Hands up those of you who think they are confused!
Walking around any college campus in North America or the UK, one can easily spot South Asians clustered in nationally and ethnically monolithic groups. Within these groups, there are two distinct types of desi. One is the desi (a recent immigrant or international student who has spent most of his/her life in the native country, whether it be Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, etc.) and the other is the confused desi (whether youâre in America, Britain or Canada, you can be sure that the ABCD/BBCD/CBCD has spent precious little time in the homeland and his/her parents are the primary connection to the Land of the Pure).
Personally, I was first exposed to the difference between Pakistanis and CBCDs while dealing with the Pakistani Students Federation (PSF) at the University of Toronto (UT) in Canada in the wake of the devastating 2005 earthquake. At that time, I noticed some differences in approach and sentiment. But the disconnect that exists between CBCDs and Pakistan really hit home during the 2008 lawyersâ movement: General sahibâs aspirations at dictatorial rule didnât seem to bother them in the least, and their abject detachment was a far cry from the distress of Pakistanis who had recently left their homeland for Canada.
The apathy towards Pakistani domestic affairs from most CBCDs stems from a fundamental difference in their conception of patriotism. First-generation immigrants tend to hold on to their culture and values resiliently. However, while they succeed in passing on their language and culture to a certain extent, their children cannot and should not be expected to be as passionate towards Pakistan â a place that inevitably remains alien to them. In most cases, their knowledge of Pakistan is limited and many have to rely on media snippets to get a sense of life in the homeland. Of course, this lack of passion does not necessarily translate into a lack of interest. As Saim Siqqidui, president of the PSF at UT explains, âit seems more of a quest to connect with the past, to ameliorate nostalgia.â
In an effort to connect, CBCDs had hijacked the leadership of the PSF (much like other confused desis dominate South Asian societies across North American college campuses) and geared the groupâs activities towards bhangra nights and formal dinners that had little to do with the seismic events taking place in Pakistan. So much so that when the country was on the precipice of a popular revolution (the first lawyersâ movement), Pakistani students groups refused to distribute invites to protests, claiming they werenât interested in âtaking sides.â The difference of opinion between Pakistanis and their immigrant counterparts escalated to such an extent that there were calls for a separate student group catering exclusively to âreal dealâ Pakistanis.
The fact is, those with stronger ties to the homeland often get irritated with what they perceive to be faux concern from CBCDs. Many also resent CBCDsâ attempts to claim the native country, and, instead of joining hands with their immigrant counterparts, they trumpet their âauthenticityâ and mock the pretensions of more âconfusedâ desis.
But why should Pakistanis care so much about what CBCDs get up to? Is it a manifestation of our incurable love of gossip? A simple case of sour grapes? Or does this hostility have an economic rationale behind it? With a substantial amount of remittance making its way to Pakistan courtesy of those in the diaspora, the last seems the more logical option.
Without a constant stream of first generation immigrants, the financial support Pakistan receives from expatriates may dwindle substantially. Knowing that diaspora Pakistanis have literally bought their right to claim Pakistan as their own, desis have to grudgingly accept them even while perceiving that they hail from what is essentially a different culture. And, no doubt, desisâ emotions towards confused desis are tinged with envy: after all, the latter group enjoy the benefits of First World living and can be patriotic without being cynical â advantages denied to desis from the homeland.
Ultimately, it is important to remember that notions of patriotism and nationalism are powerful (and relatively recent) social constructs that are being challenged and stretched due to an increasingly cosmopolitan world. In such a dynamic fusion of humanity, perhaps notions of nationhood donât quite apply. It could be the archaic nature of these prevalent concepts that lead to crises of identity. Pakistanis are themselves divided upon what their identity entails, so it is rather perplexing to see the âconfusedâ term used exclusively to refer to Pakistanis abroad. With the world struggling to keep up with its own progress, measures need to be taken to move us from our reactive positions to more proactive ones. Is that too much to ask for?
I find the author of this article to be the confused one â after all, why would you expect 2nd generation expatriate Pakistanis to be as patriotically and emotionally involved with the political affairs of the country? Theyâve been handed over morsels of language and culture by their parents which they use as a platform to form a community and organize activities that make sense to them.
On the other hand, many of the âreal dealâ desis heâs talking about are often interested in immigration and flee their country at the first opportunity provided to them. Once in their new homeland, they may later casually start a factional group of their own to showcase their patriotism for the country that they just recently abandoned. Who then are the confused ones in this instance?
Why is it whenever theres talk of patriotism, stones get thrown at 'Confused Desis'?
Why dont people living in pakistan decide how patriotic they are instead of bringing in CDs.
ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs were born and raised in their own countries and their loyalties lie with the country they live in and call their own.
Just as indians left and migrated to Pakistan, now call themselves pakistanis and are loyal to pakistan, so are ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs as well who were born in America, Uk, Canada etc calling themselves Americans, british, canadian.
Nothing wrong in that, so why are the 'Confused Desis' being judged.
Immigrants have no right to judge ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs, if they love pakistan so much, they should go back and live there. They should try making ends meet in their beloved country just like mazdoors are doing, they can too.
Why is it whenever theres talk of patriotism, stones get thrown at 'Confused Desis'?
Why dont people living in pakistan decide how patriotic they are instead of bringing in CDs.
ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs were born and raised in their own countries and their loyalties lie with the country they live in and call their own.
Just as indians left and migrated to Pakistan, now call themselves pakistanis and are loyal to pakistan, so are ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs as well who were born in America, Uk, Canada etc calling themselves Americans, british, canadian.
Nothing wrong in that, so why are the 'Confused Desis' being judged.
Immigrants have no right to judge ABCD/BBCD/CCBDs, if they love pakistan so much, they should go back and live there. They should try making ends meet in their beloved country just like mazdoors are doing, they can too.
i think i am going to completely lose it now ... for my ease ... i call ABCD and the lot "rakhshandaz and manzoors" .. and those from back home "rasheedas and majids" ...
so ... if i tell the rakhshandas and manzoors the same thing that you are saying till your second paragraph (which i believe in as well) .. then i get lectures of how they are way better pakistanis and how they have such a huge hand in keeping the pakistani economy afloat ... how they are struggling to maintain their pakistani identity abroad ... how they supporting the crappy pakistani cricket team ... and how bad rasheedas and majids are!
i try to bridge the gap .. but people only see the negative ... and tell me how offensive and insulting i am ... while they are on my face badly criticizing rasheedas and majids ... regardless of how that makes me feel ...
so who is confused? the rakhshandas and manzoors jo time per patriotic ho jatay hein aur time per american/canadian/british ho jatay hain ... YA .. the majids and rasheedas ... jo pakistan mein ho ker enjoy a relaxed time .. and bahar ja ker become all patriotic becuz they've been rooted from their origin?
wouldnt you agree with me that both sides are having problems?
i think k kisi aik ka masla nahi hai ... and nobody is perfect ...
what immigrants do ... it's not their fault ... the parents of the rakhshandas and manzoors did the same ... and you see that in their strict parenting
what the "born and bred abroad" do ... that also cannot be criticized becasue it's part of a psychological growth in a foreign country .. and they will be like wherever they've grown up ... how can they be in touch with pakistanism as good as those IN pakistan?
maybe i dont belong to a majority .. perhaps those people are more who raise their eyebrow on the lack of patriotism in rakhshandaz and manzoors ... but then i only expect them to accept and not retaliate as to how they are better ...
and yes majids and rasheedas also need to take a break ... and be more sensitive and sensible towards the situation ...
Actually to be fair to the writer, he does not expect second or third generate expatriates to be as passionate about Pakistan... (para 3). No one does. Expats love Pakistan because it is the country of their forefathers, the land they identify themselves most closely with even if some of them do not willingly or openly admit it, no racists there etc. That is why for instance we see so much passion and enthusiasm among expatriates during Pak cricket games in England despite many of them not having been to Pakistan, not having any special love for Pakistan or not knowing much about the political affairs of the land. Some of it (celebration) is out of resentment or frustration at the goras
Your gora colleagues react differently to you in your workplace, college etc. because they know you are Mr or Ms. so and so and because it is politically incorrect to be seen as a racist at work etc. but outside the work place, shops etc. you cannot honestly say that there is no racism. No matter how hardï»ż we try goras are still racists. Racism is there to stay. If you are walking down a street, a racist gora/gorey is not going to know whether you are a native desi or a fob, whether your forefathers came here 50 odd years ago, whether you are a doctor or a successful banker etc. If he/she is racist they are going to treat you the same way because you look different from them...
hijack? arent PSA and PSF and other such groups supposed to hold elections and elect the leadership that way? or is the concept of democracy really that alien to us that if it is a different group that is in leadership then they must have hijacked it. Secondly, these groups have a reason to exist, and most of he time is cultural and social, so yeah bhangra nights and formal dinners rather than support for pahiya jam hartals, and nishat park challo campaigns of politicians in Pakistan.
the call for a seperate student group did amuse me, seems like we are adept at 1 1/2 eent ki masjid approach
Actually to be fair to the writer, he does not expect second or third generate expatriates to be as passionate about Pakistan... (para 3). No one does. Expats love Pakistan because it is the country of their forefathers, the land they identify themselves most closely with even if some of them do not willingly or openly admit it, no racists there etc. That is why for instance we see so much passion and enthusiasm among expatriates during Pak cricket games in England despite many of them not having been to Pakistan, not having any special love for Pakistan or not knowing much about the political affairs of the land. Some of it (celebration) is out of resentment or frustration at the goras
Your gora colleagues react differently to you in your workplace, college etc. because they know you are Mr or Ms. so and so and because it is politically incorrect to be seen as a racist at work etc. but outside the work place, shops etc. you cannot honestly say that there is no racism. No matter how hardï»ż we try goras are still racists. Racism is there to stay. If you are walking down the street, a racist gora/gorey is not going to know whether you are a native desi or a fob, whether your forefathers came here 50 odd years ago etc. If he/she is racist they are going to treat you the same way because you look different from them...
no racists where? in Pakistan? hmmmm well race is a non factor isnt it really, prejudism though is a whole diff story.
there has been enough violence in the name of ethnicity, sect, etc that while ppl there may share majority of genes, what little differences fo exist due to geography or faith are enough of a reason to not buy into this motherhood and applepie vision of utopia
the call for a seperate student group did amuse me, seems like we are adept at 1 1/2 eent ki masjid approach :)
X2, wanna hear something more ironic... what the writer of this article doesn't know in this case is that the PSF itself was the result of such a stratification where some members of the PSA formed their own student club and called it the PSF.
I know this because I was at the University of Toronto as an undergrad at the time, and the ugly proceedings when all this was happening would even put our country's politicians to shame. Unfortunately, I was so put off by the whole thing that I abandoned the PSA/PSF for good ever since.
no racists where? in Pakistan? hmmmm well race is a non factor isnt it really, prejudism though is a whole diff story.
there has been enough violence in the name of ethnicity, sect, etc that while ppl there may share majority of genes, what little differences fo exist due to geography or faith are enough of a reason to not buy into this motherhood and applepie vision of utopia
You have a point. We are all prejudiced to a degree. It is very evident during arranged marriages......nahin jee Raajpooton, Syedon, pathanon etc. main koi rishta ho to bataein *blah blah blah...*jaise unhein sarkhab k par lagey huey hain :D
No such thing exists in english culture. An englishman is an englishman whether he was born in Yorkshire or Sussex etc.
You have a point. We are all prejudiced to a degree. It is very evident during arranged marriages......nahin jee Raajpooton, Syedon, pathanon etc. main koi rishta ho to bataein *blah blah blah...*jaise unhein sarkhab k par lagey huey hain :D
No such thing exists in english culture. An englishman is an englishman whether he was born in Yorkshire or Sussex etc.
not true, what part of england you are from matters, maybe not as much as we have the rajput and all that stuff. and per your example,whic includes ethnicities and regional stuff, pathan e.g. the tension between english, irish, scots, and welsh has been around, and while it has become minor now, it exists.
X2, wanna hear something more ironic... what the writer of this article doesn't know in this case is that the PSF itself was the result of such a stratification where some members of the PSA formed their own student club and called it the PSF.
I know this because I was at the University of Toronto as an undergrad at the time, and the ugly proceedings when all this was happening would even put our country's politicians to shame. Unfortunately, I was so put off by the whole thing that I abandoned the PSA/PSF for good ever since.
maybe you are thinking of a diff time, this refers to 2008 lawyer stuff and 2005 earthquake, i doubt you were an undergrad then, it was probay similar skirmish on some other topic.
maybe you are thinking of a diff time, this refers to 2008 lawyer stuff and 2005 earthquake, i doubt you were an undergrad then, it was probay similar skirmish on some other topic.
I meant that the PSF the author is refering to in this story is itself an offshoot/split from a PSA, and this happened back in 1998/1999-ish...
I was just commenting on your post regarding the 1 1/2 eent ki masjid approach.
