SAID GRASS IS GREENER IN ANOTHER MEADOW;
ONLY WHEN YOU STOP NURTURING YOUR OWN.

People lose faith in their country. And believe that transporting themselves in another world will solve if not all, at least some of their problems. We get a chance to meet people from all over the world. And share their happiness as well as their anguish. I felt sharing the thoughts of Ahmed Humayoun, a Pakistani designer artist who migrated to Canada has to be shared with others. In Canada from 1965, he narrates all the vows there. Read and start taking your country seriously. Plenty of issues, but can be corrected by looking at them as a challenge. Not creating unimaginable issues for oneself. Sharing!

Dear ARC,
If you find paradise on earth, please let me know, I would also like to move  there. I visit Pakistan every two years. I see people eating better and living better there. All my colleagues without exception are part of Pakistani art history. Their names are mentioned and their work is published in books etc. and their names are going to be mentioned after they are dead and gone. They are well respected in the Pakistani society. They are financially comfortable and have no financial debits. All my colleagues including myself, without exception who decided to leave Pakistan, have no place in the art history and will never have one. I am quite sure, had I stayed in Pakistan, I would have been in the same company as my colleagues who decided to stay back. About 8 years ago I met an artist (originally from a very well respected family in Lahore) and later on found out that he passed away suddenly and was cremated by strangers and his ashes scattered somewhere.

My assessment is that only 10% of the migrants make it in the West, the rest 90%  don’t. The immigrants go through loss in 3 areas. One – loss of culture (that includes history, language, cuisine, appreciation of music, family ties etc.). Second – loss of family ties, lack of respect of elders, marriage into other faiths, loss of identity etc. Third – Religion (which to most people is extremely painful).
Police with all the riot gear burst into an Ottawa “desi” house at 3 a.m. three years ago and arrested a young man, born in Canada, who was suspected of terrorism. The case has not come to trial yet. When? No one knows. The cost to fight the legal battle is close to 2 million dollars. The family obviously does not have that kind of money. There is always fund-raising being done for it.

We have had at least two suspicious deaths in police custody of young “desi” boys as well as one case of suspected suicide. Some of the girls as well as boys marrying into “other faiths” is very common. The parents can not do anything about it. The children normally are “independent” after the age of 18 years.
I see two groups amongst the “desis” being formed – one group is extremely religious and the other is not. The not-so-religious people say that all the religions are good because no religion teaches bad things. Therefore, religion is not important and their entire attitude towards life is guided by it.
Today, I read an article in the local newspaper, that a family in Winnipeg (White mother and Somali father) was raided with riot gear when they were celebrating their son’s 5th birthday. The man sued the police for damages. The judge’s threw the case out and commented that he got better treatment here and he should feel himself lucky to be in Canada.

We have three children, two boys and a girl, all married off fortunately to “desis”. The children were born here and studied here. The children have different interests and capacity for education. Our older boy did not go beyond high school and he drives the city bus. The daughter excelled in studies and she is a dentist. The youngest boy did his masters in communications last year and is still looking for a full time job. I am sure, had they been in Pakistan, their attitude towards education would have been the same.
I do not have a brother. My sister in Pakistan has three daughters – the oldest one is an administrator of a famous school system in Lahore. The second one is a school teacher and doing her masters in languages at the same time. The third one is a doctor. The girls were born, educated, and working in Pakistan as well as managing their families and children.
My wife and I worked in Canada since 1965 and paid 60% of our income in direct or in direct taxation for 40 years and are still paying taxes. There is tax on the funeral also. I noticed that a vast majority in Pakistan do not pay taxes and still would like the same privileges as the West. A totally unreasonable expectation I would say.

Pakistan is no bed of roses, neither is the West. Bottom line is that one
ends up trading one type of problems with the other. I remember reading about a Bangladeshi fellow who won the lottery in US green card draw. His village collected money for his fare and sent him off with lot of fanfare. The poor fellow died in a construction accident a month after his arrival there.
I have made 16 visits since 1965. I have never been looted, pick pocketed, threatened there or harassed by the customs officers upon arrival. I have always traveled by bus, train and by car within Pakistan. If I happen to be a target on my next visit, I certainly am not going to blame the country for it. Same way I am not going to blame US if I end up with an unpleasant experience in a crime ridden city like New York.
I think selling all the assets and moving to a new land, where one has
nothing in common with the people – the customs, language, cuisine, lifestyle etc. and starting a new life from scratch – is an extremely personal decision. A decision which is going to affect the lives of the present and the future generations.
Please let me know if I have answered your questions.
All the best. With fond regards.
Ahmad Humayun