Racism

[shaasavera]

Re: Racism

@Gujranwalay

I used to be scared/wary/concerned about the racism and discrimination at work when I was new.

Because my job also has to deal with members of the public mostly, and that has few times, resulted in slurs or racist sentences hurled at me, when they(public) were refused something.

Due to the charter of rights and freedoms (any Canadians on the forum know this, or google) we are protected in any such cases. Employer can’t expect us to tolerate or take any type of physical/verbal abuse.

On the issue of origin and religion, it’s the same principle. However, despite few reactions or racism by public, most of the people at my work location are actually more aware of the religion and geo-political nonsense surrounding Pakistan. They all blame the USA for the problems and issues in the world. Never had any issue with the religion. Even if it occurs, I know and believe that Allah himself will take care of it for me, i don’t have to worry about that.

I really wish Pakistan had a more positive image in the world, before all this extremism and barbarianism which is always in the news it was not so bad. But these days there is never anything positive that comes in the mainstream media. The common people’s perceptions of Pakistan are mostly all based on the news/propaganda these days. And you can’t really satisfy anyone cuz they always bring an argument or something that makes you speechless. Due to all this negativity and bad image, It stirrs feelings of hatred and negativity even for the country of birth/origin in many. It is not easy to own Pakistan these days, when you live abroad, specially in the western/developed world. I wish there was positive too.

On another note, the mere mention of Pakistan is enough to finish your conversation(or whatever it was) with a stranger, specially when they’re white and ignorant. If that person is really knowledgeable or knows about Pakistan by other ways it can lead to interesting and friendly conversations.

Turn the ignorant ones knowledgeable and then have friendly convos. Tell them about Mohenjodaro and Harappa, Indus Valley and it’s contribution to the world in terms of architecture etc. That it is a world heritage site. Tell them that first university of world where people from as far away as CHina came to study was in Taxila. That the guy responsible for most of Sanskrit grammar was from what is Pakistan today..this naturally affected many other European languages especially German.
You can say that Pakistani dramas are taking India by storm and people are going gaga. Bollywood is also making a movie on Indus Valley. You can mention that world’s most sacred Sikh places are in Pakistan, that Buddha spent some of his years there and there are Buddhist monuments that Buddhist pilgrims come to visit. That Pakistan has some sacred sites belonging to BUddhists and Hindus. That one of world’s largest mosques is Badshahi mosque, Faisal mosque, Masjid e Aqsa and Masjid e-Tooba. That Pakistan has some great forts and Mughal architecture like Lahore fort.
It is home of many Sufi poets who spread Islam in subcontinent. It is home of Bulleh Shah, Faiz, Shahbaz Qalandar etc. It is home of a shrine which celebrates the friendship of Shah Hussain and Madho Lal who were buried in same place despite being of different religions.
That it is home of many great singers like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. That in 60s hippies used to go through Iran, Pakistan and India on their routes and at that time many movies and songs were made. Right now Pakistani films are also reviving. Things might be rocky now but they will recover. It’s only 70-80 years after independence and before that many resources were looted from the land. What was US doing 70 years after their independence? Not sure of the history but i think they were engaged in some civil war. US recovered and the developing countries of subcontinent will too. What was happening in Europe 1000s of years BC? Nothing like the architectural marvel of Indus Valley or as advanced as the people there.

If you don’t inform of this history how will they know. Not sure if or how much Indus Valley is mentioned in Pakistani history textbooks but it should.

Send them this yt video.