Why Doesn’t the World Care?

Can`t imagine letters like this being printed in mainstream newspapers of other countries...(and mullah omar and yasser ``ahmedi`` hamdani``: Private view is a cop-out...the New York Times won`t print a racist letter)

p.s. aha_snark or whatever...u lurking?

Zionist hold

Sir: Zionists have such a powerful grip on American politics, Hollywood, the media and both Houses of Congress that even George W Bush who has no re-election concerns is unwilling to challenge them over America’s Middle East policy. Apart from the occasional statement politely asking Israelis to stop the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the US administration openly sides with Israel, saying it “understands” Israel’s security concerns.

Jews today enjoy the same kind of control over various sectors of US politics and economy their counterparts in Germany did ahead of Nazi madness. Unless they are careful not to use it ruthlessly, I am afraid, they will risk another Holocaust.
OMAR MIRZA

Daniel Pearl`s wife was pregnant with their first child.

She came to Pakistan and pleaded for her husband`s life who had been kidnapped.

Pakistanis responded to her by beheading Daniel Pearl and releasing the video of that gruesome act.

Do you really expect the world to respond with sympathy when you talk about pregnamt women in Muzaffarabad going without the necessities of life?

#295, {``New Pakistani arrivals, Razvi said, have their immigration papers in order. ``They have their T`s crossed and their I`s dotted,`` he said, rubbing his weary eyes and smiling. ``}

I would be more impressed if he stated that Pakis in NYC have their legs crossed and their foreheads dotted. :)

Re: # 297

Dear Behram1,

As much as I`d like to disassociate myself from politicians I do find some similar backgrounds between them and Joe Public.

When I say they are from us, I mean that (some of them) grew up where I did, went to the same schools, played similar sports, cheered for the same teams, and thought very much like me (at one stage of our lives). I have some of my friends and acquantainces from Aitchison who are now either Ministers, MNA`s or advisors to the government. Is it the office that corrupts them or is it the corruption within them that seeks such offices? And how would I (or Joe Honest) act if given a similar chance? Though questions.

David Blunkett, a Secretary in Tony Blair`s government had to resign (again) for having a conflict of interest of an investment of 15,000 pounds in another firm. He was a politician but the people decided his fate. We as individuals in Pakistan need to demand similar accountability and that is what I mean by the individual taking more responsibilty about the state of our nation. We are not merely props in this national drama. Its time we take the leading roles.

How? I`m sure you have some good suggestions. Mine are Scream, Be Angry, be productive, be challenging. Be whatever we can be except being complacent and resigning.

Re: # 299

interesting thought. However, I think that in the case of Tsunami the casualty numbers kept on increasing. And in this article I used Tsunami as a bench mark for global aid generosity.

Notwithstanding, our PR and press need how to learn how to amass greater stickiness in its stories and the way it portrays them

In any natural disaster, the prime responsibility of relief is with the host country...not with the international community. Everything ``the world`` does is simply a bonus. In fairness, Iran and China had received scant attention when natural disasters hit their nation.

People can find whatever reasons they want to hate Pakistan or Pakistanis...only a fool would pay attention to them at this particular time.

The Pakistani media, in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake was saying only 10000 were killed and very slowly raied that figure.

Compare that with what happnes in the US... After Katrina, it said 50000 body bags are on the ready. After 9/11 it said 10000 are killed. Immediately it got all the global sympathy. And then everyone forgot the media exaggeration.

The Pakistani media and its masters have a few lessons to learn in earning global sympathy.

Of course the (percieved or true?) Islamic fundamentalism and fanaticism has nt helped at all.

Re: # 291

Dear faisaluno:

[unlike before, we have some very good people working in these institutions who are doing a damn good job.] Before what? For the past so many years, we see many, many Pakistanis trying to get out of Pakistan. So the legitimate question becomes why?

[i get very angry when i read unjust criticism of these people in english press by people who cant tell the difference between their heads and their ass.] Please do get angry, and keep the level of anger up. And not at the English press, because they do know the difference between their heads and their ass. It is only they who are showing introspection to the Pakistanis who care.

[i think its very important that we recognise the efforts of govt institutions that are doing a good job because frankly speaking there are not too many of them around.] Yes, I agree with you generally.

A few good individuals in an institution, does not make a good institution.

Respectfully submitted,

Re: # 293

Dear Aamir:

Please do not use this thought in Pakistan`s case..[The politicians came from the people and we are the people.] Pakistani politicians are have been rightfully discredited for there dis-service to the nation. I have no idea where they came from.

Respectfully submitted,

Prophet tahmed: Perhaps you should tell El-Presidente about the ``outpouring of relief`` or whatever..He`s saying the opposite.

While we`re on the topic, here`s another article about the pakis who haven`t fallen for the t-shirt with a paki flag delusion...

I`m going to send this to Tom Tancredo, the single issue pubbie...

`Protected status` sought for Pakistanis

NAHAL TOOSI

Associated Press

NEW YORK - South Asian advocacy groups are urging Congress and the Bush administration to grant Pakistanis in the United States a chance to delay deportation to their earthquake-ravaged homeland until the recovery from the disaster is further along.

``These individuals don`t have anything left to go back to,`` said Mohammad Razvi, executive director of the Brooklyn-based Council of Peoples Organization.

The effort to allow Pakistanis ``Temporary Protected Status`` has drawn the support of more than two dozen members of Congress.

Advocates say it wouldn`t allow all Pakistani immigrants facing removal to stay; they would need to meet requirements including criminal background checks. But it could help Pakistanis with expiring visas.

``Pakistan`s being an ally and helping the United States, we ought to show Pakistan that we are appreciative for the help that`s been extended,`` said Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has introduced a bill with 28 co-sponsors calling for the designation.

``It`s the humanitarian thing to do,`` Green said.

The designation is primarily allowed when the nationals would be in danger if sent back or if sending them back would put an extreme strain on their home country`s infrastructure, said Crystal Williams, deputy director of programs for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The Oct. 8 earthquake that hit Pakistan is believed to have killed about 80,000 people in the region and caused widespread destruction. But Williams noted that much of Pakistan is still functioning.

Only a handful of countries are on the temporary protected status list, including Honduras and Nicaragua, which suffered hurricane devastation, and Sudan, which has had ongoing armed conflict.

Chris Bentley, spokesman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the key factor was a request from the country in question.

Pakistan doesn`t plan to make that request, an embassy official said. Asking for the designation would be akin to saying there are many Pakistanis living illegally in the United States, said Mohammad Sadiq, deputy chief of mission for the Pakistani embassy in Washington.

``We support the community effort, but our estimate is that there are very, very few people illegal here,`` he said.

In the large Pakistani community in New York, some Pakistanis here legally say they want to go home to help but fear endangering their applications for permanent U.S. residency.

With some 40 relatives lost to the earthquake, Rabia Muzaffar and her family desperately want to return to Kashmir to mourn. But they are too nervous to make the trip. Even a short trip might undermine their application for permanent residency, Muzaffar said.

``We can`t sleep, we can`t eat,`` said Muzaffar, 26. ``We really wanted to see our friends, family, and ... I can`t explain how we are feeling right now.``

arjun #294 I read this article. Before running up and down the coconut tree chirping with joy at the deportations of Pakistanis after 9/11, you may wish to read the ending (below). I suggest you bring your joy up to date by now chirping about the supposed lack of international concern for the earthquake victims in Pakistan, which is the subject of this article (make sure you studiously ignore the outpouring of relief from muslim countries and the US).

Here is the ending of the article that sent you scurrying up the coconut tree:

Razvi sees hope for Little Pakistan, though. While business is not improving, at least it is not getting worse. He also said federal agents are no longer searching for anyone who might lack proper immigration papers, and instead are targeting certain individuals who have overstayed their visas.

Established residents like Hassan, who has owned his grocery store for nearly two decades, are trying to change with the times. Another store owner converted his jewelry shop into a 99-cent store once he realized most of his customers would not return. He thought it would be easier to run a convenience store because of a drop-off in business at the jewelry store, which was heavily patronized by Pakistanis.

New Pakistani arrivals, Razvi said, have their immigration papers in order. ``They have their T`s crossed and their I`s dotted,`` he said, rubbing his weary eyes and smiling.

Captain Clueless: Still think wearing a t-shirt with a paki flag is a good idea for pakis in the US?

Deportation surge leaves void in Brooklyn`s Little Pakistan

Many of Hassan`s Pakistani customers, and possibly 20 percent or more of the neighborhood`s residents, have disappeared as a result of a crackdown on undocumented immigrants that the federal government has waged since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Waves of new enforcement programs with names like Operation Community Shield, Operation Predator, and Operation Tarmac produced a record 161,676 deportations nationwide last year, a surge of 60 percent since 2000, and a similarly large increase also has occurred in New York City.

Although Pakistan is an ally of the United States, the Muslim country is also considered a hotbed of Islamic extremism, which has led FBI and immigration agents to knock on many doors in Brooklyn, looking for people it believes pose a potential threat to national security. Brooklyn has the largest concentration of Pakistanis in the country.

Re: # 291

Dear Faisaluno,

Having an opinion about the diaster is not a mutually exclusive exercise from fund raising (which I am also doing - didnt feel it merited an article). The intension was not to derail whatever good we are doing, nor to blame the victim, nor to win political points with goras in english press either, but to be a bit more objective about what can be expected from the world and why we must rely on our ourselves.

Moreso, the idea of publishing the article here was to use the chowk.com community as a sounding board to test my hypothesis, logic, facts, etc. - and that is precisely what you have provided (although it took me sometime to separate the wheat from the chaff). If I am wrong, I`ll acknoweldge and move on.

Now onto your other point about govt`s scorecard, contributions and unjust criticism`s against it. I am one of the few liberals who actually do support Musharraf (in the short term) but the fact of the matter is that we are painfully behind the required run rate (institutioally, economically, educationally, etc.). Exceptional cases of good people in some ministries and private sector is well noted but we need much more.

I am currently living abroad (lived in 3 countries in the last 5 years) and it sickens me to no end that we (Pakistan and Pakistani;s) have such a poor image around the world. And its not limited to the West. Our Muslim/ Arab friends dont want us either (other than a limited number of visas for toilet cleaners, road builders, and in rare cases mid management munshis). We need to start with brutal introspection, question our raison d`etre - not as Muslims but as Pakistanis. And when we start doing this there will be no short supply of criticism of the government, politicians, institutions. However, we need to add individual responsibility to the list. The politicians came from the people and we are the people.

Exactly what did Pakistanis do to Daniel Pearl?

Do you honestly expect charity after that?

amir:

you raise some very valid points in your article. for example fdi level in pak should be much higher than it is right now. however by linking this and other important internal issues with that of earthquake relief, you are doing disservice these issue one reason being that there are no linkages in my opinion. i think your arguments would be stronger if you looked at these issue from their own perspective. i also think that at this time, we are better served if we focus on how we can increase level of assistance. in your article, you have identified long term issues that cannot be tackled in the short run and thus will no impact on people fighting for survival right now.

i also think we need to acknowledge that current govt has had success in turning things around economically. my education and work experience is very similar to yours. we have in fact something in common. i have worked with a multi-national bank in pak and as a result built contacts in state bank and ministry of finance etc. unlike before, we have some very good people working in these institutions who are doing a damn good job. i get very angry when i read unjust criticism of these people in english press by people who cant tell the difference between their heads and their ass. i think its very important that we recognise the efforts of govt institutions that are doing a good job because frankly speaking there are not too many of them around.

also i did overboard in criticizing your article. i thought you were genuinely misrepresenting facts as other authors do on this website. i would like to apologize if i came across too harsh.

Re: # 277

Aha_snark:

I was just posting the news report. It is interesting. One more step towards the ``clash of civilizations``..

Reading your other responses, It seems like you think Pakistanis (or rather Muslims) dislike Jews because of ``palestine issue``. That`s very naive. As hamidm pointed out, the actual source of hate is the ``holy book``..

These guys are fighting historical battles.. and it happens over the centuries. Whoever is militarily powerful at any point of time, they dictate the rules of that time.. That`s how it works..

And FYI, it`s mentioned in the book, the Muslims can co-exist with non-Muslims ONLY when the non-Muslims (people of the book) agree to pay jizya and accept dhimmitude. It is perfectly valid for them to indulge in ``jihad`` if they are not allowed to freely practise their ``religion``. That would be like the US or the western democracies banning ``azaan`` (or the use of loudspeakers for call to prayers) and Muslims use that as a valid reason to wage ``jihad``..

Only now, people in the west are coming out of their ``multi-culturalist`` dream and waking up to the horrible realities... I`m going to just sit tight and watch the fun.. :-))