Post (what # are we on now, No?)

I'm in Karachi now, the 7th largest city in the world. It's dusty, polluted, smelly, & crowded. Tomorrow morning I'm leaving to Thatta (Keenjhar Lake) to interview some fisherfolk, then I'll be off to Nawab Shah to meet farmers. Basically, I've met tons of bureaucrats, NGOs, & researchers about the freshwater issues in Pakistan. Now it's time to meet those who are most harshly affected- the poor workers who live closest to the land & depend most on the Indus Basin. I'll be back in Karachi tomorrow late afternoon, where I'll meet an aquaintance & his wife (both water rights activists in Sindh). They'll take me & Jawaria (the friend from WWF who is serving as an interpretter & assistant) to meet the villagers of Karachi (ironic sounding, I know, but that's what they're called), people who used to farm or fish, but have been forced to move to the city for a host of reasons, usually including lack of water in the lakes or rivers to irrigate their fields or for fish. We'll meet & interview some of those people, who are struggling to eek out a living in Karachi. Then we'll have dinner with Mr Memon & his wife at their place.

This is one thing I really appreciate about the people of Pakistan. Everyone seems to want to be a good host. No one allows me to pay for dinners out, even if I am the one who invited them, because, "you are a guest here". Loads of individuals have introduced me to their families & shown me their homes. A perfect example of this hospitality was just last night. One of the WWF staff took Jawaria & I to Hyderabad to meet a guy who wrote a book about the Kala Bagh Dam issue & to meet several people from SIDA (the Sindh Irrigation Development Authority, a really excellent group which has given over 5 million farmers the opportunity to manage their own water resources collectively). We then sat in on one of the initial Friends of Indus Forum meetings, & saw about 40 activists planning to develop this advocacy group to improve the livelihoods of those living in Sindh Province, all of whom are suffering because they in the lower riparian section of River Indus (including Karachi- very close to the outlet of the Indus into the Arabian Sea), where the riverbeds are essentially used as drains for the sewage & industrial effluents to flow into the sea. Not much potable pani (water) actually makes it down to these people, as it's all dammed up or being used/wasted by those living in the upper riparian areas.

Anyway, so Jamal is one of the WWF-Karachi guys who was facilitating our meetings in Hyderabad (about 2 hours north of Karachi). He took it upon himself to take us to his hometown, Kotri, which was just a few km from Hyderabad. There, he showed us the Kotri Barrage (the last one in the Indus Basin before the water/waste reaches the sea). He took us to his brother's home (where half a dozen of his & his brother's children were running around, not to mention his sister-in-law, his wife, his auntie, uncle, & a few other sisters). From the roof of the house we could see children playing in the small amount of water that was present in the usually dry riverbed (it's monsoon season for the next month & a half, so they see a bit of rain this time of year). Luckily, I brought the camera for the interviews & meetings early in the day, so was able to take some footage. His brother & his wife had to play host at their house, & even though we told them we'd already been given at least 4 chais (lipton tea, with milk & sugar that Pakistanis drink hot- even in the summertime) that day, they adamantly insisted that we enjoy some of the delicious roh-afza, a rose flavored red beverage whose name literally means "soul blessings". Then we went a few houses down the street & visited his house & a whole host of other family members. They presented us with a few glasses of Pepsi & we chatted for a while. Jamal even said we could stay in Kotri if we liked, as it was getting late. But we opted to go back to the place we were already paying for in Karachi, even though the laidback, comfortable nature of Kotri was much more appealing.

As soon as we hit the super-highway we were met by monsoon rains & flooded streets. We eventually made it back, thank goodness!

I'm alive!

No time to write. I'm at an internet cafe & am paying for every minute here so have to make it snappy.

Basically I have a ton to write about, so I'll do it when I have time.. The good news is I'm in Islamabad again, doing interviews, & considering a trip to the north to see the glaciers which feed the Indus (not the unsafe north). On the 27th or 28th I'll take off for a week in Karachi, which should be really interesting bc it is supposed to be the dirtiest, largest city in the country. I have been fortunate enough to see the clean cities of Lahore & Islamabad for the past month, so it will be a change, if nothing else.

Also, I'll finally be able to meet with the farmers & fishermen of Sindh Province, which should be much more stimulating than all of these bureaucrats. =)

Having a blast, but getting really sick of the food.

Family & Friends, I love you & miss you all! Wish I could have been at Amanda's wedding, I heard it was lovely.

Oh, yes, & don't worry if I go to the north. I even have permission of the Minster of Interior, so safety isn't an issue there. Coldness is something to be more concerned about..

Post At

Ok.. It's been AGEs since I last wrote, but I've been having a ball & haven't had much time for blogging. Plus, I got sick of the play by play account of what I'm up to. From now on I'll just write about the exciting bits.



Load-shedding is another reason I haven't been online much. Each city government rations power bc there is an extreme shortage here. In Lahore we are without electricity for 8 hours per day now. Fortunately, Ammar's family is among less than 1% of the population that can afford a UPS system (which is a power generator of sorts), which will keep 1 light on per room & keeps the fans running. Everything else is out. All of the appliances. All lights deemed "unnecessary". Everything. I cannot imagine how the poorest of poor survive with no power at all. Ever. It get's so hot & humid here. But, I suppose they have adapted to it. I'm sure that doesn't make it any less miserable for these people.



I went to a shrine 2 Thurdays ago in a village called Mianmir to listen to Qawaali music (Sufi devotional music which is incredibly transic to hear). En route to the village (which is really a suburb of Lahore), I saw people sleeping on the side of the road with, literally, nothing but the clothes on their backs. I'm sure they came to Lahore seeking work, but even if they were lucky enough to find something, they still can't afford to pay rent. Imagine laying next to the road, being disturbed by the headlights of those better off than yourself, inhaling dust from the street. The question keeps coming to my mind, "What's on their minds? Are the feeling downtrodden & defeated?" Surely, they have families they must be concerned about. Or perhaps they're alone. Doubtful, as the population of this country is mushrooming for a reason. The poor tend to be the ones who embrace religion the most, as they are the one's most in need. Extremism is prevalent here, and Islam is similar to Christianity in being anti-contraceptives.


That night I also visited the Shah Jamal Shrine, one that is famous for a pair of drummers who begin at midnight every Thursday & play until dawn. One of the drummers has been deaf since birth, but he picked up the skill of rhythm from his father who would tap beats on his back when he was a child. This guy & his partner (I believe his name is Pappu Sain) are absolutely amazing. The night I went, I was 1 of 6 women present, with well over 500 men in attendance. The men sat in a very dense ccroud, which formed a circle for the devotees who danced like mad in the middle. These guys danced for hours, shaking their heads, stomping their feet, & best of all, spinning when they were moved to spin. They were drenched in sweat & clearly high on more than just "the spirit". In fact, I didn't take a hit of anything, but even from behind the protective barrier where women sat, I still felt the affects of being surrounded by hashish. And that was outside. I had the best sleep of my life that morning when I got home. Naturally, I could not go in to the WWF office that Friday, being so sleep deprived.

I did some shopping with Pinky, Ammar's 17 year old sister, for the shalwar camees so I won't stick out so much here. The shopping experience was good fun (even though I normally hate shopping for anything other than food), but exhausting. I had a hard time keeping up with this girl, who is a pro at picking out fabric, lace to match, designing the curta, and walking through ever step of what she wants with the tailor. I thought it would be easier just buying a few things ready-made, but didn't want to miss out on the experience of having something made & tailored just for me.

Most of my clothes are finally finished being stitched, and I find that people treat me quite a bit differently when I wear the shilwar & camees (traditional pants & shirt with a dupatta- scarf) than when I'm wearing my everyday jeans & t-shirts. Naturally, the locals appreciate that I am making an effort to appreciate their customs & culture, & I feel more comfortable when people assume that I am from the northern areas (where people have fair skin & light colored eyes), rather than staring at me, knowing I'm a foreigner. Of course, that assumption is shattered as soon as I open my mouth to speak.

Even though I have learned a bit of the language (really a few words here & there), I don't know the grammar well enough to put together more than disjointed fragments of a sentence. Most of the people I encounter (the wealthy/elites, business people, academics, & goverment officials) do speak English, but I'd like to be able to speak to commoners (I know it sounds horrible to say that, but here there are servants, cooks, drivers, door-people- all in the service industry bc they need work). I encounter these people everyday, & get by with others translating for me, or with my pathetic attempts at speaking Urdu.

There is a guesthouse where some of my friends were staying, hosted by the American Institute for Pakistani Studies. This org is in serious trouble due to funding cuts by the US government. It's funny, the federal govt won't support American students studying Pakistani Studies in Pakistan, but will support the studying of Pakistan in other places.. what!? It's the same with Fullbright; they've cut their Pakistan progran altogether. It's a sad thing, because this Institute promotes cultural understanding & interaction, the obvious deterrent to extremist assumptions about people in other places eventually leading to "terrorism". I ot a few Urdu books from the library there today, & the program director invited me to come back for private lessons. Unfortunately I won't have time for language classes, being so busy with this research project. But I'll keep trying to read & pick up bits & pieces on my own..


Anyway, Jawaria (the girl from WWF who is working with me on this project), Ammar, & I are about to take off for Islamabad where we'll be for the next 10 days or so. I'll be interviewing scores of goverment official for the research project. Wish me luck!