Some of My Best Friends Are Pakistanis
Posted by Ethan Casey on May 4, 2010 · 37 Comments
by Ethan Casey
SAN DIEGO, May 4 – As I write this, the news that the man arrested for trying to blow up Times Square is a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin has only begun to sink in. What is this going to mean for other U.S. citizens of Pakistani origin – and for me, as their friend?
This article’s headline is an ironic allusion to something people used to say to disavow bigotry: “Some of my best friends are Jews.” It’s also a straight statement of fact: some of my best friends are Pakistanis. And I want the world to know that, especially in these times and at this moment, because I think it’s very important for us to remember that not all U.S. citizens of Pakistani origin blow stuff up.
Assuming we’re being told the truth about 30-year-old Faisal Shahzad of Bridgeport, Connecticut, it might be fair to ask: With friends like these, who needs enemies? But it’s precisely because of the horrific misguidedness of a dangerous few that we need to stay calm and remind ourselves and each other that we’re all in this together. I said exactly this, in fact, on Sunday when I spoke in support of The Citizens Foundation at the South Asian American Arts Festival put on by Zanbeel Art at the Santa Monica Art Studios. I’ll say it again tonight, when I speak to the Pakistani Students Association at UC-San Diego.
The Citizens Foundation is one of several well-run nonprofits supported by the largely very suburban and middle-class Pakistani-American community that are quietly doing the most urgently necessary work: providing education, and thereby hope and self-respect, to the burgeoning young generation of the Pakistani poor. Too quietly: groups like TCF-USA must start tooting their own horns more assertively to the American public. I would go so far as to say that countering the impression of Pakistanis conveyed by the likes of Faisal Shahzad is not only an opportunity for the Pakistani-American community, but an obligation.
I’m not saying that Pakistani Americans have to prove that they’re not terrorists. The rest of us must remember that there is no such thing as collective guilt, and that the presumption of innocence is a basic American principle. I am saying that the existing institutions of Pakistani America need to move – now – beyond inviting each other to the existing endless round of charity fundraisers, worthy and useful as those are. Pakistani Americans are a remarkably talented and resourceful community who pay a lot of money to the U.S. Treasury in taxes and contribute very substantially to American society as physicians, engineers, teachers and business people. For better or worse, Americans listen to people who insist on being heard, and if you don’t toot your own horn, nobody else is gonna toot it for you.
My writing and public speaking are all about emphasizing to Americans the humanity of Pakistanis, their experience of and views on contemporary history, the complexity of their political and geographical situation, and the enjoyable and interesting apects of my own experience of Pakistan, dating back to 1995. As my friend Todd Shea likes to say, Americans hear 2% of Pakistan’s story 98% of the time. I feel very fortunate to have experienced Pakistan directly at a relatively innocent time both in history and in my own life, before the country’s name became a dirty word in the West. We can’t go back to that time, but we can remember it – and we can and should take a deep breath, reach out to each other as allies, and work together to do what needs to be done.
What needs to be done? Young Pakistanis need to be given hope and self-respect by way of education and jobs. This is already being done by The Citizens Foundation, by Developments in Literacy – at whose San Diego fundraiser I’ll be speaking this Saturday, May 8 – by the Human Development Foundation, by Pakistani pop star Shehzad Roy’s Zindagi Trust, and famously by Greg Mortenson.
But why is Greg Mortenson’s the only one of these efforts that’s well known? Part of the answer, of course, is that he’s white: church ladies and Oprah watchers can relate to him as a virtual nephew or brother-in-law. This is fine. But we need to get beyond the toxic supposition that America is primarily a “white” and/or Christian country. It’s not, anymore, and that’s a good thing.
So the other thing that needs to be done is that the Pakistani community needs to ratchet up both its involvement in American society and politics and its visibility. Call up your local schools and churches, invite your neighbors to your home, all that good stuff, and by all means enlist me, Todd Shea, and Greg Mortenson as envoys. But also support Pakistani-American and other Muslim candidates for public office; insist on meetings with existing officeholders, not only but especially those you consider hostile to Muslims or Pakistan; and support and expand the lobbying work of groups like the Pakistani American Leadership Center and the Council of Pakistan American Affairs. Get in the American public’s face, as fellow Americans, and help us all begin having a more honest conversation about Pakistan, America, terrorism, and where our countries and world are headed.
And I ask two things of my fellow non-Pakistani Americans: Go to the trouble of educating yourselves about Pakistan – my books and inviting me to speak are, indeed, good places to start. And, when you see pictures of Faisal Shahzad over the coming days, keep in mind that, except for the buzz cut, Tim McVeigh looked a lot like me.
ETHAN CASEY is the author of the travel books Alive and Well in Pakistan: A Human Journey in a Dangerous Time (2004) and Overtaken By Events: A Pakistan Road Trip (2010).
Ethan, well written. I became aware of you through an email exchange with Sree at Columbia. Happy to connect at the links below if you like.
Imran
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When I read the title, I instantly said to myself that ‘a few of my best friends are Americans’ which brings one to the understanding that most of us Pakistanis do have good American friends and likewise, some Americans have good Pakistani friends. But this is mostly on small/individual levels and we definitely need American(s) who hold good and positive feelings for Pakistan to speak up and tell their fellows that not all Pakistanis are terrorists.
Thanks Ethan! Very nicely and timely written article.
A must read….
Ethan, thank you.
I must say as pakistani living in the US for over 10 years, I have never been discriminated against in any way. My colleagues, neighbors and everyone else I encounter treats me with respect and dignity. And I thank America for that. It is a great melting pot.
Thanks for your advice to Pakistani Americans…I agree we need to become more public and show everyone we are “normal”
thank u for writing this article!
Very well written article. We need more people like you who can reflect on good things about Pakistan and Pakistani culture. I have been reading comments on cnn.com and felt very bad about the kind of hatred being shown against Pakistan in the majority of the comments.
Thank you Mr. Ethan !!
Thank you for such a wonderful article. I am living in America from 7 years, did my studies from here and working with an American company too. I have many American friends. It’s just few people like Shahzad Faisal that put a bad spot on the image and name of all the countrymen. This doesn’t mean that govt should start suspecting all the Pakistanis in USA.
Moreover, media should stop spreading chaos and creating hype for the issue. They should rather be taking things positively than just sitting in talking negative.
i appreciate your concerns and admire your faith in us (PAKISTANIS)
thank God !! i am happy and living well in my own beloved country, Pakistan….but i hope that Americans could see beyond this terrorist thing and look at us with respect!!
it hurts us that for a number of few people every other Pakistani is being blamed for being a terrorist!! it is so unfair!!! i am a doctor and studying oral oncology. i wanted to pursue my higher studies in States…but alas!!! these kind of stories scare me
thank you so much Mr Ethan for writing this wonderful article at a time when it was needed the most…..
All I can say is THANK YOU!
I would like to thank you for writing this article and for your appeal to the American public that not all Pakistanis are terrorists. I think you may also need to write something to point out to Pakistanis that not all Americans are conspiring to taint Pakistan’s reputation.
As someone who was born and raised in Paksitan, lived in the US for 9 years, and has recently moved back I am shocked to find that educated Pakistanis also have the same view of America as the common man. In the educated society of Pakistan there is no hatred for America, there is however contempt at the policies and there is definitely the idea that everything such as even the Mumbai bombings may be large conspiracies aganist Pakistan. I think when these people see the truth for what it is, we may have a chance at bringing a real change.
Thumbs Up!
Thank you .
Thank you Ethan. We need more individuals like you who help bridge the gaps that mainstream media seems to be widening.
Thank you Ethan, there are so many exemplary stories and people who can be positive ambassadors for our country. Its the great work of NGOs like TCF and others, that create such spillover benefits!! Kudos to you!
Hi Ethan,
Awareness, knowledge and hands-on experience – All three needed to truly judge things, ppl and now even countries. Seems you have all three. Thank you for your remarkable and factual article. 99.999% Pakistanis (and ppl from other countries too) are level headed and want global peace and harmony.
Really appreciate your comments about our country!
We are just as human as the rest of the world. If a serial killer is captured in some country, it by no means justifies that the entire country be put on trial for him or her. May I apply the same analogy to Pakistan, not everyone is “bad” here.
Ethan, very well written! It is unfortunate that of late the few Pakistanis who have managed to be in the spotlight are the one’s involved in heinous acts like Faisal Shehzad; the antidote would be for the one’s making outstanding contributions and making a positive impact, to gain prominence and become more visible in media to dilute the prevalent sentiment.
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Ethan,
I have been travelling back and forth between the US and Pakistan for the last ten years and have never had any issues or ever been scared to have my US visa renewed. This time though, after the NYC incident, I was in Islamabad to get my visa renewed…and, for the first time…I was truly scared….because these kind of incidents reflect on those of us who travel to and fro just to visit family and friends in the US. I always tell my friends that the US is my “happy place” where I escape to once a year, during the summer, just to recharge my batteries.
After reading your article and having friends in both countries, I truly appreciate the effort you have put in to clear misconceptions of majority of the people around the world…and honestly…there are times when I unfortunately, count myself in those…and your article has reminded me that, no matter what, I am a Pakistani and NOT all Pakistanis are bad and neither are they terrorists.
Thank you, Ethan
Thank you for such a positive article Ethan! All Pakistanis are not bad. I am also striving to show this better side of Pakistan and Pakistanis to the world through the SEPLAA Foundation (www.seplaa.com)
it’s hard to get in the press with ‘good tasks’ and much easier to make it to the front page if you do something terrible…there are too many elements in play here, destroying all that was positive and ‘innocent’.
I just held a press conference today to talk about thalassemia: prevention and cure….and the event didn’t gain the prime spotlight in the media
That does not, by any means, imply that we should stop trying…thanks again for standing up for what’s the right thing to do.
great work/article in this time …
I concur with the comments I’ve read Ethan …. nicely done.
Best wishes to you.
kw
Hello,
Well I read ur article and it was very illuminating. I have been following your efforts on and off for years now and I appreciate the hard work you put into presenting a more positive image of Pakistan.
I have just recently moved to a western country and I must say in all honesty it is somewhat difficult to assimilate into life here. The main problem that I have personally encountered is that the ppl I have met deal in extremes, you either subscribe to their views or you dont. On the one side are these super liberal ppl who look down on you for having morals and principles while on the other there are those who think that having any view in opposition to theirs is a sin. The biggest tragedy of this whole deal with terrorism has been that there is absolutely no place in the world for ppl who are moderate anymore, you have to prove how free you are to the liberals by drinking, clubbing or sleeping around or you prove you are religious by forsaking the rest of the world.
I understand that Pakistanis have to become more vocal, but at what cost. I have had white ppl and even fellow Pakistanis look down on me for not drinking and having sex, ppl judge me before i even open my mouth. Maybe someday in the future it will be easier to assimilate but western countries and ppl need to accept us as we really are, not terrorists not liberals but as human beings with a strong cultural identity.
Ppl in the West need to know that we suffer way more than them due to terrorism. I had to leave my country and my home because of the bad law and order situation in my home town Peshawar. Over there ppl thought of me as too liberal while over here I am branded as too conservative. The first step in any reconciliation will have to be the realization that most of us Pakistanis are moderates, and we are being attacked by all sides. The terrorists want to kill us because we want peace and the rest of the world wants us dead because we come from a certain country. We are all being pushed into a corner and all that does is breeds more mayhem and destruction.
THANKYOU ETHAN….
Much apreciated….Half of the paternal side of my family has been living in the US long since and are AMERICAN CITIZENS…some of them even married to CHRISTAIN AMERICANS….and they all have been living a very happy and contented life ….
THANKYOU….
HI Ethan,
Thank you for keeping me up date of your activities. I read your well written articlr. We need more friends like you who can work to narrow the gap between Americans and Pakistanis. This is the fact all Pakistanis are not bad, most of them are peace loving people, only few people are spoiling the image. We should keep trying to educate such people.
THANK YOU
Really appreciate your comments about our country!
We are just as human as the rest of the world. If a serial killer is captured in some country, it by no means justifies that the entire country be put on trial for him or her. May I apply the same analogy to Pakistan, not everyone is “bad” here.
At the same time, don’t forget that all terrorists (exceptions don’t count) are from Pakistan. It pays to be cautious…
I read your article, and it was indeed well written. As I indicated on HP in response to your article there, however, I am greatly concerned with what appears to me to be a lack of censure in the Arab/Muslim community when acts of extremist terrorists are perpetrated. What am I meant to think? Nationality is of little consequence; terrorism is terrorism.
I had friends in college who were Muslim. I majored in Religion and Theology, and had many late-night discussions with these same friends. This was in ‘95-’96. When the issue of Islamic extremism came up, my friend Shadi (of Iranian heritage) very bluntly said, “It’ll never end. Their goal is the destruction of Western civilization, Israel, and the U.S.”
That’s a pretty alarming thing to hear, and very sobering.
Really Nice i thought that all Americans are same like hate pakistani, because they dont know the fact….@Ethan Casey Really happy to know you are aware of things going on in this country…..:) I subscribed this Post as well as your Blog….
Thanks. I am a Pakistani living in Dubai but working with Americans. No doubt we Pakistanis, because of the minorities we majorities are suffering … we need to prove ourselves everywhere just to make sure that plzzzzzz world think that not all Pakistani people are terrorist. We are good people and a good nation. However, people forget that whatever is happening currently, there is a chain of events or happenings behind it. Thanks for your write-up. Appreciated.