All the News That’s Fit to Share
Maureen Dowd writes Doubts About Certitude. She is on fire today. I haven’t seen this complete of truth telling in media since… I don’t even know when. I’d like to point out in particular the earlier passages relaying the history of US involvement in the Af-Pak region dating back to the 1980s. I’m pleased to be reading this article in advance of my upcoming trip, which you still have time to comment on.
Tom Friedman writes www.jihad.com.
My response to Freidman:
It’s very unfortunate that in your call to courage, you have conflated the multiplicity of Afghanistan. Demoralising a diverse, culturally important, and geographically relevant location is one of the biggest mistakes Western countries continue to make. It speaks to the colonial history of this country and other nations when they address their occupied areas as a monolith. I expect more from you.
The Pakistan Project
In two weeks, I’ll be travelling to Karachi (Pakistan) for the first time in fifteen years. Many of you know the story: I moved to the United States from Karachi – after living in Islamabad for most of my childhood – in December 1994. Since then, I’ve lived in Arkansas, the Dominican Republic, New York City, and most recently, Northampton in western Mass.
I’m prepared for a significant amount of culture shock. Having not interacted actively with Pakistani people or culture outside of my immediate family, my relationship with my birth country is tenuous at best. What I know of, in the past fifteen years, has been through conversations with my immediate family and the news media.
Pakistan’s precarious position in global politics inspired the documentary project I’ll be undertaking on my upcoming visit. In the past few weeks, I’ve been following news of the military expansion in Afghanistan and increased drone bombings in western Pakistan. Below are links to articles that have weighed heavily on my mind:
How Obama Came to Plan for “Surge” in Afghanistan [NYTimes]
The Demons That Haunt the Pakistanis [NYTimes]
How to Mend Fences with Pakistan [NYTimes]
Obama’s Afghan-Pak Syndrome [Democracy Now]
Pakistan mourns officers, civilians slain in mosque attack [AFP]
Pakistan Told to Ratchet Up Fight Against Taliban Fight [NYTimes]
The War in Pashtunistan [NYTimes]
At the moment, I’m casting a wide net. The rationale behind this is the infancy of the project and the limiting of furthering pre-conceived notions. My methodology is simple: gather as much information as possible via interviews, photographs, video documentation, and site visits. I have contacts in the education, health, and military sectors. However, I welcome any contacts you might be able to share. I will be writing up an information release agreement, which will include an option for contacts to remain anonymous should the project threaten their security in any way. I don’t anticipate this being an issue but want to include this option for those who may be concerned.
Media Credit: Nicole Brinson
This is where I turn to those I know. One doesn’t have to keep up with current events to know the future of Pakistan is relevant to most of our lives. What do you want to know about Pakistan and Pakistanis? What questions would you ask of a wide spectrum of Pakistanis – from those living in the slums of Karachi to those who hold notable posts in the military, from those who are teaching to those who are working in the health sector, from those who were active in the military during its work in Afghanistan in the 1980s to college/university students.
My time and location are somewhat limited. I have two weeks in Karachi and 15 years of family visits to fit in. But I’m committed to this project. I’m fluent in conversational Urdu. My mother will be helping with translation where it might become an issue (due to dialects and translations of written texts if any). My father was a member of the intelligence services of the Pakistan military, serving during the Afghan conflict of the 1980s, and he’ll be directing me to many of his friends and co-workers from that time. He’ll also be travelling more widely within Pakistan and will be conducting some interviews on my behalf.
The ultimate goal of this project is to create a multimedia conversation across the globe and inform my academic thought. Despite being based in a more traditional department in English, I’m committed to cross/multi/interdisciplinary work that privileges a multitude of narratives. Through this documentarian work, I hope to illuminate voices that are often misheard or unheard on the global level.
I appreciate your perspective on this project and look forward to sharing it with you. Please send all comments, questions, and advice to allisoptional[at]gmail[dot]com or comment here.
Student Massage Clinics
Once a friend massaged my shoulders and the base of my neck, she exclaimed, “You have no tension in your back.”
If only she could’ve felt my back in the last few weeks. I was taken back to junior and senior year when random Pressers could walk into the office and see me or Tyler lying on the floor with chairs to either side one of us walking on the other’s back. We were nuts!!!
I’ve just started graduate school (after a two year break) and a new job as a grant writer (the most recent I applied for is in the neighbourhood of $350,000). That means serious tension.
Enter Adam Reichardt. Yes, he was my primary masseuse for several years but things are different now. We live many miles apart and his arms aren’t nearly long enough. His good will and kind thoughts, however, know no distance. He said he wanted to present me with a massage for my birthday but was far too lazy to do the leg work. Instead, he ripped up the check I’d written him for his birthday present (also a massage) and told me I’d best locate someone willing to rub my back in Northampton.
Being the allegedly broke student that I am, I raised my brows when I found The Massage School in nearby Easthampton. They offer a student clinic where you pay $25 (+ tip) for an hour long massage!
Did you get that? $25 (+ tip) for an hour! Even though they call it a great opportunity for their students, I felt like I was taking advantage of them. Yet I couldn’t let this seemingly sweet offer pass me by. I made the call and insisted Katherine come along, too.
The entry way is small and becomes crowded very quickly. Especially when the student therapists are standing about with baskets calling your name as you’re trying to sign in and pay. You fill out a form similar to one you would at any spa and converse with your masseuse on the areas you’d like to focus on or avoid. Then, you get down to business.
The room where I got my massage had eight (heated) tables and three stalls for changing. It was a mix of men and women (both therapist and those receiving massages) since I had not specified a man or woman masseuse. They ask when you make an appointment. The music wasn’t my favourite and I didn’t love the twinkle lights but at $25 an hour, I don’t have much room for complaints especially when the massage was pretty good. After the hour ends and you’re back in civilian clothes, the student therapist has a brief conversation with you asking how it went and offering suggestions to ease the pain when in between massages.
I’ll be back after my season opener for skiing (last weekend of November) and definitely after I turn in my two final papers in mid-December.
Fellow graduate students in western Massachusetts (or really anyone), go very quickly lest you miss this great deal.
So It Goes, New York (Part I)
Editor’s note: I could have back dated this entry to the actual day that I left New York: Thursday, 03 September 2009. But, I wouldn’t have told a fair story. They say since it’s memory, it’s false. There wouldn’t be justice to this letter if it were anything more or less than what it is in this moment. This is where I stand nearly two months after beginning the journey of leaving New York City.
Dearest ones,
Friendships are an interesting phenomenon. There are moments when we feel overwhelmed by them; others when we feel desperate for them. Transitions are terrifying for this very reason.
When I think of you, rarely can I distinguish the “Aha!” moment of our friendship. Somewhere in the crevices of my brain, I remember our first meeting. Certainly, there are some among you who spent far too many hours with me in that corner office on the ninth floor of the former New York Times building. Other with whom I bonded while slinging chocolate in Park Slope. Regardless of where I’ve met you, you have left a deep and profound impact on my being.
Whether we speak rarely or often, by post or phone or through countless social media, I want to thank those who have offered me unconditional friendship. Some among you have known me well while others have been party to a more fleeting relationship. It matters not. Your gift is not lost upon me.
In moments of mistrust, I’ve looked to you for help. Your friendship is a healing salve. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.
Cheerfully yours,
Neelofer
Southern Sojourn
Once upon a time, across the great expanse of the Americas, God put down his foot and said the area underneath shall be mine. It shall be the home of the my truest followers for they will raise high their hatred and spit vengefully upon all who dare go against my will.
That was the Bible Belt. We’re going to cruise through it. We’re stopping for peaches in Georgia and hiking the Appalachian in North Carolina. There’s country music and sandy beaches. And, of course, our starting point and end points: two of the most amazing cities to grace the country in which we live.
Pack your flasks, ladies. It’s going to be a wild ride.
Full photo sets on Flickr and Facebook.
