Bomb blasts target Christians in Pakistan

Disclaimer: This post was originally published in TechNews Sept 27, 2013

Life is really unpredictable and at times it gets really harsh as well, especially when your loved ones are in a situation of life and death.  You feel really guilty to be safe, and helpless because you really want to help them, but still you can’t.  My heart goes out for my country, as everyday my soil is being painted red with the blood of innocent people.  All I could think of is “Pakistan ka matlab kya?” (What is the meaning of Pakistan?) Does it mean brutal killing of innocent people or genocide on minorities? Does it mean disaster after disaster or a long road of hopelessness?  Because, as far as I remember, Pakistan was created to stop violence against it people and to end fear of being among the minors.  But now the situation is worse than the situation that we had during War of Independence.

Two weeks back, there was a twin-suicide bombing outside a church in Peshawar in Pakistan that killed at least 80 people.  This is one of the worst attacks on Christians in the country.  I don’t understand where the humanity has gone in my country.  Before everyone was complaining that it’s all because of President Asif Ali Zardari’s government, but now I ask all those people who voted for the new government of Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, where is the peace for which you voted?  Where is the security that you were promised to give after your victory?

The relatives of the victims gathered at the scene to protest the government's failure to protect them. Protesters shouted abusive slogans against the cricketer turned politician, including chants of “Imran is a dog”. This is exactly what they use to say for President Zaradari.  I wonder who can actually make a better Pakistan, because anyone who is in power is acting the same.  We lack good leaders like Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Martin Luther King who brought a difference for their people.  They didn’t fear anything in fact they had blind trust over their dream that’s why they were able to make a difference.

Christians make up about 4 percent of Pakistan's population.  They generally maintain a low profile, but are sometimes targeted by Islamist extremists who view them as heretics.  In the Quran, Christians are often referred to as the "People of the Book," i.e. people who have received and believed in previous revelation from God's prophets.  There are verses that highlight the commonalities between Christians and Muslims, so why are they seen as heretics by the extremists.

"Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians—whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve" (2:62, 5:69, and many other verses).

I pity the followers of Islam; just because of few fanatics, we all have to suffer, especially when you live outside Pakistan. People look at us as a sign of disgrace, which really hurts. My religion never taught me to kill anyone, for any reason. We were always taught to be equal, equal in every sense. We are not allowed to discriminate on any basis. But I don’t know where the Islam of Muhammad (PBUH) and Ali (RA) went, where people were taught to live peacefully and treat everyone equally.

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Bringing inner peace into your life

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted in TechNews on Oct 13, 2013

“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quietening and relaxing the restless mind.”

Remez Sasson

These days, life has become so busy that we hardly get to spend some time with ourselves, which I think is very important. No one knows you better than yourself so it’s good to spend some time with yourself so you can evaluate yourself and have some peace of mind.

Daily life can be demanding, chaotic and sometimes overwhelming. At a certain point, you feel like bringing just a little bit of inner peace and composure into your life is a hopeless wish, but it’s not true because small and smart changes can bring positive change in your life. Today I would like to share my own favorite tips on what I do when I am looking for more peace and calmness in everyday life than I have on a daily basis.

The very first thing that you need to do is set certain limits in your life. Sit down and revive the things that bother you. You may need to stop doing some of the least important things that you think are important (Facebook for sure). Don’t hold yourself to ‘perfect’ standards.

Now find a relaxation technique that works best for you. I like to go on a walk with slow music on my iPod and think about all the good that I have in my life. Long walks, music, yoga, meditation or going for a swim? Find out and do that the way you like it.

Don’t make mountain out of molehills. This is one of the main reasons why these days everyone is suffering from depression. This can create a lot of unnecessary stress. When you feel that something is bothering you a lot, stand in front of the mirror and ask yourself few question: does someone on the planet have it worse than me? Will this matter in 5 years? People who love and understand me, will they stop loving me? These questions help you realize that such things are worthless. Always remember nothing is more than you and your self-satisfaction.

When we think too much about the past it ruins our present and future both. So remember yesterday, dream for tomorrow but don’t forget to live today. If something happened in past and it’s still bothering you, then accept and let that feeling and thought in instead of trying to push it away. Just accept it and let it go. Wrong is never wrong until and unless you don’t accept that it is wrong and keep on repeating it. So if the lesson is learned it should not bother you anymore.

The last thing is again a quote from Remez Sasson, “Your nature is absolute peace. You are not the mind. Silence your mind through concentration and meditation, and you will discover the peace of the Spirit that you are, and have always been.”

Try these few things and let me know that either it helped you or not.

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Navigating social media proves perplexing

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted in TechNews on Oct 20, 2013

It has been quite a while since social media had taken over the world.  Everyone is using it according to their needs, but did anyone ever think, “What is an appropriate way of using this tool which is here to help us,” like other technologies and applications?

I know the answer is no, because people are too busy to do so as they already have lot to learn. Yesterday, I randomly asked few people around me, “Is it really useless to follow any rules while using social media.” 90% said yes and I was like “What? Why, why do you think so?” 40% said “because we already are following a lot of rules in our life and don’t want any more,” 20% said “because we use it for fun and time wasting,” 20% said “because it’s not worth any rules,” and 10% said “We never thought about it.”

Wow! Now these statics are very interesting to me.  Aren’t they to you people?  I am sure they are, and after seeing such statics I don’t think I should give a lecture here on the dos and don’ts for social media, but let’s give it a try:

I personally do take care of few things when I am using social media, as I am journalist and I have to take care of everything that I say or post that is public, but now-a-days, even if something isn’t personal, don’t say it because you never know when an employer will ask for your Facebook username and password and won’t hire you for whatever you have on Facebook profile.

The very first thing that I personally do and want everyone else to do, DO have fun and be funny because you are here to relax.  Twitter and Facebook are a great forum for punchy jokes, but if you are bad at jokes DON’T try it.  Just relax and keep clicking like button for other people jokes.

One thing that irritates me the most is the constant oversharing of things.  Please DON’T share every other thing that you see has a share button.  Just remember one thing; it’s your account, whatever you are going to share will represent you, so be very cautious when sharing anything.  Nobody is interested to know what your mom is cooking or how your relationship is going.  The ones who are interested in it would know before you tweet about it.

The best part of social media is that it can keep you connected with all those people who are out of your reach. So DO follow the stars you’d want to be friends with, the newspapers you read, the film stars you adore and the journalists you admire.  It’s the most in-the-know way to be in-the-know.

DON’T complain about your work here; it’s Twitter not your mom. Don’t forget they can see you so it better you go home and give a call to your mom and tell her what your boss is doing to you. She is the most trustworthy person to complain about your work.

DO play nice and use wise and respectful words.  This is a public forum, so don’t say anything you wouldn't say to someone’s face, or to a TV camera. Even if you can say it on someone’s face don’t say it here because it’s not the right place to do it.

DON’T exceed the tolerable four-tweets-a-day limit.  Come on, have a life; don’t make people say “Not again.” If there is some breaking news then it can be OK but not on daily basis.  Let people wait for you to tweet rather than making them unfollow you within a week after they started following you.

DO use Twitter to its full potential. It’s been the breeding ground for books, TV shows and political revolutions.  You decide what’s next.  You never know you can be the next revolutionary person. Remember the Arab Spring.

DON’T get too personal or negative it will not only affect the other person but it will affect you as well.

DO engage and interact. This can be a good place to create personal relations and maintain them. You never know who can be a help or news in future.

Last but not the least, if you can’t follow these dos and don’ts then DON’T forget to make your account private. It’s your private possession until and unless you are using it for marketing purpose.

I hope I didn't bore you to death with my few pieces of advice that might be a help for you in the future.

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Violence ravages Shia group in Pakistan

Disclaimer: This post was originally posted in TechNews on Jan 25, 2014

I was on Skype with my four-year-old nephew when he asked, “Is 200 a large amount?” I smiled and said, “Yes, why are you asking?” He looked at me with his innocent eyes and said, “Lilen, Mama was just telling her friend that until now more than 200 people have died in the last three massive blasts. We will also die if we say 'Ya Ali’.”

This kid’s question left me speechless; all I could remember was my childhood where we had no idea of what dying meant. What does being Sunni or Shia mean? All we knew was that we have to live, play, eat and sleep. The biggest fear we had was our parents scolding us and the most unsafe place for us was standing on the edge of a roof. But now we have to tell our kids that this country is not a safe place to live.

My heart goes out to all those families who lost their loved ones in these inhumane acts; it changed everything in an instant forever. Nothing would be the same for them anymore. On January 21, once again the Heaven gained 22 souls and the reason for their death was just that either they were Shia or they were living in a Shia dominated area.

Whenever I hear about someone’s death, all which revive in my mind is the moment when I lost my eldest brother forever. He was suffering from cancer and we all knew somewhere in our mind that he would leave us one day but we were still not prepared for his death. I wonder about those people who were sitting and having a good family time and all of a sudden just in one blow all was gone. A bomb doesn’t know who it kills. It doesn’t discriminate on basis of religion or anything; it just kills. Then why do we have to discriminate?

I’m tired of this violence; I'm tired of the pain and still can’t help it. I'm tired of being on the road, lonely as a robin in the rain. I want to run away from all this but will it bring a change in my society? I’m tired of people being ugly to each other. It aches like pieces of glass in my body; it feels like scars on the soul of humanity. I'm tired of all the times I've wanted to help and couldn't. I want to do something at least that would bring a little hope to people who lost their families, their friends, their whole lives and have torn apart in just a second. I'm tired of being in the dark of this ruthless war of ethnicity. Mostly it's all about the pain. There's too much that words can’t explain. If I could end it, I would have but there is no hope for humanity. I wonder what can relieve these people, what can change their fate. How would a Sunni feel if they are asked to change their sect just because Shia doesn’t like it? If they never question us about our beliefs then why do we have to question them? In fact, we don’t even ask them, we just kill them.

I believe a society that accepts mass killing as norm, indeed is a "Dead Society." It pinches me to accept this bitter truth about my society. Every day, dozens are butchered amongst us but it has no effect on our social lives. We still manage to party around and forget to give a thought to such people who have lost their loved one. Spare a thought for victims of Mastung tragedy blast as you start your life peacefully tomorrow.

If that thought provokes you a bit then help people. Not much but at least volunteer at Edhi Centers by donating blood or volunteer your time. It’s not much; it’s actually nothing, it won’t cure their pain nor it will help them sleep but it is the least we can do until it’s us or until the next time the whole world shakes up and crumbles. My country bleeds again and I mourn, I mourn for its fate, its destiny and its people.

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3 mass graves discovered in Pakistan

Disclaimer: This post was originally published in TechNews on Feb 2, 2014

I come from a very educated Baluch family, where I have always been thought to support the right thing and fight for your rights. I have always been taught by my parents, how to be human and to feel the pain of everyone, regardless of this fact that who they are and what they do, but you are a human and you should act like one.

But I wonder what’s wrong with my country fellows, what happened to them all of a sudden that they have even forgotten the value of one’s life? While scrolling down my news feed, all updates that I get from my country are about human been killed by human over ethnicity or religion. When everything becomes too much, you’ll either explode with anger or start crying because you have finally decided that it’s all too true.

On January 25, three mass graves were found after one of them was discovered by a shepherd who saw pieces of human bodies and bones. He informed the Levies, a private armed force organized by tribal leaders, and according to Assistant Commissioner, district Khuzdar, Mr. Afzal Supra, Baluchistan, the grave was excavated and 15 bodies were found. As the news of the mass grave spread throughout the district people gathered there and started digging in the nearby area where they found two more mass graves. I don’t know what the exact figure is but all I could read with my blurry vision was something around 103 bodies which were recovered from the graves.

After reading this line I couldn’t read further. I was just too scared to do that, because I know the pain of losing a sibling. All I could think of was the family of the missing persons, those who had some hope in their heart that one day their sibling might return. I know for them this world might have come to an end. My heart goes out to all those families who lost their loved ones in these inhumane acts; it changed everything in an instant forever

At that moment, all I could think of was a famous quote by Louis Pasteur, “One does not ask of one who suffers: What is your country and what is your religion? One merely says: You suffer, that is enough for me.” I buried my face in my shirt. I was all alone in my room but I felt as if everything in the room sat together and wept. There was no one who could speak to fill the silence. Even if there was anyone I believe that, that moment wasn’t about saying something, it was about understanding. It was about being human and sharing in the communion of pain that we so often try to isolate.

Since 2001, Pakistan state security forces have abducted and enforcedly disappeared more than 180 thousand Baloch political activists including teachers, Journalists, doctors and students. Out of these they have received more than 1500 mutilated dead bodies tortured inhumanly and beyond recognition found dumped in desolate areas across Baluchistan. The corpses, most of which were decomposed and beyond recognition, were discovered after a local shepherd reported to security personnel the discovery of bones, body parts and the possibility of a suspected grave in the area.

Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Gilani summoned the Inspector General of Police in Baluchistan and Deputy Commissioner Khuzdar on Saturday February 1, and has ordered them to submit a detailed report on the incident. Baluchistan High Court judge Justice Noor Mohammad Muzkanzai was appointed the head of the commission. According to a statement issued by the Baluchistan’s Interior Ministry, the commission would submit its report in a month’s time after conducting the investigation. But this is not the first time when a summon was order they did that before too but no result yet.

On behalf of my people, I would like to appeal United Nations human rights commission to appoint a U.N. special rapporteur on Baluch human rights crisis to investigate the human rights abuses Pakistan has committed in Baluchistan on daily basis.

I believe a society that accepts mass killing as norm, indeed is a dead society. It pinches me to accept this bitter truth about my society, everyday dozens are butchered amongst us but it has no effect on our social lives. But today I pledge you all to spare a thought for these unidentified bodies of God knows whose, as you start your life peacefully tomorrow. If that thought provoke you a bit then help people. Sometimes you have to be strong when you feel like giving up, have to fight when you just want to run away. Sometimes it’s all you can do just to keep going and in hope of a better future we will keep doing. Help me raise my voice against the violence and help us to bring peace in Pakistan.

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Mama Qadeer Baloch breaks Gandhi’s civil disobedience marching record after 84 years

Disclaimer: This post was originally published in TechNews on Feb 28, 2014

We all know life's not fair.  We all deal with loss and death of a loved one and it’s probably the hardest thing anyone in this world can go through.  But what makes the situation worse is when your loved ones are missing.  You live every day in dual feeling of hope-fear, hope that they will return and fear that they might not.  This is the feeling which many Baluch families are living with since 2007.

Writing history as Abdul Qadeer Baloch (also referred to as “Mama Qadeer”) aged 72, under the aegis of the Voice of Missing Baloch Persons (VMBP), set on foot to Islamabad from Quetta three months ago, hoping to raise awareness about human rights violations in Baluchistan and demand the recovery of their missing relatives.  The families and supporters of the people reportedly whisked away by intelligence agencies from various parts of the restive Baluchistan province, reached Rawalpindi on Thursday, travelling more than 1,245 miles in adverse weather conditions and intimidation by government agencies.

Many people joined them for the long march.  One name which is really worth mentioning is, Ali Haider Baloch, a 11-year-old boy, who stopped going to school and joined the long march with his elder sister, Saba. Why did he do this?  He did this because his father, Ramzan Baloch was abducted in front of his eyes.  Farzana Majid Baloch, secretary general of VBMP and the moving spirit behind this historical long march, is not a layman. In fact, she is a well-educated woman who is well aware of what she is doing.  She did her master’s in biochemistry from Baluchistan University and has been raising voice for the protection of her younger brother Zakir Majid Baloch since 2009.  But when there was no light at the end of the tunnel, she chose the beacon of hope and initiated this long march with her fellow beings.

Recently, Pakistani media has been emphasizing about the thing that Mama Qadeer and Ali Haider Baloch have made history and are unaware of this fact.  They reported: “They broke the 84-year-old record of Mahatma Gandhi, who travelled 390 kilometres on foot from Ahmadabad to Dandi as part of his famous salt march.  When Mahatma Gandhi started his march to protest against the salt laws of British Government in the colonial India he was 61 years old in 1930, the youngest among the first 80 marchers with Gandhi was 18 years old.” (The News, Pakistan)

I urge all Pakistanis to get out of their stereotype obsession and preoccupation with making stupid world records.  This man (Mama Qadeer) did not initiate a long march to make a world record or to be flattered with such prominence.  His young son Jalil Reki, a political activist, was kidnapped and was killed in the custody of secret agencies.  He does not want recognition for his so-called "greater-than-Gandhi-record."  He needs, and indeed deserves, justice.  His sons' (he says all of Baluchistan’s thousands of missing persons are his sons) murderers should be brought to justice.

I do not deny the fact that they didn’t make history.  It’s a reality that they did make history but unfortunately our real rulers are deaf and dumb.  They are wall-faced and stone-hearted.  Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who visited their camp in December 2013 in Karachi, assured Mama Qadeer Baloch that their dear ones will be produced in courts soon.  The Defense Minister of Pakistan himself is defenseless.  He can't defend either Baluch pedestrian marchers or human rights.  He won't plead the case of Baluch hushed voices in the torture cells.  He made a false promise to them.  All I can say to my people is: “don’t give up because we still have something to give.”  Nothing is really over until the moment we stop trying and soon this dark dawn will turn into a bright day where falsehood is bound to perish and truth to triumph.

Link to original post: Mama Qadeer Baloch breaks Gandhi’s civil disobedience marching record after 84 years

Tricia Downing: an inspirational woman

Disclaimer: This post was originally published in TechNews on March 8, 2014

It was a regular Thursday evening and I was working on my assignments when I suddenly realized that Tricia Downing would be here for Women’s History Month, but I didn’t want to go alone. I asked my few friends if they were willing to come along with me but they refused to accompany me as they were tired. I really wanted to go there, so I dressed up and went with the intention that I would return in 10 minutes, but who knew this event would have been so inspirational?

I got some free food (which is always awesome) and entered the auditorium. The moment I entered the room, I saw this beautiful lady sitting on her throne (calling it a wheelchair would be an insult) with her head high and smiling, spreading her positive vibes around every corner.

The moment I saw her all I could think of was how blessed I was. I realized how easy it was to be thankful when we are being blessed, but it is a challenge to be thankful when times are tough. I was complaining about the food at the Commons, but she made me realize that it could have been worse.

Downing, a passionate cyclist, was living a perfect life 14 years ago. That time she was only 31 years old and she already had everything she could have asked for. It was in the summer of 2000, when she drove across the country in 23 days and completed 18 races. She returned from her adventure and was all ready for a new beginning: her dream job which awaited her, and, was steadfast to make the next summer the time when she would make another world record in cycling. But who knew what the future would hold for her.

It was September 17, 2000, one sunny Colorado afternoon she started her day with what she loves the most, training on her bicycle with her friend Matt, when not only she, but her complete life collided with a car. It was that dark day in this athlete’s life when everything changed in a minute, and in a blink she was paralyzed from the chest down.

As mentioned on her website, “as a competitive road and track cyclist and lifelong athlete, losing the use of her legs was devastating on all accounts. As she re-learns to do everything from sitting straight up to navigating through her house in a wheelchair to returning to work and operating a hand cycle, her grueling recovery takes her to the very core of her athletic mettle.”

Sitting in that room and listening to how she struggled with her life each day made me feel so small in front of her. I just kept on thinking about all those times when I would complain about every useless thing, which can be changed and even if it didn’t, it would have not made a difference. I kept looking at her shining face and thought, “what if I could not walk or was bed ridden for a while? Would I be able to have the same positive energy within me or I would have died from depression?” I just looked down and said, “I am a healthy person who can walk,” so I have no rights to complain about my life.

Trust me, it’s not that easy to face this society with a wheelchair, no matter how hard you try but somewhere in your heart you know that people are looking at you with pity. They feel bad for you. Downing was once walking, not only walking but was an athlete and she knew exactly how it felt to walk. It’s not easy to overcome this feeling but this lady did it.

When she was sharing her experience of the first triathlon, I was amused to see her passion for sports. As a communication student I could see that she was doing everything as a normal person would do while giving a presentation. She was moving back and forth, moving her hands, having eye-contact with her audience, cracking jokes to give some comic relief and smiling after every few minutes, just to make sure that we are not sad but happy to see her. I can still hear her voice when she said these golden words about her experience, “when I entered the field, all people could see was my disability but when I finished the race all they could see was my ability.”

Yes, these words made me think about my abilities and gave me inspiration to be better every day. When she was telling us about the time she moved from rehab to her own house and all her family left her all alone, that was the moment when my heart broke into thousand pieces. I wished that I knew her at that time so I could have helped her. But before me this feeling could not go further and she looked at me and smiled and said that this was the time which made her stronger, because she ignored the little demon on her shoulder and promised herself that she will do something remarkable in her life.

Yet, she did and until now she has completed over 100 races, including marathons, duathlons and triathlons. She was the first female paraplegic to complete an Ironman triathlon and qualified for the Hawaii Ironman World Championships in 2006 and 2010. And another great achievement for her was when she competed as part of the U.S. Rowing team at the World Championships in Bled, Slovenia in 2011.

What a true inspiration you are Tricia Downing. I am so glad I listened to your inspirational speech and learnt how to be thankful. I thought I was strong but I was wrong, I am not an inch as strong as you are. You are a living role model for all those women who think they can't do anything. I am blessed to meet you. Thanks to IIT Office of Spiritual Life and Service Learning and IIT Campus Life for bringing her here. Trust me we all should really start being thankful for things we have in life, and what happens, because tomorrow - what we have, could be gone.

If anyone is willing to be inspired then you must order her book Cycle of Hope, which chronicles Downing’s journey from the first terrifying moments of impact with the car through rehab and her emergence as a world-class athlete. Please visit her website for more information trishdowning.com and you can also email her at trish@trishdowning.com

Link to original post: Tricia Downing: an inspirational woman