Drawing Palestine

amina #19 You write lengthy posts on sindh on boards here and there. You ignore any responses (including two or three times I responded, and quite sympathetically too).

You are not being a good spokesperson for the Sindhi cause at all!! Maybe you should become a champion for the cause of the Sindhi landlords instead, since I would really like to see those freeloading good-for-nothings suffer. And leave the poor Sindhi peasant alone - he has enough problems of his own without your ruining his cause on chowk by including him in the constituency you think you are speaking out for.

Intellectual fascism?!?! catering to the US?! you being ganged upon and abused?!? hai hai, bechare tum, Yasser beta.

Noone is imposing or trying to force anything down your throat. You on the other hand, whine about being verbally abused while you have the nerve to deem 3 million Palestinians as terrorists. Apne garebaan main jhank kar dekho ji!

You have said that you will not tolerate `intellectual fascism` being imposed on you. What I find intolerable are your senseless generalizations, your constantly referring to a whole people as terrorists. Can you really sit in your own ivory tower and say that all the inhabitants of Gaza, the Muslims, the Orthodox Christians, among others, are terrorists? Is the wife of the Orthodox priest I receive regular emails from a terrorist? I suppose you think that Hanan Mikhail Ashrawi is a terrorist as well.

You say that we `intellectuals` cater to what`s `au courant` as an issue in the US. Let me tell you something. There are quite a few of us who continuously challenge the images that are portrayed of us..Indians and Pakistanis in these United States of America. We are regarded by some people as ignorant as you with suspicion as to our views and our concerns. It`s so easy for you to sit at your computer, and talk about how us Pakistani `intellectuals` couldn`t give a bloody damn about the sufferings of people in Pakistan, but you have no clue, absolutely no clue of what some of us have been through in Pakistan, what our families and dearest friends have been through in Pakistan. Oh no, we couldn`t possibly be concerned about the plight of EVERYONE there!

For the limited time that I have been interacting here, it has been my desire to be involved in a dialogue, an exchanging of ideas, and I have tried to do that with you as well Yasser, as have others, I`m sure. Your idea of having a lively discussion is to begin by hurling insults and thoughtless generalizations because some of us choose to be as bloody opinionated as you, although on the opposite side. I thank you for having written all that you have, because it has made me pause and reflect, and reflection is always a good thing, especially if it causes positive change. And I don`t believe in imposing my views on others, but I do believe in voicing them, because silence is not always golden. But I would like to suggest that your referral to 3 million Palestinians as terrorists shows a great amount of ignorance and closed mindedness on your part, and if you don`t give a damn about that or the Palestinian people, then that`s between you and your God, and of course the falastinis. Only you can change what is within you, not any of us `intellectual fascists`.

Just be assured that as long as I am an interactor here, I will continue to question and challenge ideas and thoughts that I don`t understand, or that I don`t agree with, just like you do. And I will try my utmost best to focus on issues rather than the characters of persons I cannot claim to know. But unlike you, I will not insult someone because they have an opportunity to teach at the `New School` or because unlike you, they give a damn about Israelis and Palestinians alike, as well as Indians and Pakistanis, and value all human life. And I apologize for any insults that I may have flung in previous posts to all those who have been critical of me.

Have a great weekend, one and all!

it is undeniable hamdani that the palestinian cause has been hijacked by terrorists.....some palis dont want to co-exist with israel........the palitinians are suffering badly and they need to be helped and i think that samina shah, anna ,and people who share their views think of palistine in a 1 -dimessional way ,,,,,,,,,,yasser arafat is really a complex man .....

1) the use of violence has worked.....we are at the point where a Pali state is inevitable was it through civil disobedience this was achieved..............no its through violent resistance .......

2) kashmir recieves little attention from our arab co religionists well cause they dont care ............but then again so does chechyna indonesia and every other single non arab muslim cause how many times have u heard about the Uighurs in china ????/

3) most people say that suicide bombings are a result of desperation...........i disagree ......i once went to jhang since i have a cousin who lives there..........jhang is the home of SSP ....i met a kid 9 yrs old who said shiism is dushman-e-islam...............now when u inculcate hatred from an early age u will get suicide bombings etc etc............do u know how suicide bombings started ? when a bunch of palis were exiled to lebanon where they met shiites who took shahadat in shiism to the extreme...........

pro-palestinians dont realize........all rational human beings should be pro palestine and sympathize with their plight but id really like to see ana or samina to say the palis share the responsibility for their miserbale plight....

1) rejection of the barak deal and instead of a counter -offer the intiation of violence

2) the teaching of hatred and blood libel

3) the smuggling of weapons in karine A

4) the repeated violation of the Oslo accords

5) the corruption and mismanagement of funds by PA

6) the failure of Arab countries to re settle the refugees in their nations

FYI palis are barred by law from buying selling land and entering into professions from brick layer to doctor in lebanon

fyi---in jordan with a majority pali population palis are denied aequate representation

fyi-----egypt they were quicked out

i could go on and on the Palis are the most hated arabs an egyptian once told me the Palis are the jews of the arab world---landless, overachieving, paranoid....etc etc yes the israelis are to blame for their opression and humiliiation,,,,but please the palistinians are no angels ..........................

ana, saminashah,

what`s the point in arguing with someone who thinks it`s his right to pass judgment on people based on inklings of what they write on an anonymous internet forum..... besides, why should you intelligent women have to `explain` urselves to anyone, let alone an immature kid from NJ.

to him, expressing sympathy for the Palestinian cause is equal to condoning terrorism, two very different things....in that case, the moron in question, should steer clear of expressing sympathy for Kashmiris, since in his mind, that would be condoning terrorism as well..

ylh,

look in the mirror and repeat this phrase a thousand times:

`i`m not always right`

amina shah #19:


[...Ms Anny, Samina etc....I am touched by your kindness towards PLO ....Can you spare your little sympathy for Sindhis of Sindh...]

---the interacts here...these are responses by chowkies to this article.

---if you want issues in Sindh discussed by the chowkies you should write an article articulating your view point...

love,

temporal

Aminashah...:)

Great post there...

Unfortunately these for `intellectuals` of ours will only cater to the issues which can bring out the most crowd in the US... who cares about Sindh or the plight of Sindhi people... Some 45 Million people of Sindh can`t be as important as the 3 Million terrorists of Palestine..

-ylh

PS A new Pakistan will have to learn the age old lesson: `CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME`!

Right back at ya...

I am sorry.. no matter how much you all will gang up on me abuse me kick me scream at me, I will not tolerate this `intellectual fascism` that is being imposed on us....

Totally separate from the article: And as for the plight of the terrorists in palestine.. I really don`t care. And if your concern is humanitarian, why haven`t I seen the same kind of hue and cry for the Yahudis dying in Jerusalem and Haifa? or wait is the blood of the Yahudi not worth our consideration?

amina shah # 19



``no time for sindis squeezed and displaced by indian mohajirs by constantly damaging sindhi culture and people and Sindhi ethos.

Just some Sindhis of India attend meeting in usa with sindhis its big crime.

If the Mohajirs are Indian then you are an ARAB.

Need explanation?Check your surname.

One of the Indians attending and chairing the meet

was M.R.Malkani, a member of BJP/RSS unit.Does that answer your question.

Regards.

PS:Please Check out who has been alotted all the agricultural lands in the Ghulam Mohammad Barrage and the rest of the Upper Sind.

YLH.. Spare us `mature elders` your spoonfeeding, please. I can`t speak for the rest of the elders on this board, but I am damn well capable of feeding myself thank you.

You always seem to forget that some of us have experienced more than you have read or learned, and therefore we know of what we speak as well. And our opinions are obviously not for you, as yours are not for us. So, divided we remain, and that is fine with me. But please, while the elders can learn from the young, I haven`t found anything really of nourishing substance as of yet that you could feed me with, but hope does spring eternal. So thank you for your willingness to spoonfeed, but no thank you!

subroto...are you keeping track?!?!

Many groups have been and continue to be silenced in Pakistan, Amina ji. There is no denying that very painful truth. I think I told YLH this before, but just because I responded to this particular article that addressed Palestinians, does not mean that I am any less horrified or concerned about what has been happening in our country for years. It is deplorable, and incredibly painful for those of us who have experienced such silencing by murder, other forms of violence and imprisonment. Sindhis, Baluchis, religious minority groups, women, and a great many more have suffered as a result of domination by a self-serving few, whether they be faujis, or men in achkans and suits, or women.

The more I read this article, especially the last couple of paragraphs, I realize that while the comic book deals with the struggles of Palestinians, that Rehan`s article as well as the comic book is applicable to other groups who suffer from oppression and believe they are powerless in the face of it. What can I, a Pakistani Christian woman, for example, do in the face of such oppression. From what I`ve read of what you`ve wrote, I get a sense of powerlessness and a call for sympathy, but clearly more than sympathy is required. What becomes of people like us who believe we have no power in our country. Here`s a situation, real or hypothetical, depending on the reader: If we lose most of our land, are continuously monitored and harassed by faujis and police, restricted in terms of our movement around the country, what would become of us? What are the thoughts that are going through our minds? Violence is destroying Karachi, and other towns and cities in Pakistan. The late Agha Shahid Ali wrote of Kashmir, `they make it a desolation and call it peace`. What goes through our minds, and what ways can we think of other than violence to end this cycle of oppression and domination?

On one of the boards earlier..one of the interactors lamented about the fact that since there are those of us who don`t value our own lives, or the lives of our own people, how can we value the lives of others? Obviously, if we see no hope for ourselves, we`re not going to give a damn about the Palestinians, or the Kashmiris, or the Eritreans, or anyone.

Ana,

Indeed. Those of us interested in Palestine and Isreal are also supportive of self determination in Kashmir and liberation from India and Pakistan, who have acted in their own self interests from the get go. And we do question the dubious stats and analysis that certain interactors try to pass of as factual. Yes, Kashmir is always on our minds, but not in the ways these dear interactors would want it to be. Well said again.

We also know that Film Studies is a highly respected academic discipline with its critical theorists, artists, students and genres as is any other field. In fact, Film Studies is becoming Cyber Theory`s slightly older sister in terms of being a relatively recent academic field (I`d say it`s official genesis began in the last 50 years). In fact I know several colleagues in PH.D Literature programs who minor in specialized film studies and encorporate film into their lit curricula....but who needs multi textual, multi interpretional, multi visual and aural cross dialogic art when the copying machine and the musty history section of the library beckons? Indeed, why study the sound bite or the info bit or the image-hardly relevant in our contemporary times...

Ms Anny, Samina etc.

I am touched by your kindness towards PLO .

Can you spare your little sympathy for Sindhis of Sindh.

Sindhi speakers are refugees in sindh. Sindhis have lost Karachi, hyderbad and Sukkar and other towns are in early process of ethinic cleancing of Sindhis.Did any body of you say any time about plight of sindhs in sindh in Pakistan? Why you never say a world about it. May be Indian Mohajirs and their Supremo Generals frightens you or you feel sindhis deserve it to serve interests of Punjab- mohajir- army axis.Why you cry so loud as isralies are removing Palestanians but do not think of what is happening in sindh, the systimatic destruction of Sindhi language and culture under leadership of army-punjab-Mohajir axis.

May be it is very fashionable and chic to cry for them no time for sindis squeezed and displaced by indian mohajirs by constantly damaging sindhi culture and people and Sindhi ethos. What you think Sindhis are worried about Indian tanks or Punjabi- Mohajir axis. I will like to know what you think what sindhis think. Sindhis are not worried about indian tanks but we are all worried and depressed about Punjabi- MQM axis.Because Indians have not sent tanks to crush but Punjabis have sent Indians to demolisj sindhis in every way. We are not worried about indian tanks but worried about Punjabs Ethinic indian aggression.

I hope you people more give attention to sindhis and palestians.

Do you know If any sindhi is known to thinking of any ` non approved meeting like sindhi congress` some nasty ppl come to visit you. Why it is crime of sindhis to have Sindhi organization, but Punjabi conference is halal, indians can come ang go. Just some Sindhis of India attend meeting in usa with sindhis its big crime. Why sindhis are talking of going to world court for water problems? Think about it. Please keep in mind Sindhis are more oppressed than palestinanians

, hope Sindhis get in history. I want to remand bengalies were more treated worst by Punjabi- Mohajir-army axis than israel treats PLO.

I hope you ppl worry about home problems. PLO does not need `intelluctual` help from pakistan.

OK folks stay tuned to the coming saga of ``Ana and the Kid`` right here on this message board.....

YLH wonders aloud:

Why is that these overly excited Pro-Palestinian activists haven`t uttered a word about Kashmir and the Indian occupation there? Ah... but that ain`t as cool as `Palestine` is it.. I wonder why.. after all aren`t Kashmiris as fair as Palestinians?



How do you know that these `overly excited pro-Palestinian activists` haven`t uttered a word about Kashmir? Do you have some sort of special sense as to what concerns such activists? As for your last sentence, well, I`ll just have to take it for the bad joke it is, given that it totally smacks of bad taste and lack of intelligence.

I won`t argue with the fact that Pakistanis should tend to, and respond to problems in their own back yard first. Voltaire at the end of `Candide` says something about how one must cultivate one`s garden. But being aware and concerned and protesting against the plight of Palestinians doesn`t mean that we must be `servile` as MT puts it..to the Arabs. Our own poets wrote about the senselessness of the Vietnam war, along with the injustices that they witnessed and felt in their own country at the time. IMHO, I find these poets very inspiring. So be patriotic if you will, be concerned about injustices that are being perpetrated in your country, and by your country, but don`t tell us we have no shame for being concerned about the plight of those in Palestine, in Israel, in the United States or anywhere else where injustices and crimes against humanity are being committed.

And before another interactor tells me I take Yasser too seriously, I don`t. I find him utterly laughable most times. But when he triumphantly declares (with the least bit of humility, mind you) that at least what he has to say provides for lively discussion, and while every one is entitled to their opinion, it would be truly be a lively discussion if an intelligent dialogue was to take place. Instead we have mudslinging, and long diatribes, and defensiveness on all sides.

`Drawing Palestine` is an observational piece. Joe Sacco could not have possibly known what it was like in the day of a Palestinian child, unless he was able to go there and see it for himself. And he gets transformed in the process, and expresses such a transformation through his cartoons. He sees and shows us the power imbalances in that part of the globe. But given that we all read differently, and selectively..some of us take this piece and unfairly attack a people that are already, and have been, under siege. I did tons of research and wrote a paper on Kashmir, which was incredibly difficult because a lot of what I found was accusations hurled from both sides, with some meaningful dialogue, but so far from a solution. But let me not digress and drown in diatribe myself.

Once again.. i am forced to spoon feed very mature elder people...

Progression:

1) Palestinian terrorist blows himself up killing jews.

2) He becomes a Hero in Pakistan for being a brave martyr.

3) Some delusional fundamentalist blows up the french in Pakistan...

Please conclude for yourself!

new school eh??

Isn`t that where that crass bigoted and pompous fool Christopher Hitchens teaches... and now rehan ansari.. wo bhee indian cinema pay... that is an education should be spared...

How about `Liberalism` gone mad? howz that for a cliche?