More importantly, he argues that forgetting is what makes us human. Poignant if you have just landed back in Pakistan. Or even if you have been here all along. I suppose in a place like Pakistan, with all that goes on, you need to forget often in order to remain human. Or is it that we try too hard to forget certain things or at least how they affect us? Do we simply need to try more often to connect the dots better?
These and other questions occupied my jet-lagged, sleep deprived brain with one eye on the ominously still ceiling fan. So at the first whirring sound (light aa gayee) I switched on the TV to forget all this. And there was Mr Malik Riaz on it and he seemed in no mood to let anyone forget anything. His account of how many people are trying to “suck-roo” him did provide early morning laughs. His take on this country was a stark and sobering reminder of the belief and practice that most things are for sale. He did have a point — whether it involves getting a CNIC, a passport, a driving licence, copy of court orders — there is usually a price involved.
His interview was definitely not uplifting to watch for someone who had just come home with dreams and aspirations but it raised realistic issues (even if it was a planted interview, I feel for Mr Riaz since he kept begging the interviewers to let him get a word in). I do not mean to endorse him or his actions — present or past — but he too deserves to be heard. And he definitely deserves a lawyer. The actions of the bar associations against lawyers who represented him are disgraceful. Aptly enough, he asked those interviewing him, “Why are you lying to people?” Lies addressed to the population have been seen as necessary by politicians, media, military and judges too. We would all do each other a favour by questioning them more. Of course, just because Mr Riaz raised questions doesn’t mean he is immune from liability for his actions and their consequences.
There is also a new issue now, i.e. regarding the “planted” interview. Surprising that it shocked anyone. The different media houses and the anchors hosting shows have been taking sides on almost every issue. To imagine that big business would take sides without the promise of money and influence being on their side would be naïve. Powerful and moneyed interests often approach journalists they are friendly with and ask for a platform to tell their story. But there are lines that journalists should not cross and disclosures that they should make — especially if they know that their viewers are relying on the journalists’ integrity. It won’t do for journalists to say, “Don’t shame us because everyone is shameless.” Since they love putting others under the spotlight, it is about time they face the music too.
And yet in a way I feel bad for these people. They are victims of their own self righteousness and the rhetoric of success — a point I hinted at last time too. In a society where corruption is rife and pushing things under the carpet the norm, why assume that journalists or lawyers are going to be better than the average Joe? It’s more wishful thinking rather than a realistic expectation — since we impose nobility on certain professions without those professions having truly earned it. Still, this doesn’t absolve the delinquents. Not enough has been done to ensure disclosures of conflict of interest. Don’t blame the Parliament here. Every time it wants to improve laws regarding the media, media folks are up in arms. Now a media group has petitioned the Supreme Court to get involved in obtaining declarations of assets and cleansing the media of corruption. These are not tasks the honourable Supreme Court should get involved with. Whoever is giving the “let’s take this to the SC” advice on such matters needs to be a responsible citizen first rather than see one court as the solution for all ills.
So, yes, apart from the sweating and the load-shedding it has been an eventful three days. When I was leaving Harvard, a friend put things in perspective: a lot of what happens in Pakistan seems like a bad soap opera. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. This is quite a lot to take in.
Right now there is no electricity again. My family is teasing me about America as we sweat and everyone is laughing at our plight. At least we Pakistanis can always laugh at ourselves. Maybe it makes things in Pakistan more bearable. My friends are still here and just as warm. Just now I drove on the wrong side of the road and had a van driver swear at me. I ended up laughing and so did he. There are a precious few things to be joyful about so why spoil it? I am home and that is all I want to focus on for now. If I am lucky I might manage to catch some sleep too.
The writer is a lawyer and a recent graduate of Harvard Law School. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @wordoflaw
love it. welcome home. I hope you survive the experience. I'm still trying:)
Is'n better sir if you clear your point in few and precise words? rather than telling us your rutine life? actually its very difficult to read whole article, in which there are numerous directions.
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