Karachi - 9th April 2008 :'(

Thanks to Alta for his help...

Today when I woke up aroun 16.30 I had my whole thing planned, I was planning to leave for work around 17.00... 03.00 getting free from work and on the way back having "chicken malai paneer handi" with friends from tandoori hut.

I was about to go in the shower when my mom called me in her room & told me about the law & order situation in the city & asked me not to go to work. I switched TV on & saw people & police shooting at each other openly, buses & cars on fire, some injured taken to hospital & fire dept. trying to control a burning building. It looked like a scene from some hollywood action movie.

I was not here last year but am told that similar was the situation on May 12th last year. The day started like anyother day and out of no where a group of not more than 100 people came, did whatever they felt like doing & a city of more than 10 million people got scared. (ashamed to include myself in the list)

Now the same old thing will start when everyone will be asking me to leave this place cuz "ye jaga aab rehney ke kabil nahi" and move to some safe place... My question is "WHY SHOULD I LEAVE MY CITY?" I've lived here for years, this is my city, I know everyone here & everyone knows me... why should I leave just because of such people? I have lived all my life in Karachi and I love my city, the city of lights, not so cold winters, the fast paced life which for most people doesn’t start till noon (at least for me) a city which is the life line of the country the city which pours blood into the country in more ways then one.

When are we going to realize that 100 is very very less than 10 million if 10 million are together? when is all this going to end? we are not in the state of war so why should v see all this? if everyone starts moving & leave this place to the mercy of such people then the day is not very far when in reality this place wont be worth living... Where is the majority we keep hearing about? Where are those who think like me? Hiding in their houses like I have? Or is their no such majority? Maybe I am and people like me are truly the minority and we just lie to ourselves living in a dream land hoping that one day all of us will rise and take our city back. Make Karachi what it was once before, truly the city of lights. That we will too on a Friday march on the streets on shar e Faisal with banners and re claim our city.

But it’s all a dream and we are fools. It’s never going to happen. We are not the majority even if we are we don’t have the balls to stand up together nor are we organized. We karachites are lazy and we just like to complain, we never stand up and take responsibility we never have and we never will. We will be the pawns in this big chess game of politics and power which has taken away the soul of Karachi, the only city in the whole country which has life, has flavor a true metro.

Today once again my Karachi was burning, karachites injured and many dead. I was very young when Karachi burned in the 80’s and I don’t remember much of what happened during the 90’s maybe its because I try and ignore the bad memories, I try to hide them away because I want to dream and feel that my there is nothing wrong with my city. Or more importantly I have never lost a loved one when something like this happens.

Was everything back to how it was in the mid 90’s. With the rangers out on the streets, with orders of shoot to kill. The citizens trapped inside their homes, businesses shut down with a public holiday announced.

Why the rangers or the police didn’t do anything to stop the violence? I think most karachites and Pakistani’s know the answer to that question. We are a country with a majority that supports peace, we have a majority which supports and are moderates. That’s what we and the world are told and I believe that we are, though my faith is being lost when I read the paper every morning (yes I know its afternoon). Every time they kill my city, poisoning it slowly and giving its citizens slow death.

I don’t know, maybe I am just a fool which I am, or maybe I am scared to try something new I am not sure. I do know, but the thought of moving away did cross my mind when I sat in my room watching my city burn again, it hurt and it made me sick.

But I know one thing, I like to dream (of dirty laundry too now) and I love this country and this city. And if I go away things won’t get better, so I shall stay here and do what I do best like millions of other karachites, I shall keep in the background, keep a low profile and on days like today stay in doors watch my Karachi burn and cry.

But when the day comes, and it will trust me. When the silent majority of this country and this great city rise and come out on the streets. when we have had enough and every single one of us has lost someone we love to violence (because this is what it might take) I shall not stay in, but ill be dressed in my Sunday best (shorts and T shirt ok?) and ill be on shar e faisal and then you will see the power of the people of this great city. A city filled with great history, just go to old Karachi and you will know what I am talking about.

Till then I am going to be here waiting for that day, till then I shall keep a low profile and go about my business, I shall enjoy the electricity breakdowns, the summer heat, take it all in like a Karachite is supposed to, call me a fool or a call me a dreamer, I am Omer and I am staying.