Bhutto (2010)

VOA | Thousands of Pakistanis Mourn Bhutto 3 Years After Assassination | News | English

It has been three years since the murder of Benazir Bhutto, and yet it has not been found who the assassins were. I think everyone has a good idea of who the killers were, but the question remains: will justice find its way specially when the murderers might me those with power?

As I watched Bhutto, I realized how the Bhuttos share a painful history of triumph and tragedy, played out on an international stage. Not only was Benazir's father hanged to death by a military dictator, Zia, but also her two brothers were killed grotesquely. The emotional elements in the film attract sympathy for Benazir, who herself were assassinated on 27th of December 2007. 

Benazir Bhutto may have broken the Islamic glass ceiling, but she was wed in a traditional arranged marriage to then-Karachi playboy Asif Ali Zardari.


In 2007, with Pakistan rolling in turmoil, Benazir came back onto the world stage as Pakistan’s best hope for democracy. With her assassination she transcended politics, but left a legacy of simmering controversy and undeniable courage that will be debated for years.

China week - Huaguang Girls' School

CHINA WEEK REFLECTIONS

Rabeya Jawaid

Coming from a country where Ahmadis are not accepted, and girls are not educated due to gender inequality, I appreciate the UWC’s call for equality, and the call for doing rigorous community service to bring about equality. This is why I was particularly excited about going to the Huaguang Girls’ School in Nanning for China week. Our main objectives were discussed during the China week meetings: we were to conduct English teaching classes, engage the students in creative, cultural, and interactive activities, do home visits, provide love and knowledge to the students, and make them feel uplifted and equal. In addition to this, we were also to eat local food, stay at a local hotel, and go for cultural visits around Nanning to learn more about Chinese customs and culture.

The journey to Nanning definitely bonded us students as a China week group. We played various interactive games amongst us and made an effort to get to know each other better. I, personally, talked to many students from Hong Kong and asked them to teach me a few of the mandarin phrases that I would need in China. It was interesting to get to know my co-years better and I felt it contributed to a lot of the success we made as a group, working together once we got to Nannnig. It also enabled us to understand each other better and to hear great stories about each other’s lives.

We visited the school the first thing when we got to Nanning. It was so heartening to see the management of the school greet us so energetically at the gate. We were taken to watch a presentation about the school and its aims. It was very depressing to see how the Huaguang Girl’s school and the students had suffered so greatly due to lack of capital and help from the government or any other source. However, it was very inspiring to see how the principal of the school had risen out of the dire situation despite the odds, persevered and re-opened the school. After the presentation, we went to see a physical display prepared by the students for us. As I watched them perform their well-synchronized display, I marveled at the sense of order and harmony that prevailed in the school. After the display, we went to meet the girls. That was the most entertaining time of my whole visit. It ranged from being able to tell my name and get to know them all using only English (which they could yet not fully understand) However, it surprised and amazed me how they still made a genuine effort to try to understand and communicate in English. Again, I saw perseverance in their eyes, and it greatly influenced me.

I had been assigned as an English Buddy in our China Week group and had already made basic teaching plans in our China week meetings, however, when we arrived at the school, we looked at the English text books and other materials to determine the level of English we should teach to each class. Each international student in our China week group was paired up with a Mandarin-speaker student. In my first few English classes, I felt that it was very difficult to communicate in English (specially while giving the instructions) because the students could not understand and I felt like my mandarin-speaking partner would often take over in Mandarin and I would not be able to get my point across to the students. Another criticism that I evaluated from the first few English classes was that we focused too much on teaching from the blackboard rather than involving the class in interactive activities. However, my teaching partner and I quickly evaluated our mistakes and talked about how we could make our classes better. I felt that the criticism and talk greatly enabled us to do much better in the rest of the classes, and that it was actually very helpful. Hence, we made our English classes much better by giving the instructions in English and making the classes more interesting. The most important thing that I kept in my head while giving instructions was to speak slowly, to keep repeating and to explain with visual objects to make them understand.  We also involved the students in interactive games which would improve their English such as hangman, create a story game, learn and sing an English song game, charades. We also worked to improve their basic vocabulary and made them communicate in class in English to improve their English-speaking skills and to raise their confidence.  By the end of the week, we noticed a significant change in their confidence while speaking English and I really felt like they could communicate much better.

The cultural visits around Nanning greatly enhanced my knowledge about Chinese culture, architecture and customs. We first visited the sports complex being built in Nanning, which was yet not opened to visitors. However, the massive architecture left me speechless and I could really see signs of great development. We visited various other places, like the China-ASEAN Expo where we tried various Chinese foods and carved Chinese dragons out of paper. I felt like the China week trip also made us all very independent. For food, we were given money by our China week supervisor and it was up to us to decide which food we should have and to have it from the money that we were given. I think it made our decision-making skills better and enabled us to think for ourselves.

The last cultural evening held at the school was very exciting. We, as a China week group had prepared various dances to show our culture and the students from Huaguang had prepared many dances and skits to show us Chinese culture and traditions. I was part of the South Asian Dance and also sang a Chinese song and an English song ‘We are the world’ I felt that the South Asian Dance was a great way to show the girls something about my region, where I come from, and how I dress back at home. The singing of the Chinese song initiated great laughter from the crowd as they realized what a difficult challenge it was for us international students to be able to sing in Chinese. Singing ‘We are the world’ was great fun, but as I sang it, I focused on the lyrics and realized how they were so true: how the Huaguang’s school was providing education to young children to enable them to grow up and ‘make a change in the world’. I also thought about my country at the point, and realized how this needed to be done in Pakistan as well.

Leaving was the hardest time during the whole visit. I had got to know the girls so well despite the barrier in communication. During lunch, near the basketball court, walking towards the canteen, or even while walking to the bathroom, they were always there, ready to challenge themselves and talk in English. We had spent time talking about their aims and their future. An inspiring and confident girl who I will never forget told me how she wanted to learn English, go to university, become a doctor and earn money for her family, and possible earn even enough money to fund schools like the one she had been taught in. We had a nice chat but by the time I was leaving, we were both in tears. I wished her luck with everything and I know she will be go very high in life if given the opportunities.

I think China Week was a great refreshing process for me. I think sometime we get so muddled in deadlines, assignments, tests and exams that we do not stop to think about the bigger picture: helping humanity. It was so revitalizing for me to finally be able to make a difference in someone’s life and to make them feel equal and special. In addition to that, I also met two UWC alums from Atlantic College, who helped us during the whole trip. I witnessed their passion and commitment to help humanity and was greatly inspired by that. I think the whole trip led to a great change in my attitude. I realized that we should be content with what we have and just keep inspiring and persevering: just like the girls in Huagong Girl’s school.

It has been several trips to Caritas Social centre, many nights of reading and english homework, countless sets of problems to tackle, many birthdays, couple of cultural evenings including MESA (Middle East South Asian Cultural Evening), an amazing week in China, a handful of difficult desicions and new ventures, some new friendships and personal relationships, and a lot more since I last wrote here. From this blog my life must seem quite bland. But, it really isn't.

UWC is hope << UWC magazine

Jonathan Zvi Hadad Hi everyone,
I'm Jonathan Hadad, one of your second years from Israel studying at Atlantic College.
We're looking for first years who want to write an article about their expectations, hopes, dreams, fears, whatever, about coming to a UWC college this year so if you have something to say and you want to start getting involved with the magazine just send me a message and any questions you have, you can write in this discussion board as well.

This was the post Jonathon had posted on the United world colleges group on facebook. I wrote an article for the United Words in response to this post. Here it is:

UWC is hope

Rabeya Jawaid (Pakistan, LPC 10-12)

On Friday, the 28th of May 2010, gunmen attacked worshippers from the Ahmadi community in two worship places of Lahore, Pakistan on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people.

The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers (important Islamic prayers) and threw grenades at two Ahmadi worship places in residential neighborhoods in Pakistan’s cultural capital.

Mohsin Hamid writes: ‘Because if we can be silenced when it comes to Ahmadis, then we can be silenced when it comes to Shias, we can be silenced when it comes to women, we can be silenced when it comes to dress, we can be silenced when it comes to entertainment, and we can even be silenced when it comes to sitting by ourselves, alone in a room, afraid to think what we think.’

I think it is time to think. I think it is time to speak. That is why I chose UWC. I am a peace activist. Coming from a country torn by ethnic rivalries, political strife, engulfed in a nuclear arms race and struggling to sustain democracy, I appreciate the need for building bridges between different cultures, religions and nationalities. I believe that UWC is a place that will help us develop into mature citizens of the world who can actively work towards bringing about world-wide peace.

When I first browsed through the UWC website, I felt uplifted. To be able to go to a college where thoughts and ideas can be shared with people from all over the world was extremely appealing. I have always been a believer in talks. We need more conversations to avoid hatred and wars, because hatred really arises from misunderstandings, miscommunications and lack of forums where issues can be solved by debating. UWC is that forum, that place where we will be ambassadors of our respective countries and show the world that there is still hope in this world. In effect, UWC represents hope to me.

The idea of not only studying, but also living and eating with people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world is extremely exciting. I have always aspired to learn different languages, and I know that UWC will make this task easier for me as some friends that I have made via facebook have already offered to teach me. I also believe that someone at LPCUWC might be able to teach me how to make real paella or how to dance the salsa, and I would love to learn as much as I can about other cultures there.

I am particularly excited about the China Week at LPCUWC. Since I was 12, I have been actively participating in community service. The idea of giving back to society makes me feel alive, worth living and keeps the strong fire of love burning in my heart. Coming from a country where Ahmadis are not accepted, and mentally retarded children are still looked down upon, I appreciate the UWC’s call for equality. I hope community service at LPCUWC and my friends from all over the world will further enable me to become less biased and stop generalizing as I sometimes unintentionally tend to do.

Finally, going to LPCUWC in Hong Kong is the best thing I could hope for right now. Hong Kong is ‘the place to be.’ As I just saw the amazing architecture and natural beauty of China in Karate Kid, I am also excited about excursions into mainland China that LPCUWC will take us to.

The farewell will be dramatic, I know. After all, I am the youngest of my family and the one who has been pampered the most by her parents. Saying goodbyes and starting on a new journey, all by myself to Hong Kong will not be easy. I have started reading Harry Potter again just to convince myself that boarding schools are an amazing experience to do everything all by yourself. I know I am up for it though, because I will have amazing people there who will probably be feeling as scared and overwhelmed as me. I know that my dreams, hopes and aims are high and idealistic, but I know UWC will cater for that.

-United World Colleges Student Magazine-

Posted in Pakistan, UWC, UWC of Hong Kong, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

My first few weeks

LPCUWC - a mixture of nationalities, a range of emotions, a lot of hard work and fun, and a forum to have the most amazing and interesting talks. It's been almost 2 weeks since I've come to a place totally different from the place I lived before. The Orientation week was definitely tiring, but a lot of fun and a chance to get to know as many people as I possibly could from this college. The part I loved most was the hiking. Before coming to LPCUWC I had believed I was a great athlete - having won the Athlete of the School in 2008. However, I realized when I was hiking that my achievement was not all that great considering how tired I got while hiking. Though, what I loved most about it was that even though it was simply hiking, it was a matter of challenging yourself to push on, go up, and be strong. By the end of it, I felt stronger, and I would like to think that it must have improved my stamina quite a bit. There are times in this college when you have the most interesting conversations with someone coming from, let's say - Palestine, Russia or India. There have always been questions in my mind that were formed when I read something about these countries in the Dawn newspaper sitting on the dining table on a Sunday afternoon in Karachi, Pakistan. I always wondered, always thought of talking to someone who give me a first-hand account of those events or ideas. It is here in LPC that you can talk about issues and events and get view points from a variety of people. There are times when I miss Pakistan. I have always had a habit of keeping in touch with Pakistani news, politics, sports etc. and I have not lost this habit in LPC. Everytime I read about the Pakistani floods, the dirty politics and sports scandals, I think about the effort that I could make to somehow improve my country. There are times when I feel completely helpless sitting here in a foreign land, reading about disasters occuring in my country, whereas if I was there physically, I would have gone to Royale Rodale, or PAF Museum to help out with the packing of the goods to be sent to the flood victims. If I was there, I could go volunteer to teach poor students in a school called Behbud. However, I do realize that I can make a difference here too. My second year from Pakistan and I hope to create a presentation about the Pakistan floods and show it to the whole college, and work towards trying to get donations for the flood victims here in LPC. I am greatly looking forward to the Quan Cai -CAS activities to start so I can re-start my community service and campus service, so that I feel a sense of purpose. The fact that I am away from home does not mean that I cannot make a difference in people's lives here. I have joined Help for domestic helpers, a community service, through which I will help helpers in Hong Kong, coming from Phillipines and other areas get legal advice in order to get justice for the unfair attitude towards them here. This will not only let me help someone, but also enable me to understand legal terms and practices which may be very useful because I do have a dream of studying Law. I have also joined MUN, a creativity Quan Cai, which will enable me to think diplomatically and be creative, come up with new ideas, broaden my horizons. For Action, I hope to do either Kung Fu or Squash, or both. I feel like Kung Fu is an important part of Chinese culture and that I should take advantage of the fact that I have come to the UWC in Hong Kong! Squash is a great corporate sport I think and I particularly enjoy playing it. The classes here are extremely challenging -particularly the higher level ones. The most challenging class for me would have to be English A1 higher, because it is meant for native speakers, and I am not a native speaker. However I feel that I will be able to take up this challenge, because I do intend to study Law, and I understand that this subject is neccessary for enabling me to think critically and logically. My other higher level subjects are history and economics. I particularly love history because it involves a lot of politics as well, and since I was not able to take political thought (could not fit it in my timetable) I will still be able to study most of it in history. I also love economics because of the fact that I have done economics very thoroughly in my old school. I had one of the most amazing economics teachers in my old school who passed away during my last days in the school. I particularly miss here as she was my mentor, my role model. She was the one, along with other teachers who had appointed me as Head girl and I will never forget here. My other subjects include environmental systems and studies which is particularly interesting, because I consider myself an environmentalist. I have worked with the government as well as WWF to plant mangroves, explore Keti Bander, and helped in spreading awareness about the environment. It also means a lot to me because of the floods that are going on in Pakistan due to global warming. My other subjects are maths and spanish. I have always loved Spanish, Spain and the spanish culture. Spanish ab intitio is definitely one of the most interesting classes and I hope to be able to converse well in spanish and go to spain for a holiday soon :)
Now, I must go to attend the rest of my classes for the day, have lunch, do my homework, possibly see or practice a bollywood dance for the CAFE event on Saturday, and just experience various talks, events, people here in LPC!!

LPCUWC - a new beginning

I have had to struggle a lot in my life. However, I feel that every struggle has made me a stronger and a better person. Soon I will be leaving for Hong Kong to attend the Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong and it is with this attitude that I intend to start my new life:

“Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets.”

I cannot say how truly blessed I feel to be able to attend such a prestigious school. It is a new beginning, a new life where I hope to excel in whatever I do.

I will be updating this blog with my new experiences to keep friends and family updated, as well as to keep a record of them.

As 14th August approaches...

14th August, 2010 is approaching. Pakistan is in a state of havoc and despair. There are floods everywhere: Nowshera is under water. Suicides, thefts, deaths are more than doubling. We have lost 6 young, active and essential members of the Youth Parliament in the plane crash in Islamabad a few days ago.

Yet, there is hope. It is amazing to see so many open-minded Pakistani's rise up to condemn Prem Chand being labeled as a Kafir. It is heartening to see a farmer in Nowshera taking matters in his own hand, and using his tractor to create an alternative path for the sick and the dying people after the collapse of the Ayub Bridge. It is comforting to see people still writing Letters to the Editor in Dawn, to see that they have not lost hope, and at least not become indifferent to the situation. We must keep on thinking, speaking, and writing. We must not lose hope.

Here is my speech from last year, 14th August 2009, where I hoped to make people realize that there is still hope.

Yes – I know Pakistan is not close to being one of the greatest nations in the world today, I know it cannot offer us the security and luxuries at the moment, that most other places can. Yes – I know it is difficult to face the reality – that lawyers of Pakistan, who are supposed to be the ones to implement the law, are themselves breaking it, by showing uncouth and barbaric behavior when beating up policemen and cameramen on the roads. I know it is disturbing that, some legislators, who are supposed to be representing people’s views, took hold of each other’s collars in the National Assembly recently. I know it is extremely difficult to disregard the idea of moving to Dubai or anywhere else abroad, and leaving this country when it has been called one of the world’s dangerous places.

But even so, we must realize our responsibility to Pakistan because this is the same country which gave us the chance to cheer and applaud for the brilliant cricket team when it won the T-20 series recently. It gave us a chance to eat that delicious ice-cream at Peshawari ice-cream. It made us proud by setting a new world record of most tree plantations in a single day on July 16^th 2009, and the chance to study in as prestigious an institution as St. Josephs Convent School where we made friends and learned to deal with responsibilities and challenges with great confidence.

Thus we must realize that we owe a lot to our state and only we make the change. I know it is much easier to blame others for the problems we face today, but the real solution lies in making a change at an individual level. This can be easily done by excelling in the jobs that we do as individuals. As students, right now our main duty remains to excel in our studies. This has been confirmed by the Quaid, the founder of Pakistan. He said: “Those of you who have still to continue your studies for some time, your main occupation should be in fairness to yourself, in fairness to your parents, and indeed in fairness to the State, to devote your attention solely to your studies. Only thus, can you assist it in solving the great social and economic problems that confront it and enable it to reach its destined goal among the most progressive and strongest nations in the world”

We must retreat to the exhortations of the Quaid that only the young generation and the educated class can help make Pakistan one of the leading nations in the world. We must realize that once we head out of the world full of opportunities, we must understand our responsibility to Pakistan.

We must try to remember our early memories of love and care for the country and question ourselves, whether the love and care that our forefathers possessed for the country is possessed by us today? Or have we transgressed? I remember my grandmother telling me how they had barely survived in the train while coming to Pakistan in 1947, not eating for days, but a constant zeal and spirit in their hearts to live in a land they could call their own. The land where people would have their house gates wide open for visitors to come in and out, because there were no robbers or thieves to cause the country disgrace. The land where students came rushing back to Pakistan after completing their studies to serve it and try, to make it a leading nation. At individual levels we have transgressed and this is reflected on how the state has transgressed too.

  In the state that we are now, with extremism jeering at our doorstep, the economy collapsing, and the young generation and educated class almost becoming disillusioned with the current affairs of the country due to the blatant lies and fake promises of those ruling, let’s not waste our education on just ourselves – let’s make full use of it to fulfill our responsibility to the nation, as instructed by our Quaid. Let us be an asset and a source of strength and pride to our country. We must realize that Pakistan is a challenge. Being part of the young generation and the educated class, take up that challenge.

Malir SOS Summer Camp

For eleven years, the Non-governmental Organisation in Karachi called FESF (Family Educational Services Foundation) has been organizing the annual Summer Camp for the kids at the SOS Orphanage in Malir: two intense weeks of activities, games, excursions, vocational workshops, movies, a bar b q night, and a final closing show. The kids and the volunteers wait for this event the whole year round.

This year was my third year working for FESF. I was appointed one of the few group-leaders this year, and I realized the heavy responsibility on my shoulders. I was responsible for heading a group of volunteers, many of whom were my age and some older than me. This would require good leadership and communication skills. As we begun to critique last year's camp and brainstorm ideas for this year's camp, I realized the importance of staying positive and focused. Looking back at it now, I can say that it was all worth it and it really was an amazing experience!

WORKSHOPS

The workshops this year consisted of leadership, communication and team-building skills which went a long way in helping us interact during the camp. We also had a sign-language crash course for the deaf children who would be attending the course. Since this was my second time, I felt more confident. However, we also learnt American Sign Language this year along with Pakistani Sign Language which further challenged us. We also had workshops on working with children, and conflict resolution. We learned to define clear rules and to have clear awards and consequences for the children. During the workshops, I got to know many of the volunteers and made some good friends. I used this time to interact with my group as well to know them better in order to enable me to understand them and work with them better. Tea and biscuits were nice after a long intense workshop, and provided us with time to interact with other volunteers.

During the brainstorming, I began to realize the immense trust Mary (head of the organisation) started to put on me. She trusted me to get everything done, relied and believed in me throughout the whole process. This trust was detrimental for me to get all the work done and kept me motivated. I also realized the role of an organizer in organizing such large projects. It requires team-building and trust - everything cannot be done by the organizer, she cannot afford to micro-manage when heading such a large project.

So our group planned out each of the eight days of the camp, carefully keeping back-up activities, as well as carefully making a list of all the materials we would need for each of the activities. We added themes of focus on each day for example the first day was 'Underwater life.'  Since we were working with young kids of ages 4-6 years old, we made sure the themes would grasp their attention and would be meaningful to them and allow them to learn about different aspects of life. Moreover, we planned our own excursions for the group, and the owners of the excursion venues had to be contacted and transport had to be sorted out. It was very important for me to coordinate effectively with the main leaders of the camp as well in order to get everything ready and sorted for the camp.

We planned extra games and activities for the Bar B Q night and the closing show. We had it all sorted out, and discussed possible factors that could affect our planning and made sure we put down solutions in case something occurred during the week for the camp. Looking back at the planning we did after the camp is over, I can safely say we had it all covered and the planning was indeed done effectively.

The camp went fairly smoothly. There were a few arguments between volunteers at times, and it was my job to try to encourage communication between the volunteers, and to sort out their arguments by encouraging them to talk it out. The conflict resolution workshops really helped me understand the nature of conflict and provide better solutions for them when they occurred. I felt a little awkward conversing with older volunteers about something they had done wrong on one of the days for example, left when the rest of the group had to pick up the trash, but I realized it was important and that I needed to do it in order to promote team-prosperity. Working with the kids, as always, was amazing. I let out all my artistic skills during the camp and had a lot of fun on the excursions. It was intense, and it was tiring, and I felt I would collapse at 8 pm when the camp ended. However, it was all worth it, and I would be ready to go again at 7 am the next day. The children gave meaning to my life and I realized the importance of being with them in order to make me appreciate little things in life.

Overall, it was a great experience of leadership and working with volunteers and kids. I cannot wait for next year's camp, and I miss the kids already.

I love this kid.

The determination in his eyes is precious.

Painting Children's Ward at Liaquat National Hospital

Summer really allows me to get away from the pressures of my academic life, and engage and try to give back to the society I live in. Hence, I decided to lead a project of painting the Children's Ward at Liaquat National Hospital with FESF (NGO I work with). I went to buy acrylic paints with Roxy and John (volunteers at FESF) and brainstormed a few designs with them that we would paint on the walls which would bring joy to the children there. We decided to do the theme of underwater life, and decided to do it on a Saturday. Hence, early morning Saturday I went with Roxy and John to the Liaquat National Hospital, and we also invited some students from the Szabist College to work with us. We went to choose a fitting wall for our design and I lead the whole group to come up with ideas to work together as a team to get the work done quickly and efficiently. Hence, we divided ourselves according to different sections of the wall, and our abilities. Hence, some people felt more comfortable with painting, and some with drawing. We worked under the scorching heat from 11 am till 2 pm, had lunch at 2 pm and painted from 3 pm till 6 pm. It was a great experience and I cannot express the joy painting brings to me. It was a chance to show off all my skills at art that I had learned from doing O Levels Art at school. Here is a picture of our work and the volunteers:

We invited some children to come see the work, and they were thoroughly delighted. It was a day well spent :)

SOS Summer Camp

The SOS Summer Camp

Alas – it is summer again. Summer for me means volunteering for FESF’s annual summer camp for the SOS Orphanage in Malir, Karachi. I have been working with FESF- a foreign NGO, for the past three years and I have been part of several activities including teaching at a garage school of less privileged students, carrying out fund-raising projects, and carrying out a summer camp for orphans in Malir. For two weeks, FESF organizes a MOVE program for teenagers – seminars on leadership, communication, and team-building skills. We also learn sign language during these two weeks to be able to communicate with the deaf who also attend the Summer camp. After the seminars, the volunteers are divided into several groups with two group-leaders and a group coordinator to head them. In separate groups, we carry out careful planning of the schedule of the summer camp – filling in a planner with the activities that we come up for the children to do. Then the actual camp begins. The camp is tiring, yes. We reach Malir by 9 in the morning and leave by 6 in the evening.  When we reach home we are tired, exhausted, worn-out and drained, but there is one thing that makes us get up in the morning the next day and go to Malir again. The kids. Yes, they are truly amazing. If you deal with them properly and are able to show them that you genuinely care for them, they will give you all the love in the world. They will make you cards and bracelets and stick with you, and wait for you early in the morning when you reach the camp. They will cry on the last day because they say they will miss you and you will end up crying with them as well, and then they will make you promise that you will come back the next year. The camp starts on the 12^th of July! I cannot wait!

UWC!

When I first browsed through the UWC website, I felt uplifted. To be able to go to a college where thoughts and ideas can be shared with people from all over the world was extremely appealing. I was always a believer in talks. We need more conversations to avoid war, because wars arise from misunderstandings, miscommunications and lack of forums where issues can be solved by debating. The idea of not only studying, but also living and eating with people from all walks of life and from all corners of the world was so alluring. However along with all of this, I was also accompanied by a whirlpool of other feelings and thoughts. The movement was so big, so huge, so … amazing. How could I, a student from Karachi, coming from a class of 30 students even apply for the UWCs? At one time, I thought of quitting, it was like the ‘doubt’ stage of the five stages of man had set in, I felt it was ‘impossible’ (as Shontelle puts it, I’m listening to her right now.) Then I sat down, opened Microsoft word, and simply planned to write down 10 reasons why I should be given the opportunity to go to a UWC. I wrote about 6, but they were enough to get me back ‘in my zone.’ After that, I began working on my application.

The day of the selection test came, and it consisted of three tests, one was the general knowledge quiz, the other was the personal statement, and the last one was about general world issues. I’m not bragging, but my personal statement (which was the first test) went relatively good. The general knowledge test was simply frustrating. Yes, I had not researched like crazy for current issues, but I do have a genuine interest in what goes on in the world, and the current happenings and I like to talk about them as well. I am also an avid reader, and so, not getting most of the answers was simply annoying. It was like the person who had made the test had entered my mind and had asked all the questions about things I did not know. Anyway, I tried to make up for it in the last test which required us to write solutions on some current issues. That was all. They said they would call us for the interview in about two weeks. Two weeks passed. No call. I wished I had researched online and read general knowledge books like this other boy I had seen doing before the tests. But thank god, after three weeks, the call finally came, and the interview was scheduled for the coming Sunday.

At the day of the interview, I came to know most of the people there. I made a new friend, who had travelled all the way from Islamabad( I think her name was Misha.) She showed me a watercolor painting she had brought along, and I complimented her artistic skills. Another boy from Islamabad had brought his guitar. There were 6 of us from Karachi, out of which 4 are going to different UWCs! – Piyari (who is now going to Adriatic UWC), Rabail(who is going to Nordic UWC) Samreen (the one in the Netherlands) and me (to LPCUWC.) The interview was funny. I felt like it had gone well, the interviewers were nice, though they pretended to be strict and stern, I knew they were pleasant people. Well, anyway a few weeks later I heard I had got admission plus a scholarship. I don’t think I can fully describe the feelings that I felt at that moment, but I was definitely very happy, though a little apprehensive. I knew my life was about to change forever if I went to LPCUWC.

Visit to Isb - Dec 2008

Chaudhry Shujaat (Left), Marvi Memon (center) Rabeya Jawaid (right) 

I flew on the 7:00 morning flight to Islamabad on the 22nd of December all by myself. I landed around one hour later, and sat in the bus that would take us to either the normal lounge or the Rawal Lounge. The Rawal Lounge is the VIP lounge of Islamabad which provides executive environment with all required facilities. After everyone had got off at the normal lounge, the bus driver looked behind at me, as i uttered with a slight note of hesitance in my voice 'Rawal lounge, please.' As I entered the Rawal lounge, I saw the familiar face of Marvi Memon coming towards me. She greeted me and we walked to her car. In the car she asked me about myself. I told her about my subjects, interests, the sports day, and St. Joseph's (she is an ex-student of St. Josephs convent school.) Then she began talking. It was at that moment, in the car, when she talked about herself and her ideas that she made a sudden impact on me, and I realized what an extraordinary woman she was. I was so honored to be in her presence. We went to her office in the Parliamentary Lodge and read the morning's newspapers. She met with the Gilgit-Baltistan media person. She told him about the problems in that area and the delays in decision-making. Then we met with some Sindhi lecturers as Marvi Memon resolved to take up their problem in the National Assembly. I listened closely to their complaints and thought about how they had come all the way from Sindh and Marvi Memon was ready to try to get their problems solved. I will write about what else happened in the next blog,

BUT,

I copy here the detail of my two-day visit to Islamabad, as posted by Marvi Memon on her website: www.marvimemon.com

December 22, 2008

Posted by Marvi Memon under Diary- December'08

I had promised in November when I was chief guest at my old school St Joseph’s Convent’s sports days that the top athelite would be my guest in Islamlabad to attend assembly session and get a f lavour of one day in the life of an MNA.  A commitment is a commitment in  life. So I invited Rabeya to fly up to Islamabad. I picked her up from the airport.  I have taken on a life mentor role that I look forward to. She is a bright soul who is very mature for her fifteen years of age. I know she will go places. We arrived at office.

Usual schedule. Newspaper person from Gilgit Baltistan had arrived. Gave statement on delays in resolution of issues. Delegation from Sindh of lecturers arrived to brief me. I sent them to get support of MQM to Dr Farooq Sattar who was most gracious in his support. Trip to shops to get birthday presents for family. news of yet another case launched against me to get rid of me from parliament. dealt with that. Went to have usual morning coffee with Ch Shujaat Hussain. Got briefing on strategy and shared daily happenings.

Rabiya had to see a normal day and I think she was seeing it! Rushed to drop a birthday present for my 70 year old golf partner. arrived back in the office. Discussed lecturers issue with Dr Farooq Sattar. Got ready for protest. Got support of MNA Shehnaz sheikh from PML Q and Tayyab and Nadeem MNAs from MQM, Ayaz Amir from PML N and coordinated their physically standing with me infront of parliament with these lecturers.

Went to parliament which got adjourned abruptly since govt didnt want to hear truth about India Pak failed crisis management. Took Rabiya to Dameneko to show her Isb by night. Had good chit chat about life in general. Went to Samaa TV for talkshow. Enjoyed Shireen mazari’s talk. Came home for dinner party for Pak amabassadors.

I hope Rabeya enjoyed day 1.

December 23, 2008

Posted by Marvi Memon under Diary- December'08

Day 2 with my Josephine started out with usual media analysis in morning at office. Then parliament – she met the Speaker, the Secretary, the whip, lots of famous Senators and MNas. Plus the proceedings had had two interesting items for her. First we did walk out on minority issue with MNA Akram Masih over holidays for Christmas. Second she heard all the rambling speeches on national security which amounted to not much crisp recommendations. We rushed to Dawn news program at Monument on Quaid where I spoke about leadership youth and state, We had to then run to a Women’s event on violence against women which never started on time. Next was personal time with my son shopping. Then dinner for foreign diplomats at home- Next was a trip to see a special mentor. And finally airport.

Rabeya will excel in life and I will do my best to be a good mentor to her. I liked her a lot. 

 A photograph with the Speaker of the National Assembly in front of the photo of our Quaid in her office.

Sports Day 2008

They say sportsmanship takes you higher in life. Whether its sprinting like wild fire in a 100-metre race or pushing on and not giving up in a 600-metre race, with lungs on fire, and limbs protesting, it makes you stronger and bolder. It is widely said that the people who indulge in sports are the most successful in their adult life. The Sports Day 2008 was not only an event for me to show my athletic endeavors, but it also opened a new horizon and a brilliant opportunity for me. I was awarded the "Athlete of the Year' Award on the 2008 Sports Day. The Chief Guest, Marvi Memon, the current MNA of Pakistan, congratulated me and invited me to Islamabad to visit the National Assembly, and to spend two days with her, to get a flavour of the life of an MNA. It was only two months after that I had received my ticket from her via email, and I was flying en route to Islamabad. Yes, I was nervous, but a saying which had made me get the athlete of the year award as well ran in my head:
WHAT DOES NOT KILL YOU, ONLY MAKES YOU STRONGER.