As several members here are aware, I am an Indian national living in the US. My mother was born in Pakistan and did a part of her schooling in Karachi. For many years she wasa Pakistani national but now lives in the UK with my younger brother.
I now live in the US and I have been thinking about starting a website for people from both sides of the border to write slice of life stories, talking about unique issues relating to families, schools, universities, festivals etc in both countries, and in different communities. There will ne NO politics and this is a small attempt at making people understand how day to day life is lived across the border. There are some very successful websites that work on cross border politics, peace movements etc but my hope is that this proposed website would be a forum for people to talk about what is beautiful about the languages, cultures and similar issues on both sides of the border from a personal viewpoint, nothing more. I am going to post this on some Indian forums also and hope to get more opinions before moving ahead on this.
Would you think that this is a good idea? Please offer suggestions on what else could be done. Moderators - please accept my apologies if you think that this is in the wrong forum and please move this to the appropriate forum if it is. Thanks in advance for everyone who has opinions to offer. POsitive and negative opinions are equally welcome.
I too think its a wonderful idea. And once you have some good input on your site you will be able to go to the larger corporations and offer "cultural diversity" seminars. This is a BIG thing now in most major corporations in the US and also I think in Britain. You may be able to make a good career out of it and a very good one in the sense that you will promote peace and understanding - on top of earning your living! A "cultural diversity" seminar is usually a one-hour presentation of a culture that is different from the one that its being presented in and is geared towards promoting greater understanding of different cultures and practices. At my hubby's work, each employee is required to attend a certain number of these seminars each year.
I wish you all the very best in your endeavor! Keep us posted!
It's interesting b/c i do think there are people who are marrying across the border and do go back and forth. I met one lady who was from India who married her Pakistani husband and it was arranged.
i suggest go for it, though i am interested in learning more about Pakistan.
ps. it is strange that you gonna emit the factor of politics since political, economical and social factor are actually the driving forces to run any country, and they also give new shape to culture, heritage and language of that country.
It's interesting b/c i do think there are people who are marrying across the border and do go back and forth. I met one lady who was from India who married her Pakistani husband and it was arranged.
Way back, I had a rishta going on with an Indian girl (living in US). I was like cool, I will go to both India and Pakistan. :D didn't work out though (which was good, she was too religious)
:k: :k: I’m all for the advancement of healthy transborder dialogue between the general populace.
It’s something that is direly needed.
It irks me to no end when ppl from both sides brawl over petty matters and blow things out of proportion. Furthermore, our own governments haven’t done the population any good by politicizing the smallest of issues and brainwashing the masses through biased historical accounts through the formal education system.
So you can count on my support in form of endorsement, patronage and assistance for this very worthy venture, and I’m sure you’ll find others who share similar sentiments.
My thanks to the moderators for shifting this to the appropriate forum and to everyone who replied. I have also replied to the member who sent me a PM with thanks and have given my e-mail to him. I am also grateful to GS for permitting this post - an Indian forum yanked a similar post for reasons that only they know.
Just to clear some misunderstandings - this is a very modest idea and not an ambitious one. We don't want politics on the site that I am planning with a Pakistani friend because that only leads to arguments and nothing more. This would be about personal experiences only - what people do in school on either side of the border, at university, how Eid is celebrated at home, of family picnics and beautiful spots in both countries etc. There are huge forums which deal with many more issues in both countries and we want, instead, a small and quiet website for someone to occasionally pop in to and read or write when they find time.
Thanks again, everyone who replied and please let me know if you have any more suggestions. I am very grateful to you for these and to the GS management again.
sowwy TDW