The things we do…

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Samina W. Perozani
There are many things that we, as a nation, love to do. We love to talk, love (and live) to eat and really, really love holidaying. We also love carrying a huge chip on our shoulder. Case in point: the angry ‘outburst’ at the ‘Shanaakht’ (Identity) festival that led to its untimely ‘demise’ even before it had a chance to kick-off properly. According to news reports, an offensive art installation triggered the incident; and within a few minutes, anarchy was unleashed at the Arts Council Karachi, with gun-toting ‘Jiyalas’ spewing expletives (the video clip on youtube.com provides ample proof) as wanton destruction not only destroyed countless creative creations, but also forced visitors including the elderly, women and children to run for dear life.

No doubt, the artwork in question was offensive to the sensibilities of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and its workers. It is most unfortunate that the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) overlooked the contentious artwork and the fault lies in their domain. Having said that, however, the shocking display of brute force at Shanaakht remains inexcusable and cannot be condoned (going by the less-than-satisfactory response of the various PPP leaders in the days that followed). Moreover, given the law and order situation, festivals are rare in the metropolis, and even when such events occur, we criticise, pontificate and in some cases explode with rage, deprecating or even nullifying the labours of those who put such events in place.

Worse still is our complete lack of respect for institutions and authority figures. The rowdiness displayed at the University of Karachi (KU), thanks to the efforts of the Peoples Student Federation (PSF) in organising a football tournament, is yet another example of this brazen disregard and contempt that most political parties’ youth wings have for rules and laws to say nothing of decorum and propriety.

It’s one thing to promote a sporting event inside the university premises; it is quite another to disrupt classes (by playing loud music), and disregard the repeated pleas of officials to bring down the noise level by a few decibels. For a party (and its student offshoots) that claims to be the custodian of freedom and tolerance, such behaviour seems a tad hypocritical, if not irresponsible.

Despite all this, there are among us those who know how to respectfully disagree; those who use technology to register their protest and initiate dialogue, as a programme held at the Goethe-Institut last week deliberated upon. Organised by the Collective for Open Technology, Art and Culture, it discussed how alternative forms of communication, such as cellular phones and the internet, are particularly useful for forces of resistance.

Dr Awab Alvi participation in the programme as one of the speakers was encouraging. Dr Alvi has been promoting alternative media, blogs to be specific, for a long time. In fact, his blog has a loyal following, and is one of the few reliable sources giving information about events in the city, even when the screws are tightened on mainstream media.

Meanwhile, US journalist and author Ethan Casey was in town last week to deliver a talk at the Pakistan Press Foundation’s (PPF) Vickey Zeitlin Media Library (he was also slated to participate in Shanaakht). Talking about his experiences in the country, Casey also pointed out that while most Pakistanis hate the US, they also want to move there as the country offers numerous opportunities. Casey did not explore this further but his observation was spot-on: we love extolling our self-righteousness too. So we go to foreign lands, settle and prosper there but stubbornly cling to the belief that we are a whole lot better than them. Yes, we love to do many things – being sanctimonious is one of them.

samina.wahid@thenews.com.pk
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=172744