Overseas Pakistani Syndrome

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Re: Overseas Pakistani Syndrome

@Shamraz_Khan

Do you disagree with what he is saying? If so why?

Love the tone, assumptions and chip on the shoulder that is about the size of K2 (the chip not the shoulder)

Looks like it applies to people who grew up in Pakistan and moved out, so I have no skin in the game.

But I guess as someone of Pakistani origin I can agree to all of what he is asking…each and every request to butt out and stay the hell out of discourse, debate, blame storming etc…

in return I ask all the people back there to just do me one favor..

dont **** up that place so royally that because of your lameness, I have to address or argue for these ass clowns.
As long as their apathy, short sightedness and narrow mindedness does not chase me wherever else I may be, I am okay with whatever they do to themselves, each other and whatever reputation they want to have.

some sentences I did want to address as an unconcerned party in this point of contention between expats and locals…

@Shamraz_Khan

My issue is when every one of you folks lectures us on the intricacies of how the country is going to **** and no one is doing anything about it.

Okay lets say its not ‘no one’ but either not enough people, or if it is enough people, they are not effective.

@Shamraz_Khan

What is required is you move on, accept the fact that you will never be as Pakistani as the guy who lives here,

Sure, and thank god for that…

@Shamraz_Khan

sees the poor on the street but cannot do anything about it.

‘cant’… really? or will not.
the people eating at restaurants on the street can’t give leftovers to the begging kids on the footpath, or they won’t?
can’t..cant..cant…
right…

@Shamraz_Khan

For God’s sake stop confusing our weakness for indifference,

lack of effectiveness… that is the outcome. the people there can figure out what their issue is. I am neither them, nor am I there. They are better suited to speak to the real reasons of their failure. weakness, indifference, incompetence,…whatever it is.. they can figure out.

@Shamraz_Khan

we may not have been able to help the poor on the street but we do empathize with him. We may not have been able to change the system but we sure the hell are determined to try.

determination means jack without action…real, planned, solid action. Its not there…
proof is in the pudding…
and there is no pudding that I see…

@Shamraz_Khan

We may not have been able to bring a sweeping revolution but we are willing to stand under the blazing sun for hours on end to vote. It’s about time you accept the fact that you gave up your right on criticizing this country when you didn’t come down here to vote.

I gave up that right a long time ago by opting not to claim citizenship

@Shamraz_Khan

And to all of you living in self-imposed exile let’s ask ourselves what have we done for our Country, how much tax have we paid in the last X number of years, how many schools and colleges did we open? How many people did we provide jobs? How many households did we support from the money that we earned from foreign countries? No one asks these questions, no one really cares.

actually, someone did ask this question.
Portrait of a Giving Community: Philanthropy by the Pakistani-American Diaspora (Studies in Global Equity): Adil Najam: 9780674023666: Amazon.com: Books
That will show how much people invest already..
a little snapshot of what the 500K pakistani expats in US do for Pakistan..
JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie

but that is beyond the point. I only have one issue. its not that overseas pakistanis give too little to pakistan, but that it is that they give too much. There are needy families in their new home, of pakisani background as well as of non pakistani background. Frankly they come first.

@Shamraz_Khan

You gave up your right to complain when you gave up your green passport. Not your right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness but a far more fundamental one, the right to criticize your Country and it’s time to accept it.

Unless the criticism is not as criticizing ‘your country’ but a country…just like we can criticize Saudi Arabia, or Israel, or Sudan…

@Shamraz_Khan

Come visit us meet us after a couple of years or whenever you want, we will welcome you, love you and respect you, like you deserve. We will open our homes and hearts for you.

…we will rob you, cheat you, and maybe even kill you (especially if you are shia or ahmadi) ..that too right, or do we just want to sugar coat everything?

@Shamraz_Khan

Just be courteous enough not to be involved in the matters of our home. This is our land, this is where we live every day and this is what we will fix.

sure…but then if critiquing as an outsider is not allowed, can we please have the same in return and not have pakistanis in Pakistan whinge about UK, or US or UAE or France? Thank you… lets start with the maulvi types…

@Shamraz_Khan

; because if words were food, nobody would be going hungry in Pakistan.

…surely the vast majority of the words are coming from local people…its not as if ‘words’ from a small group of expats is somehow magically countering the real effort made by locals…

@Shamraz_Khan

. It’s for us who would never be ease at being where they are and would never have the kahunas to actually move back. Accepting is the first step my friend.

cojones amigo…cojones grande’

yes…accepting is the first step…for everyone involved

PS: can pakistanis not use the term cojones especially if they can’t spell it right… and just use the term tattaay …shukriya…I mean Gracias