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Old Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Chilli Chilli is offline
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Default European elegance sans prejudices

Shireen M Mazari

Coming back from Latin America, via Europe to Pakistan is a rude reintroduction to the biases, prejudices and machinations of interstate relations between us and the "West". The death of a Pakistani while in custody of the German police was one micro level reflection of this and immediately raised the issue as to why the German government failed to act against the newspaper republishing the blasphemous cartoons under Article 166 of the German criminal code? As Europe seems to be delving increasingly into racism and religious bigotry, one wants to remain submerged in the liberating environment of Latin America.

Thinking that Rio and Brazil would be hard acts to follow, Argentina proved one wrong in a most pleasant experience -- different from but equally exhilarating to that of Brazil. Buenos Aires exudes an elegance that reminds one of Madrid. But there is an unmistakably Argentinean spirit one senses immediately. The broad avenues, surrounded by beautifully restored elegant buildings, recall various periods of the Argentinian people’s struggles in their names. The plazas resound with the sound of the tango beat and in many ordinary places around the city, tango dancers divert and refresh people from their shopping and other routines. Just as the samba beat reflects the openness and quintessential Brazilian passion and beauty, the tango reflects the European elegance and undercurrents of passion and feeling that abound in Argentina. Although Buenos Aires does not have the broad racial mix of Brazilian cities, the largely white populace is truly free of underlying prejudices which often lie just below the surface in Europe.

In a deeply religious country, there were no biases against Islam that cropped up, or were insinuated, in any of the discussions and Q and A sessions one had in various institutions in Argentina. Instead, there was an eagerness to learn our viewpoint and understand developments in our region. Beginning with the National Defence College and moving on to our host institution, the Argentina Council for International Relations (CARI), which organised two different types of interaction, the exchanges could not have been more free and refreshing. It only reconfirms my longstanding view that we have lost out by ignoring Latin America -- a continent rich in its humanity, and full of resources and opportunities. There is a genuine interest in learning about Asia now in both Argentina and Brazil, and the sensitivity towards our religion is a welcome change from the responses one finds in Europe and the US. Clearly, it is not secularism that breeds religious tolerance.

The diversity of Argentina was reflected in the completely different setting we found in Salta city, the capital of Salta province up in the northwest of the country -- close to the border with Chile and Bolivia. There was nothing European here, but the city was absolutely breathtaking in its indigenous well-preserved beauty. The religious influence is very overt here with churches of all shapes, sizes and colours -- primarily of the Catholic faith -- to be found almost a few metres apart! The central cathedral in the main square of the city was richly endowed and was fully in use even around mid-day with a fair amount of worshippers attending the service even as visitors also intruded.

Again, giving a seminar at the Catholic University, it was exciting to see the interest shown in Asia by the students. The University also honoured me by giving me an honorary degree and in a dinner exchange of ideas with some members of the faculty, it was truly comforting to realise that in this part of the world there is no Islamophobia -- only a genuine respect for all religions. Salta’s charm was intoxicating and a trifle nostalgic because its physical surroundings reminded one of Islamabad -- only more lush, now that CDA has decimated our city, and devoid of the wide avenues of Buenos Aires!

Incidentally, Argentinean agriculture and their well-developed livestock industry has much to offer Pakistan and I was pleasantly surprised to come across an Argentinian businessman who is doing textile business with Pakistan and is truly in love with our country which he visits frequently every year. There are many unexplored business and educational opportunities for us to discover and avail once we move beyond our narrow focus on Washington and Europe only. Incidentally, we found that President Musharraf had charmed his audiences in both Brazil and Argentina.

Returning to Buenos Aires, I explored the city and saw the marks of the political tribulations of the Argentinean people, including the actual bullet marks on the building from where Peron staged his last fight against the military before going into exile -- from where he returned years later. I also saw the building from where Eva and Peron waved to the people after their political success and then there was Eva’s grave which is visited by so many who admired her and who mourn her death so early, when she was only in her early thirties.

Even now, Latin America politically continues to lead the rest of the world in terms of progressive trends. While so much of the rest of the world is dominated by right of centre or extreme right parties and rulers, Latin America is dominated by left of centre and leftist parties -- with the state still taking a large proportion of the responsibility for people’s welfare. Latin America has also suffered US super power machinations, including the pre-emptive and regime change doctrines, far earlier than the rest of the world, having had to confront the Monroe Doctrine and CIA interventions. That is why while one can feel a European influence, the US influence in terms of culture is not visible at all -- despite the yellow arches of McDonald!

Instead, there is an intense sense of a Latin American identity amongst the states of the region with the larger states trying to pull some of the more reluctant smaller states into a genuinely cooperative structure. It is the big states like Brazil and Argentina that have an overwhelming commitment to regional cooperation and identity. Moreover, we see the Venezuelan leader, Chavez, linking up with Castro so that each helps the other -- for example, the former with cheap oil to Cuba and the latter supplying Cuban doctors to every remote corner of Venezuela. Again, Chavez has extended his support to the Bolivian leader, who is seeking to nationalise the country’s energy resources. While Brazil and Argentina are concerned about this move, they have chosen quiet dialogue with the neighbours to resolve the problem rather than issuing threats and ultimatums. Today, Latin America is one region that really does have a positive regional identity which is being deliberately forged and bolstered at all levels.

That is perhaps why there is such a liberating and feel-good air that surrounds countries like Brazil and Argentina. They really do offer the best of all worlds -- natural beauty, cultural richness flowing from an acceptance of diversity, a unique tolerance and a zest for life. If ever our society needed to learn from another’s example, we need to learn from the countries of Latin America -- from their spirit of tolerance and from their political experiences both internal and external.
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