Waziristan Weeps

په ګران وزیرستان کی غیر اغیار نه منو

Post by Waziristan - The Lion's Den.

The song from the hills and mountains of Waziristan is fitting reminder that Waziristan whilst brave and tenacious, has been infiltrated and damaged by outsiders - jihadist militants, US drones, and Pakistani forces. And now the refugee crisis;  in Pakistan called, IDPs - Internally Displaced People, where even liberal Pakistanis have shut their doors on the human traffic that is the inevitable fallout from a military offensive (Operation Zarb-e-Azb). Déjà vu. We've seen this all before. The events today in Waziristan are not disimilar from the events four years ago: As If Hell Fell On Me.

Whilst the Pakistani establishment turns its offensive on Waziristan as a public reponse to this month's attack on Karachi Airport, there is an eerie reminder that we struggle to move forwards because we don't learn from the past. This is about Pashtuns caught in the middle of a bigger war, yet again. 

Political Alternatives

In a democracy versus a dictatorship scenario, I am of course, a democrat. That said, having lived in the Arabian Gulf for several years, I can see the advantages of benevolent monarchies. Though they are essentially absolute powers, oil wealth has been used to bring massive transformations in the lives of ordinary citizens, many of who a generation ago did not have electricity, health care, and other basic services we take for granted. Under these systems of governance, populations may not express even mild political points for many reasons. Fear might be one, but a genuine distancing of the population from politics might be another. Contrast that with other places. Provided that the dollars/dinars/dhirhams roll in, I can see why many folk are politically mute and more than happy to go about their lives (and privileges) in a kind of political vacuum. Money can buy contentment, and perhaps even importantly, a kind of docile silence.

For some time now, I've drifted away from hardcore politics and too much reliance on the promises made by politicians. As a result I find that I haven't voted for several years, and not because I am unconcerned about the world. On the contrary, I care about many issues around me and if I lived in a part of the world where civic duty/citizenry was directly linked to partaking in the political process, then perhaps I might be compelled to cast a choice at the ballot box. Potentially I am open to some level of political discourse, but I guess I need convincing as I remodel my own, multi-layered, political identity and if I appear to have fallen off the political spectrum and I do not get a voting card, then I am not greatly affected. For now, my general approach is to keep the media at arms length and my involvement in daily politics at an even greater distance.

That level of cynicism perhaps comes across as a contradiction for someone who is essentially a democrat. It is not that I do not have some very strong opinions on matters of religion, finance, education and society - all of which could be expressed politically. This blog is testimony to the many issues I am passionate about. The problem with politics, in my view, starts with politicians. I have very little respect for the manipulation and lack of integrity that has become symbiotic with politics. Add to that a blurring of political ideologies in a modern age, so that what is on offer is simply more of the same. I tend to turn my back on things like that because voter choice is, in actuality, an illusion.

I quote:

Freedom is a state of mind and playing the part of the frustrated anti-authoritarian has become way too old for me. Karl Hess once said, “Radical and revolutionary movements seek not to revise but to revoke. The target of revocation should be obvious. The target is politics itself.” I can think of no simpler way to revoke politics than to actively purge its importance from my life.

Jeffrey Tucker recently quipped, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste on politics.” So here I leave you with a challenge: unsubscribed everyone that posts political things on Facebook, refuse to watch the news, avoid social media generally, always change the subject away from politics, and always make sure to notice the how beautiful the flowers are. Take a holiday away from politics and see where it takes you.

Sound advice.

Quote taken from Students For Liberty.

Pakhwa پخوا

Periodically we need to take a look back and so we do with the lyrics and title پخوا for this song by Ismail and Junaid. They combine rock guitars with the rubâb and blend tradition with a contemporary sound. The appeal factor, for me, however, are the words written by Hamza Shinwari Baba. An excellent ode to the Pashto language.

This video begins with a title slide that is a reminder that many have lost their lives in the turmoil in Pakistan and Afghanistan.  We should not let ourselves forget.

Find Ismail and Junaid on Facebook.

Video Credits:

Pakhwa by Ismail and Junaid
Tune Composition: Ismail Khan / Rafiq Shinwari
Poetry: Hamza Shinwari
D.O.P: Bilal Farooq & Haseeb Shah
Directed by: Shoaib Anwar / Jawad Zeb
Edited by: Shoaib Anwar

ملالې تا خو لر او بر وژړو

Dedicated to Malala Yousafzai 

ملالې تا خو لر او بر وژړو
هم دې شمساد هم دې خیبر وژړو
یه د هلک په وار پیدا ملالې
نن د افغان هر ټبر دې وژړو
د پښتونخوا هر بوټی ګل خپه دی
تا خو د ګرد وطن هر غر وژړو
ستا د قلم زوره نن خبر شو
د تور تمیانو دی لښکر وژړو
مئندې زامن نه، لوڼې غواړي
نجوني خو ژاړي تا هر نر وژړو
کاش د ضیا په ځای کي زما لورکئ وی
د وطنپال خو دې ځیګر وژړو

http://www.facebook.com/watan.pal

Digital Technology: Diffusion and Revolution

continued from previous posting

Technology: Diffusion and Revolution

In 1996, 80 percent of the population in 50 Muslim countries did not have regular access to a telephone. By 2006, this proportion had dropped to 20 percent. The diffusion rates for other information and communication technologies are also high, generally higher than those in non-Muslim developing countries: between 2000 and 2010, the compound annual growth rate of internet users was 32 percent, compared with 24 percent for the rest of the developing world. See here.

Consider “doubling time,” a figure used by demographers to refer to the amount of time it takes for a country’s population to double. Applied to technology diffusion, this reveals rapid trends: on average, since 2000, the number of internet users in Muslim countries has doubled every 8 months.

Understanding technology diffusion in Muslim countries offers some insight into why current political leaderships are being challenged. Mounir Khelifa, a Tunisian literature professor, speaking to Reuters, explains that the uprisings were made possible by the emergence of a generation raised during this information technology age. Both the Internet and Satellite Television undercut the propaganda of state media, creating  the opportunity for people to develop their own consensus on their rights. 

The recent uprisings in the Arab world began with the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, a protesting Tunisian shopkeeper who self-immolated, which activated a cross boundary network of people exhausted by authoritarian rule. Within weeks, digitally-enabled protesters in Tunisia had deposed their dictator after a series of strikes, protests and a mass civil disobedience movement called the Jasmine Revolution. Satellite television and the social media allowed the trend to spread across the Middle East.  Even President Obama has identified technology as one of the key variables that enabled average Egyptians to protest. True, digital media alone didn’t oust Mubarak, but it did provide the medium by which calls for freedom have cascaded across the region.

Technology: Politics of Change

And what of the sands? Where will they settle? It is difficult to know but what is already being called the Arab Spring, it is likely to lead to more political casualties. I remain cautious about what happens next - the western media is rather formulaic in its response and seems to feel that tomorrow the Arabs of the middle east will wake up as free citizens in fully established democracies or that militant theocracies will manoeuvre quick take-overs and send forth an army of radicals.

Nothing is quite certain and in no way am I ambivalent towards what is happening. I live here; I see it through a different lens and in particular, I think solutions need to be local.

There is much to be learned from this. Right now, I feel like I know two things. Firstly, in the modern world that we live in, we should not underestimate the will of people and the power that they have in tapping into the technologies available to them. Secondly, long term, brutal regimes and autocracies cannot survive; change will occur. The sands will continue to shift.

For further reading on Information Technology and Political Islam follow this link.

Fall of the Pharaoh: Umm Al Dunya

Umm Al Dunya

 

And so the Pharoah in Egypt falls after a 30 year grip on power. I may be forgiven for referring to Hosni Mubarak as a Pharoah, but see a Pharoah, was NOT just a despotic Emperor King who was considered a deity. The word Pharoah referred to a Great House. Does the Great House still hold power? When a House falls, crushed by the weight of its age and ruin, another one can be built in its place. But in Egypt do we see a  rebuilding or another Pharaoh King moving into the Great House? Right now the military has moved in so not much changes; later, perhaps, the old house can be demolished and a new one built by the will of the people.

The Egyptians call their country Umm Al Dunya - Mother of the World.  An ancient cradle of civilisation, social order, technology and writing. There will be many who in years to come will look back at how in 2011 the Egyptian Pharaoh of Old was brought down by a technology and social media of new - Twitter/Blogger/Facebook and the like. Now here's where I do get to see close up what is happening - I know people and have spoken with them, both in person and through electronic communications that this Egyptian revolution is an e-revolution of a kind.

I wonder about the transferability of the UAE model - it's a "minus democracy" model that isn't perfect, but evidently people coming in see prosperity, internationalism, relative freedom and hope. In many ways this is what the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions were about right? Hope itself? That, I pray, is the message that the people in our Arab neighbourhood carry in the months and years to come.

The PashTones!

We live in a world full of cultural crossroads. The PashTones represent an adaptation of Pashto folk songs in American folk/acoustic styles. On their website, the PashTones write that they wish "to expand current modes of engagement and exchange between Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the West by opening into the register of poetry and music." It is always a positive step when people take a genuine interest.

The after-effects of last year's floods in Pakistan still continue to affect millions. 20 million people are still in need of urgent assistance in the affected areas.  An estimated 1.9 million homes were damaged or destroyed in the tragedy, and efforts are still needed to help rebuild lives. All proceeds from this album sales will go toward Oxfam's flood relief efforts in Pakistan. 

 

 

Enjoy the three track sampler.
Follow the PashTones further on Facebook.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Farcebook

The recent Facebook contoversy has generated a lot of interest, not least because Pakistan and Muslims are in the news yet again. And whereas, there's nothing wrong being Muslim, it's a typical hysteric reaction from many different sides.

The Muslims, in the main, oppose this rather provocative trend of drawing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad PBUH that has gained pace since the Danish cartoon controversy. The government of Pakistan decided to ban Facebook, Youtube, Twitter etc. in a gesture to control the spread of this, particularly after a "Draw Mohammad Day" was announced and promoted via some of these mediums.

I guess, the rights and wrongs of the ban are one thing. The greater wrong has been the media momentum with which the "draw" brigade has gained voice. There is absolutely no such thing as complete free speech and whereas, I too, use this blog to voice thought and opinon, I know that I concisously filter before I write. I know that there will be an audience somewhere that will read this - and that I can choose to write to inflame or not.

Facebook or Not

The Internet represents a window on the world, that is both cruel and fascinating and as such is the home of many undesirables. Pakistan's decision to ban Facebook, controls only parts of that. The country continues to have problems at home, not least with it's over-dependency on the US, chronic power and supply shortages, a restless population and a real sense of seperation between population and state in the Pashtoon and Baloch belt. In the latter there is an armed resistance movement that opposes the state and in the former, a people divided - with evidence to suggest that paid agents of the state have inflitrated and embedded within local populations so that everyone is caught in the quagmire that is the war on terror.

The cartoonist at the centre of the controversy - has apologised - but in terms of negative publicity, heightened alarm, and entrenched positions ... well the damage is deep, and that isn't as easily undone.

Six Degrees of Separation

... Musings from Tor Khan ...

Who is Tor_Khan and why do I have this name? Do I exist as an Internet ID only or do I have another self - a real one, in which I am known quite differently? Another name; another life; another family and another community that I belong to?

Clearly yes, though I'm not sure that I need to dwell on this much beyond those initial questions. There are reasons. See, this blog has provided a genuine place in which I have been able to explore my thoughts, and make my own statement ... some of this I hadn't much thought about when I started. I didn't even really know much about the direction it would take. I was never sure who would read, who would chose to follow and who would "stay the ride". These continue to remain unknowns.

... Musings from a Distance ...

Occasionally, the real and the virtual meet in one place. Yesterday was such a moment. A friend, whom I have mentioned before, stumbled across this space and mentioned it in conversation. Should he chose to visit again, then this is my dedication.

Interestingly I have always been interested in the human chain of connection. When I think of many known people who's names appear in the media and so on, I often trace a connection with them in the usual six, (or even less) degrees of separation (the "Human Web"). E.g. I know of someone, who spoke with someone etcetera, etcetera.

There are many proponents of the idea of a "shrinking" world, but perhaps the architect was Frigyes Karinthy (Hungary, 1887 - 1938) who popularised the idea of six degrees of separation in his 1929 short story, Chains. Celebrity is one thing, but just ordinary people around the world are said to be just six people apart. If this is so, then the possibilities, and the responsibilities are much more significant than we first imagined perhaps.

More so in today's Internet age and with the advent of internet-based social networking (e.g. Facebook). It's rather ironic, because I, Tor_Khan am perhaps less the "Dark Prince" mystery blogger and someone the Reader knows about already. Maybe, therefore, my musings are not that distant ...

Tor_Khan تور خان

Khyber Zalmay - خيبر ځلمى

The classical rubâb is the national instrument of Afghanistan and is synonymous with the sound of Pashto music. Here, Homayun Sakhi plays an instrumental rendition of the Pashto classic, Mung Yu Da Khyber Zalmay موږ يو خيبر ځلمى (We are the Sons/Youth of the Khyber), sung originally by Ustad Khyal Mohammad from the early days of Pashto cinema, and recently covered by Zeek Afridi (who incidentally, is on my Facebook list of friends!).

Tor_Khan تور خان

Mr Iqbal. The best teacher I ever had!

I'm choking - this just dropped into my Inbox, courtesy of a friend who is a Facebook contact:

Subject: .. a lament ..

Sandy popped in to see me last week. She'd been teaching Rajib (bright boy from your old class) that morning and had complemented him on his beautiful handwriting. "Where did you learn to write like that?" she asked. To which Rajib dramatically tossed back his head and lamented, "Arrgh, Mr Iqbal. The best teacher I ever had!"

Just thought I'd share that with you. It's sure to brighten up your day. Claire.

Honestly - all things aside, I loved my classes as a primary teacher. I always sensed that my classes loved me back because I made them feel safe and set my expectations high. I was far from perfect, but I would always say to my classes that we were a family, that we needed to look after one another and that one day I wanted to see their names in bright lights.

The Diwan of Rahman Baba (رحمان بابا)

Rahman Baba, (رحمان بابا, Grandfather Rahman) is also called the Nightingale of Pakhtoonkhwa

I joined the interest group in Facebook some some months ago and I had been planning a piece of writing on Rahman Baba for this blog before the recent attack on his mazar.

Seems like along with the many other troubles in Pakistan and Afghanistan including the violence in the Pashtoon belt, bizarre deals with the Taleban, death and destruction has become so commonplace, there's a danger that we carry on without realising the long term impact. The recent dismantling of girls' education in Swat, and mass exodus of people from Bajuar, Swat and the neighbouring areas can somehow be seen as part of a sustained campaign all serving to hit the historical culture of the Pashtoon people.

The Diwan of Rahman Baba

Born over 300 years ago in the Afghan mountains, Abdul Rahman was destined to become one of the most loved and well known poets in Pashto literature. A studious child, Abdul Rahman grew to be a man of great character. Rahman lived a life of solitude, prayer and devotion to Islam.

Traditional Afghan poetry is essentially an oral art without the need of pen and ink, and only later are they collected into books. Rahman Baba's collection are available in a collection, entitled The Diwan of Rahman Baba.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Sow Flowers

Sow flowers so your surroundings become a garden,
Don’t sow thorns; for they will prick your feet

If you shoot arrows at others,
Know that the same arrow will come back to hit you.

Don’t dig a well in another’s path,
In case you come to the well’s edge

You look at everyone with hungry eyes
But you will be first to become mere dirt.

Humans are all one body,
Whoever tortures another, wounds himself.

Rahman Baba (رحمان بابا)

Facebooked III

Fa(r)cebook Part II

Part 2 of the response to Lady Greenfield's Guardian interview where she speaks about relationships and her concerns that social networking sites like Facebook are leading to attention deficit in young people. Click on the image below for the expanded version.

Tor_Khan تور خان

Facebooked II

Fa(r)cebook Part I

Social network sites risk infantilising the mid-21st century mind, leaving it characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky sense of identity, according to a leading neuroscientist.

The startling warning from Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, and director of the Royal Institution, has led members of the government to admit their work on internet regulation has not extended to broader issues, such as the psychological impact on children.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/24/social-networking-site-changing-childrens-brains

Lady Greenfield speaks to the Guardian (click)

Lady Greenfield speaks primarily about relationships - she examines the meanings of friendships and discusses radical environmental changes and its effect on the brain when people don't interact with each other in a more general face-to-face sense.

Click on the image here, to see the first part of my (as promised) handwritten response:

Tor_Khan تور خان

Facebooked I: A Convenient Friendship

Viral surges; sacked employees; youth brain rot; broken homes and murder. Sounds like the Facebook we all know? If not, then read on.

Facebook: Friend or Foe

Last year a UK man was convicted of the murder of his wife when she apparently changed her online Facebook profile to "single" following a marital separation. He was sentenced, quite appropriately for 14 years in prison.

More recently, the founders of Facebook have defended its openess and have said that they won't place restrictions on the social networking site, even if it means threat from those ever-present virus attacks.

Many of us will know that Facebook is a social site whereby friends and acquaintances can network, share ideas, comments and discuss matters of interest. Friendships can be can be kept alive, made or even ended according to interest, mood and opportunity. Think to the role that hujras, cafés and tea-rooms play.

Facebook, like friendships is not without codes. Commonality, shared interest and exchange are central to many friendships. Often we develop an agreed language and agreed boundaries, something that is uniquely special, even confidential amongst friends. Though perhaps this last aspect is where Facebook differs from general friendships.

Commonality, shared interest, yes, but confidentiality? OK, you can set security restrictions to keep out onlookers, but Facebook thrives on being able to browse other's contacts so that users can increase their own networks of contacts. We get to see other's conversations, so can build up an understanding before we get to invite new friends to our networks.

Let down by a friend called Facebook

And boundaries, what happens when they are crossed? Just recently this was tested when an Essex teenager was sacked for comments about her work that were read by her colleagues on Facebook (she called her job "boring"). I confess, that like many, I've often described aspects of my work, as much worse than boring in private. I wonder, would I be able to do this on Facebook? After all, don't I share my thoughts with my friends, and isn't Facebook all about friendship?