Overseas Pakistani Syndrome

[sadzzz]

Re: Overseas Pakistani Syndrome

@Ghost14

Idiotic article.

He make the assumption that everyone with a job, with commitments, with a life they were most likely forced to pursue in another country, holds Pakistan in disdain. The fact is that the vast majority of people have little to contribute towards shaping the national discourse, besides nonsensical opinions, and the same majority do not participate in such endeavors in their adopted countries either. The man he mentions, the one who built his fortune abroad and then gives back to Pakistan, is an exception.

Most people are just trying to get by, be it in Pakistan or abroad. The only difference between most Pakistanis and expats, is that the Pakistanis may actually get out to vote once in a while. The rest of the time, everyone is playing armchair quarterback so the colour of your passport means little. “Oh but I deal with the heat everyday”. I feel for you, but are you an electrical engineer? A PhD in Economics? An expert in public policy? Then stfu and listen to the guy who is, who may or may not be from abroad. People in Pakistan are also busy dealing with their day to day lives. They worry about their bills. They worry about their kids. They worry about where the food is going to come from. Just like people abroad. Please don’t insinuate that they are engaged in academic discourse about fixing the country. Most don’t have the means, or the education, to do so. And that’s not their fault, but geographical proximity does not make someone’s opinions any more valid.

Lastly, many expats do send a great deal of money to Pakistan. You’d be surprised at how much. But forget money, why would anyone want to discourage thought? What do most expats have that a great deal of Pakistanis don’t? Education. This jackass wants to have people who are educated, who have seen the world, who live in countries that are relatively more advanced in terms of human rights and social and civic institutions, even if their foreign policies are draconian, be discouraged from offering insights? Right, sign him up for a political career in Pakistan. He’ll go far.

If he made a distinction about *what *people criticize, I’d say he has a point. If he applied his criticism to people who live in Pakistan, I’d say he has a point. But he doesn’t. It’s okay to sit back and spew noise if you’re in Islamabad, but God forbid you do so from New York, or London.

He has apparently never heard of constructive criticism. What a clown.

excellently put