Between the clouds, a silver lining

[VetDoctor]

Between the clouds, a silver lining
Aasim Zafar Khan

I’d be lying if I told you that my faith in Pakistan is strong. Over the last decade and a half, things have progressively slipped from bad to worse. Terrorism has all but found a permanent home within our borders, and many of us have lost fathers and brothers, mothers and sisters, brothers and daughters. At the same time, the economy has tanked, jobs have disappeared, and fate has stabbed the common Pakistani in the back.
Those who can, have already left this country. Those who can’t, are trying to. For a large number of people, the short-term purpose of life is somehow getting out of this country. And in a certain light, I don’t blame them. Many though, have resigned themselves to what lies before them: a life spent struggling to make ends meet, to live a life without what should be the bare and basic necessities: security, freedom, health, education, and tolerance. But to quote a song by Lady Antebellum ‘down the road the sun is shining, in every cloud there’s a silver living’.
Yes, my faith in the future of Pakistan stands restored. And so should yours. Why?
Let me bother you with a little story about the transformation of my point of view and why it’s too soon to bet against this country.
Recently, I was involved with the training of young-ish adult regional journalists for the upcoming elections; to act primarily as field monitors and citizen journalists in sensitive districts across the four provinces of our country. The particular group I worked with came from interior Sindh, from areas like Saanghar, Jacobabad, and the like. The challenge of the training was to train these people to use digital tools and social media in their roles as citizen journalists. Most weren’t proficient on computers, English was unheard of, a couple hadn’t ever used email, and only one out of 14 had a smartphone. And so we took off, learning about social media, digital tools, smart phones and the possible synergy between them. And we didn’t just take off, we flew!
Within a matter of three days, everyone was proficient on Facebook, Twitter, Google drive/alerts and how to report from the field armed with just a smartphone. They even got over the learning curve of a touch keyboard, which many ‘upper class’ citizens still struggle with. What moved me most was the desire and inquisitiveness to learn, the need to go further and become better. Remember what they used to say about the early years being the best to learn something, anything? It’s drivel. Learning lives as long as the desire survives; age means nothing.
Many of you involved in, say the education sector or the capacity building and development sector, may already know what I am talking about, but for me, it was a complete eureka moment - the solution to Pakistan’s ills was sitting right in front of me, stabbing their fingers at a smartphone trying to get a tweet out about their constituency.
There is boundless talent in Pakistan. We’ve been saying it for years, but mostly it’s been confined to cricketers. Players like Muhammad Amir and Muhammad Asif rocked the foundations of the game at a very early age, just because of sheer talent and a generous dose of luck.
I’m here to tell you that this talent is not confined to cricket, and knows no bounds. Our entire focus needs to shift towards empowering our youth to learn new technologies and acquire new skills. Their lives ought to be made easier so that they can focus on their professions, because after what I’ve seen today, the only thing stopping Pakistan is the lack of opportunity.
And you can play your part as well. Take some time out, and go train some of these fellows, in whatever your field of specialisation is, you’ll find their brains inquisitive and sharp, their hearts open and willing.
Much and more has been written about the youth being the future of a country and its people. But as things stand today, the youth (and everyone else) has been driven to tears with inflation, unemployment, lack of security, education, health services and the like.
Some of the best brains and intellect are going to waste in Pakistan. Many of these minds and intellect are in your neighbourhood. You can play your part in stopping this descent and helping them maximise their potential, for it is them that can see us through.
The question of course, as it always is, will you?
The writer is a media consultant and trainer.
Tweets @aasimzkhan

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