So, how many of you have run into people that live in the US but their hearts are in Pakistan or wherever they’re from? I think in one way its good to patriotic but its overkill when you dont appreciate where you live.
I work with a woman who is obsessed with her homeland (not Pakistan) and it just doesnt stop. All of us feel some sort of affection for our roots but do we all really need to know the time and temperature in Brazil? Who cares? And if you care so much, why are you here?
I have run into desi people who constantly complain about America. Why do they come to the US then? “Aray yahan ka mahol bara kharab hai” Aray bhai, jab apko pata hai ke kharab hai to apne bachon ko US citizen bananay ka khwab liye yahan kyun atay ho? Vaise bhi, Pakistan ka mahol kya kuch kam kharab hai aaj kal?
I just couldnt take it anymore today and I told her (yeah, I told her ) that having love for your country is one thing but you should appreciate what God has given you.
true. bajaa farmaayaa. i'm one of them but NOT to that extent. i LOVE where i am but at the same time i feel i'm misplaced.
tan yahaN man vahaN...body is here soul is over there
its because i've lived 2/3 of my life there and i know for a fact that this connection to "back home" is only as long as i'm alive. next generation will be cut off completely and that will be like de-coupling of the train coaches. no one can understand the feelings unless that person step into his/her shoes.
the lustre of the west brings u here. u get all pumped up. upgrade urself, find job, get married and have kids and, voila!, u find out that its too late to go back...u r stuck! u can't leave kids behind, u can't take kids with u. its a very sticky situation. then, ur a lost soul and wait to die.**
Oh this is very common in desis...especially women...You go to a party and that's all they talk about...hai they have maids, wahan toh ayaashi hai...ummm...well true that maids are such a big help and all, but then it goes on and on about social life, "hoteling" and "shopping" and "beauty parlors."
I usually just smile and ask if they've ever thought of moving back? Then they look at me silly.
KKF, no, why would our kids be cut off? We should take them there every now and then. They have a blast when they go, but after a while, we all want to come back when we get fed up of contstant doorbells ringing, maid hanging over your heads and listening to private conversations...after a while, the fun converts into frustration when you have to deal with official matters and you realize how lucky we are here in the US to be part of a smooth system.
i live in uk but my heart is in pakistan. i dont like living in uk coz its very very boring but i came here because of my parents. i miss pakistan all the time and feel like going there every month. but i do appreciate uk system like education, transport, health etc. plus the fact that what i am earning is much more when converted in Pakistani rupees. so good from that point of view but then pakistan is pakistan. i never say stuff like "uk boring hai pakistan yaad araha hai" myself to anyone but only when the topic arises or if someone asks.
i dunno i dont think im ever gonna go back to pakistan. i've only been out of it 10 years, not that long, but seriously, unless theres MAJOR changes, i wouldnt wanna live there.
i think so. as much as you put a stamp on your forehead im british....people will still point at you in the street and call you a paki..( not literally point, but metaphorically speaking)...we will always be linked to it. People here know i may be moving soon, and ive asked alot of people who live there, and they say everythings fine. if you have money youll be ok.
secondly, alot of people from the uk were going there, to visit, my dads friend went for 4 months for their daughters wedding, and before they went everyone scared the life outta them, why u going, yeh hojayga woh hojaygathey came back happy and carefree. we got the same why u goingtreatment when we went back last yr for my wedding, we were there 2 months, and alhumdulilah was fine.
i think its good, if people are sentimental about their homeland. so what if some desi is saying maids/shopping etc is better there wish i was there etc etc..at least people KNOW where they are from and are happy to be from there. its not easy tojust go back home`..people think you can jsut up and leave. my dad loves pakistan, he wishes he could be there, but realistically speaking, how could he go back, when he has a mortgage to pay off, we have so many ties here, its hard to just go back.
i think people WANTING ( BUT NOT GOING) TO GO pakistan is wayyyy better than people FROM PAKISTAN who having been here a year or so THINK THEY ARE GOREY. urdu bolna bhoolgay..its these people who id rather slap up..
also i think apprciating where you are now is whats lacking in some people. however these people are normally the older generation who left a stable and prosperous pakistan all those years ago.....
people FROM PAKISTAN who having been here a year or so THINK THEY ARE GOREY. urdu bolna bhoolgay..its these people who id rather slap up..
lmao these kinda people grind my gears too, i mean urdu isnt my first language (its sindhi), i speak it at home, and with anyone else who speaks it with me, my urdu/hindi isnt perfect, but i try to talk to most desi guys in that over here, some of them feel uncomfortable talking in hindi/urdu (specially indian people) around goray though, but i dont :/ ffs, theres polaks here everywhere they all speak polish and dont give a flying F about english speak goray or us we should look up to them.
I think im a bit weird one, I was born/raised in one city and as a kid I didn't really enjoy going to Pakistan....but somehow when i turned 19/20 things changed and I started to appreciate pak more, I probably would have to think a very long time for the good things about it aside from food/fashion/shopping (very superficial I know) but...I still love going there.
food/fashion/shopping as sara has said is how life is there for people with money. unfortunatly its the poor who are the ones being hit with the poverty as well as the political situation. the well-off/ rich are fine.
Its good to have love for your country...thats not the issue.
Its bad to be unhappy in the country that provides you with the livelihood that takes care of your families today.
Its called na-qadri or whatever.
yeap.
my own dad at times blames the british for him being here.lol. its weird. he doesnt like being wrong so when me or mum debate with him and tell him he should be in pak if he loves it so muc etc etc, he gets all aggy and throws a strop. i dont get it....:
I think im a bit weird one, I was born/raised in one city and as a kid I didn't really enjoy going to Pakistan....but somehow when i turned 19/20 things changed and I started to appreciate pak more, I probably would have to think a very long time for the good things about it aside from food/fashion/shopping (very superficial I know) but...I still love going there.
Same here, when younger I always used to complain about having to go so often, but now I do really enjoy the trips there.
What irks me is when some Pakistanis go nuts when another Pakistani discusses issues about the country/culture.....leading to the accusation that they hate their country or are ashamed of it or love another country "more", etc. I get that some people may over-do the criticism (and it depends on how you word things) and that's not right either.....but not acknowledging problems is not helpful.
But I also see what you're saying, Reha, and I agree. Pros and cons to every place. If it's that bad where you're living....then move back to the motherland. Funny thing is that some of those people.....while visiting Pak.......and while they enjoy the visit....realize that they'd rather just keep it to a visit as opposed to actully living there.
Its good to be realistic, true. Someone once said "people dont love their country because its great...they love it because its their own". So, I do get that.
What I guess bothers me is that SO many people would kill for the same opportunities presented to these complainers. Yeah, you may be in pardes but you willingly came here to make a better future for yourself.
This country feeds you, clothes you, protects you, lets you take care of your own, make an honest living, etc. Bashing it is like "jis thali mein khana...usi mein ched karna".
I know a guy who have tried to get settled in Pakistan 7 times but could not. Every time he boomeranged to USA. He would up things here , sell everything , go back to Pakistan , try to start a business , fail come back to USA after a couple of years , start a business here , succeeds. But looks like since his kids have now grown up to the extent that those kids are now married and popping out babies , he is here for a long haul now. But at every desi party he is always nagging about how things are bad in USA and how USA is bad for Pakistan.
My hubby though in the uk, deffo has his heart in Pakistan. He's been here two years and though he can appreciate how certain things are easier here, i think if i said lets go live in Pakistan, he'd be thrilled. Main reason being cos he misses his family so much.
One observation of mine is that people (older generation) here in the UK often comment to each other how 'kharaab' the bachay here are. And they repeat such thoughts to people in Pakistan and they then too have a low opinion of western desis and think we're all the same.
One guy i know was desperate to come to this country, yet once here, on the phone to his family he told them how the kids here are disrespectful and blah blah.
Seriously, if you're gonna moan about where you live, bog off somewhere else.
My heart is where I live to be honest. I dont complain. Of course it is nice to go to pak for a VERY SHORT period, but thats about it. I remember I once stayed there 6 weeks, and it was a hell. Yes you have maids, woohoo what a nice thing! Sorry, it just doesnt equal all the bad things, nosy people, loadshedding, not being able to go out on your own, not being able to ask a damn thing to a shopkeeper.. I would never wanna move to Pakistan if I have the option. Life in pakistan is just too unjustice. I come from a well off family with many contacts, so it would be fine if I had to move there in terms of having things done and blabla. But just the thought of being dependant on help from others to have anything done (for instance paper work) just ticks me off! We all know that if people in pakistan had the chance to move or stay, they would move! Everybody likes to be very patroitic or like "oh we have money, we have a good life here" but to be honest, even people with money search for a way to get hold of a permenant visa. I have seen that with my own eyes.
) that having love for your country is one thing but you should appreciate what God has given you.
