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| Anam Zakaria |
A
young peacebuilder who works hard to deal with the challenges of bias, mutual demonization
and distrust between India and Pakistan, Anam Zakaria has an inspiring story.
Here’s all that she has to share, in her own words.
In all honesty, I cannot recall a
particular moment that got me engaged in my work. I was 12 when I first
volunteered at an orphanage. I suppose I had gone in with a sense of privilege,
of wanting to help the underprivileged. I don't think I was really able to help
as a 12 year old but I remember coming back and thinking "I want to do
this again, and again." My concept of privilege and of wanting to 'help'
had been challenged. The children did not need to be helped; they were full of
energy, full of curiosity, full of love and warmth. If anything, I came back
helped by their outlook on life, by their positive and upbeat way of being.
That experience was followed by several more internship and volunteering
experiences, among different communities and groups across Lahore. By the time
I was making my decision to go to university, I knew my studies had to do
something with bringing meaningful change, and that too in the lives of
children; for it is children who are most impressionable, who soak in what is
taught, who are so full of kindness and without any trace of discrimination and
intolerance.
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| At the India-Pakistan-Kashmir Conference organised by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace in Delhi Image (c) Anam Zakaria |
It was when I returned to Pakistan
after my studies and joined the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) - a local
organization aimed towards cultural and historic preservation- that my
interests began to crystalize. I remember it was as I launched CAP's
Exchange-for-Change project, which was meant to connect thousands of school
children in India and Pakistan through letters, pictures and recorded oral
histories, that for the first time I became a first-hand witness to the
animosity that was breeding among the youth. This was not only towards India
but non-Muslims in general and was present among many institutional heads and
faculty members as well. It was
extremely disquieting to see that children as young as 10 and 11 were beginning
to form rigid mindsets about the ‘other,’ that biased curriculum and filtered
information sharing was molding opinions. I think that was the realization
point that something had to change, for without this I could foresee a myopic
future, with hardline beliefs and prejudice plaguing the generations to come.
When
I was heading the Exchange-for-Change project as CAP’s Director Lahore &
Islamabad, we faced several challenges. From courier companies refusing to
carry bulk e-mail to the “enemy territory,” to schools refusing to partake in a
project that had anything to do with India. Fortunately, however, there were
many people who came out in support of the program and it has now become a huge
success.
In
terms of my independent research on Partition for my upcoming book, there have
been a few hurdles. One of the most common ones is the hostile reaction to my
interest in cross-border relationships. I’ve been accused more than once of
challenging the Two Nation Theory and conducting anti-state activity by
suggesting there is anything similar between India and Pakistan and have been
harassed by intelligence officials on my ‘purpose’ of visits across the border
multiple times.
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| At the India-Pakistan-Kashmir Conference organised by Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace in Delhi Image (c) Anam Zakaria |
Another
challenge is the mainstream discourse in society and the official educational
curriculum across the board. By the time I have conversations with students to
challenge conventional understanding of the ‘other,’ many of them have already
spent hours memorizing the hate curriculum that helps them graduate from
school. Providing a counter-narrative is challenging in this context but
overtime, seeing change in students is more gratifying than anything else.
I spent three years with CAP, conducting
oral history interviews with the first and second generations of Pakistan and
using the narratives to inculcate tolerance and critical thinking among school
and college children. Currently, I am heading education sector projects at the
Association for the Development of Pakistan (ADP)- a philanthropy organization
that funds grassroots level initiatives run by local NGOs- helping construct
schools and improving the quality of education in remoter areas of the country.
I am also teaching Development Studies to high school students in Islamabad,
which includes varying topics like gender equality, human rights and poverty.
I have recently completed writing a
book exploring the changing narrative of Partition and the ‘other’ in Pakistan.
The book, titled Footprints of Partition: Narratives of four generations of
Indians and Pakistanis, is being published by HarperCollins, India and will be
released in 2015. Simultaneously, I’m enrolled
in a diploma program in counseling, with a special interest in trauma and
healing. I hope to eventually inculcate this into my community work in
Pakistan.
There is so much I wish for when it
comes to India and Pakistan and their future, but perhaps two most important
goals for me are a better understanding of our shared past and increased, easier
and open travel & communication. I want to see the day when I’m able to
drive to Amritsar in my car, eat delicious vegetarian food for lunch and be
back in Lahore before evening without months of planning, visa processing and
rigorous background checks!
One of the biggest impediments I
faced while researching for my book were visa and travel restrictions between
India and Pakistan. The police reporting, the extensive paperwork, limited city
visas and the delays in visa processing are so frustrating. It prevented me
from conducting extensive research in India, from being able to travel to
different cities and collecting diverse narratives. The suspicion and mistrust
are great obstacles to the work that can be done between the two countries. As
one of my interviewees said, “These laws and policies are made for people with
evil intentions. Why is that they often get away and it is instead ordinary
people that are caught in between?”
Sharing
positive stories and connecting school children and school teachers with each
other is a way people can help the cause. I believe that one of the best ways
to learn about the ‘other’ is through the ‘other’ itself and I feel that
micro-level initiatives can be instrumental in bringing change. If people can
continue collecting and sharing stories of the past and present that bridge the
disconnect between India and Pakistan and between the Partition survivors and
the youth which is removed by decades from the event, we can bring meaningful change.
If you have stories, please share, and if you work in schools or colleges, get
in touch so we can connect more and more Indians and Pakistanis, dispel
stereotypes and allow informed opinion making.