Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
You're in a limbo. For example you'll never be accepted in Canada 100% and you will never be accepted 100% in Pakistan either. That goes for American/British Pakistanis too...
Actually, I'm not in limbo nor do I have any concerns about not being accepted as a Canadian.
Acceptance as Pakistani is my question - because I don't have the fall back of having been born there or lived there.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
go ahead and of course the indian team is supported…like duh, if the US team, yes it exists:bummer:, didn’t suck mega amounts, i would support it like crazy too, there, so what?
since i didn’t grow up in India, i still love it, but i find myself being a die hard american too, love it intensely.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Actually, I'm not in limbo nor do I have any concerns about not being accepted as a Canadian.
Acceptance as Pakistani is my question - because I don't have the fall back of having been born there or lived there.
Majority of non native nationals will/can never be fully accepted. It does boil down to race etc.
Well the only thing you can really claim is having Pakistani ancestors and that is about it.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
This is just to annoy them. Don’t worry I get where you’re coming form 
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Majority of non native nationals will/can never be fully accepted. It does boil down to race etc.
Well the only thing you can really claim is having Pakistani ancestors and that is about it.
A little history lesson about Canada - the natives are the Aboriginals. Everyone else is an immigrant, including the English and French who first settled in Canada. Fast forward several centuries, as a result of political wranglings, one of the countries guiding policies is multiculturalism - which in turn means that the country is accepting of ethnic diversity. It may not be perfect - and there may be pockets of racism - but no I don't question being accepted in Canada.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Its funny you should ask i met a guy from UK and he played for the Reserves for Nottingham Forrest Football Club. I asked why he's playing when he knows that he doesn't stand a chance against the other white/Brazilian players. He said, "Mate if i were to get in the A team ima have much respect from my peers innit... and also all them pakis and indenz gonna get a chance too yeah... so i play so that i can lighten the name of Pakistan innit... so people would respect me as a brit and also as Pakistani yeah... [sic]"
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
A little history lesson about Canada - the natives are the Aboriginals. Everyone else is an immigrant, including the English and French who first settled in Canada. Fast forward several centuries, as a result of political wranglings, one of the countries guiding policies is multiculturalism - which in turn means that the country is accepting of ethnic diversity. It may not be perfect - and there may be pockets of racism - but no I don't question being accepted in Canada.
I'm not talking of the native of the Americas. I think I know a lot more then you think. You're quite clearly missing the point. It is a white country and is controlled by white people in principle. I know very well Canada is a multi cultured country and is quite accepting in comparison to other nations.
It's not a question of whether you're a Canadian or not it's the underlying fact that you're NOT one of them.
Thanks for the history lesson though, :)
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
what MS said
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
When we or someone criticizes Pakistanis or Pakistan.... we claim to be Canadians/Americans/British, whatever.
When we or someone says something positive about Pakistan.... we are proud Pakistanis.
When something crazy happens (which is quiet often), then its 'they' are destroying Pakistan, regardless of what our parents did to the country.
When talking about something nice in the country... then its 'we'.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
i personally feel like i have no right to criticize a country if i don't live there or my parents don't live there. i might still feel a connection with it and hope all the best for it but when i hear desis talk politics of a country they don't even have citizenship of nor have they lived in for years has always made me cringe. the citizens that live there every single day and go through daily life there, have every right to criticize, we can contribute by ways of donations to charities and be happy when good/progressive news comes but i think that should suffice for non residents.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
When we or someone criticizes Pakistanis or Pakistan.... we claim to be Canadians/Americans/British, whatever. When we or someone says something positive about Pakistan.... we are proud Pakistanis. When something crazy happens (which is quiet often), then its 'they' are destroying Pakistan, regardless of what our parents did to the country. When talking about something nice in the country... then its 'we'.
^ thats correct.......SOME ABCD's go all patriotic when something nice is to be mentioned.......and when there are bad things........they "pakistani people are like this and that.....Jaahils/corrupt etc etc..........we don't have that here in america/canada/uk/xyz''......thats the moment it becomes obvious that the certain person is not a pakistani....
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Tsk tsk. Sehrysh my dear you are not Pakistani.
To qualify as Pakistani you must hold identification that you are a citizen. Simple enough.
And to be very honest, Pakistan is not an ethnicity. It is a nationality. So when people say they are Pakistani-Canadian they are not really Pakistani-Canadian. They are technically Canadian of South Asian descent. Pakistanis do not have one single ethnicity. We are a mixture.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
So according to CEO, I will most likely never have the same acceptance as the natives, in the country of my birth. And according to CM, since being "Pakistani" is not an ethnicity, but a nationality and I don't hold that piece of paper I am not Pakistani, and my ethnic identity is tied into the broader region of South Asia.
I belong no where and to no place.
It's quite fascinating the labels we are each keen on applying to ourselves or preventing others from applying to themselves and the understanding of those labels in each of our minds.
Next question - parents with children born abroad, when you teach your children about their background (and let's keep their Muslim identity out of this discussion), do you tell your children that you the parents are Pakistani and do you tell your children that they are Pakistani? For example, when your kid asks why do I have to eat Pakistani food or wear Pakistani clothes or speak in a language from Pakistan - why make them incorporate Pakistani cultural icons into their lives if according to many of the posters above, your children are not Pakistani (and this is assuming they do not have Pakistani citizenship).
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
To be honest in all likelihood my kids will not be Pakistani because of my work. I won't be living in Pakistan neither shall my future family. So you are very right they will not be Pakistani. But then again I grew up wearing jeans and shirts, shorts and t-shirts. I wore S&K but only for eid and to sleep. As i grew older I decided to be more in touch with my homeland because that is how others perceived me. I grew up in 7 countries until I was 20. So in all those countries I was Pakistani, World day and stuff I was the Pakistani guy in the school etc.
My children will be of Pakistani origin. I will not tell them they are Pakistani or Swiss or French or from Zimbabwe. They will grow up as I did. Having a mixture of all the world has to offer. I am a product of an international environment. I enjoy a a hamburger as much as I enjoy nihari. My favorite desert is Tiramisu but when my mom makes gajar ka halwa I eat half of what is made. My kids would inshallah have a very similar environment to grow up in. However I have a different issue of identity because I am a diplobrat. I am Pakistani because it was who my parents were and what they did. And i represented the nation and embassy when i was in school or what not even if i did not know it.
If I grown up solely in the US or Angola it would have been very different for me.
This is why the terms ABCD/BBCD/CCCD exist. Because parents force on their kids an identity that is alien to them and refuse to allow them to explore life as they wish. As an example my mom would let me go to the American school in S&K when I wanted too. I have no problem at all with my kids going to school at any level and wearing S&K or jeans or a skirt.
Kids who grow up in the west need to decide for themselves how they wish to balance their different environments. They are not 100% Pakistan and they are not 100% American, British or whatever. They are a mixture of the two and they should be allowed to identify with which culture they wish.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
^ Okay - but if they are neither 100% American/Canadian/British/Angolan/Swiss/Dutch or what have you nor Pakistani - can they at least claim that they are partially Pakistani or partially American/Canadian… or whatever?
Like can my right femur be Pakistani?
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Nope. You are a special case. Your blackheads can't even be Pakistani :D
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
^ Of course I’m special - that’s what my mama tells me everyday 
And I do not have any blackheads (I just had a facial - all gone!) 
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Aie. So easy....of course your mama tells you you are special. Nobody else will :p :p :D
Sure you do. I can see them all the way here in Pakistan.
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
Let’s not discuss my lack of blackheads - you will nazar laga my boothi 
Re: @CM - Am I Pakistani?
To be honest in all likelihood my kids will not be Pakistani because of my work. I won't be living in Pakistan neither shall my future family. So you are very right they will not be Pakistani. But then again I grew up wearing jeans and shirts, shorts and t-shirts. I wore S&K but only for eid and to sleep. As i grew older I decided to be more in touch with my homeland because that is how others perceived me. I grew up in 7 countries until I was 20. So in all those countries I was Pakistani, World day and stuff I was the Pakistani guy in the school etc.
My children will be of Pakistani origin. I will not tell them they are Pakistani or Swiss or French or from Zimbabwe. They will grow up as I did. Having a mixture of all the world has to offer. I am a product of an international environment. I enjoy a a hamburger as much as I enjoy nihari. My favorite desert is Tiramisu but when my mom makes gajar ka halwa I eat half of what is made. My kids would inshallah have a very similar environment to grow up in. However I have a different issue of identity because I am a diplobrat. I am Pakistani because it was who my parents were and what they did. And i represented the nation and embassy when i was in school or what not even if i did not know it.
If I grown up solely in the US or Angola it would have been very different for me.
This is why the terms ABCD/BBCD/CCCD exist. Because parents force on their kids an identity that is alien to them and refuse to allow them to explore life as they wish. As an example my mom would let me go to the American school in S&K when I wanted too. I have no problem at all with my kids going to school at any level and wearing S&K or jeans or a skirt.
Kids who grow up in the west need to decide for themselves how they wish to balance their different environments. They are not 100% Pakistan and they are not 100% American, British or whatever. They are a mixture of the two and they should be allowed to identify with which culture they wish.
wipes away a tear*