...and Brendan rode a camel

Posted by Rich

It's 9:58pm on Tuesday July 31, and we just returned to the Guest House from the first-ever Family Literacy Night held in Pakistan. Modeled after what ABL has developed in Lawrence, and propagated throughout our network, it's a very simple model: invite families to come to a space, write together following simple prompts, and share, with the goal of building community. We don't pretend to have invented the idea - community literacy circles are a very old and very powerful idea, built by giants before us (including by US civil rights leaders in the 60s, and South African post-apartheid healing circles in the 90s), but ABL has done what is can to refine and implement a model that works in a lot of contexts. So thanks to Mohsin and The School of Writing, we led a workshop for about 30 folks at the Pakistan-American Cultural Center this evening. Check out social media for more photos and video.

Two moments stuck out for me. The first was a woman who came with her 14-yr-old daughter and 12-yr-old son. She shared her dream to complete her own education. She married and had children young, and was not able to complete her education when she was young, but now that her children are growing, she is studying alongside them, and they attend workshops at The School of Writing together. Another participant was a young man, perhaps 18, who told Brendan that when he first discovered The School of Writing three years ago, "I was a zero," and that The School of Writing's programs have changed his life. Alan opened the evening with a stunning performance of "Avalanche" on the drums - three buckets with drum lids, an improvised musical platform that left everyone speechless. I led the writing workshop, and at the end of the sharing, Brendan, Alan, Julia and I were presented with gifts from the Pakistani-American Cultural Center. Mohsin hopes to host Family Literacy Nights once a month from now on, possibly hosted at T2F (The Second Floor, a local community center and cafe.)

But, the really cool thing that happened today was that Brendan rode a camel. Oh, and the Yankee hat thing.

We got to The School of Writing offices about 8:30 this morning. As we waited for the students to arrive, Alan presented gifts to Anny and Ali, Mohsin's 20-something children: baseball caps from the New York Yankees. There were very excited. As a card-carrying fan of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, I objected to the team logo on the front of the cap, but even I had to admit it was pretty cool:

I, meanwhile, wore my Andover Wrestling hat today:

When the students arrived, Mohsin explained that we would split into to groups for our work documenting the life of the city, and distributed a handout with a brilliant model. We would visit three spaces: a religious space, a public space, and a market space, for one hour each. In each space, students would spend 20 minutes observing, 20 minutes making photos, and 20 minutes writing about the experience. Each student was provided with a camera. We split into two groups, and we were off.

I was in Group Two, with Mohsin, Anny, Basil, Brendan, and about 15 students. We boarded the bus and headed out. Our first stop was the Empress Market Sadder. It's an open-air roofed market place with many stalls, each selling various goods: toiletries, henna, foodstuffs, meats, nuts, animals. We roamed the alleyways lined with small shops. The foodstuffs area was an eye-opener. One stall sold chicken, with a cage of live chickens and a man butchering the chickens fresh. There were a lot of bugs about, and I suspect that the health authorities might have an opinion on the proceedings. There was an area that sold pets, including a parrot whose asking price was $2500, and also monkeys, rabbits, cats, dogs, and smaller birds. I was disturbed by the conditions in which the animals were kept. There are indeed laws to protect against animal cruelty, but not the budget to enforce them. Although I was dismayed, I had to remind myself of what I know about the US agriculture industry, and the way animals are often treated in our slaughterhouses. We keep such ugliness out of sight... Other parts of the market were awesome. In one area, men used a turning device to grind the oils out of nuts, including coconuts. Anny bought some henna and has promised to decorate my hand with mendi later in the week. Our students photographed and interviewed shopkeepers.

Later, I head a story of the market. In 1857, local people rose up in revolution against British colonizers. The British army suppressed the revolution with brutal violence, butchering people and displayed the bodies in this area, to terrorize the populace. Local people began to leave flowers and turned it into a kind of shrine. The British didn't like that, so they build a marketplace on the spot, to serve the shopping needs of British folks. Nearby is St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, and St. Patrick's Catholic Church (to serve the Irish impressed into service in the British army.) Today, the market is decidedly Pakistani - some students in our group called it "the heart of Pakistan."

Second stop was Mohatta Palace. Built in the 1920s as a Hindu Temple, it has undergone various purposes and is now a museum. It's a gorgeous building with lovely gardens inside a wall. We walked the grounds and explored the exhibits, including the work of Imran Mir, one of Pakistan's most famous designers and artists. I remembered seeing his work at a museum in New York. A quote of his on the wall struck me as profound:  “I enjoy art. I am an artist constantly, not just when I am creating it. When I walk down the street all of my senses are open to the influx of sensations. I see the sharp lines of a small Zach three building, the swaying branches of the trees, the showering droplets of the fountain, and I am filled the a yearning to incorporate these visual experiences in my art.” - Imran Mir, 1950-2014.

Last stop was at Sea View beach. Beach culture in Pakistan is not like that in the US. There were a bunch of people at the beach, but nowhere near what you'd expect at a US or Caribbean beach on a 90-degree day. No one was in a swimsuit - folks wore regular clothes. Only a few people went in the water, most just wading in the edge. Mohsin explained that the tides are so strong that it's actually prohibited to swim in the ocean in July due to safety. There were a lot of horses and camels to ride, food vendors, and dune buggies to rent. It was pretty dirty with litter and a strong wind blew sand, making it not an entirely pleasant experience. Still, the ocean is the ocean, and so I waded a bit in the Arabian Sea, and Brendan rode a caml.

In case you're wondering, it costs Rs. 100 to ride a camel - about 80 cents. I declined, as I had my camel ride when I visited Karachi back in 2000. 

We returned to the The School of Writing about three, then had a one hour debrief session with the students. I asked them to write a quick five-senses poem (I went, I saw, I heard, I smelled, I tasted, I touched, I felt) about the day, and we shared in small groups, then as a whole. The kids are having a great time and had some profound observations about their experiences, and the day.

While we were visiting Empress Market, Mohatta Palace, and Sea Side, Group One was visiting three different sites. Tomorrow, we will switch, and our group will see three new places. On Thursday we will reconvene as a big group to try to make sense of it all, and prepare for Friday's exhibition.

Julia missed part of our work today, as she conducted a workshop for 35 teachers at the SPELT offices (Society of Pakistani English Language Teachers), using the texts of Shakespeare to teach close reading skills.

It's a tremendous gift we have this week as educators, to work together with a small group of students and teachers to build models that can be duplicated at TSW and as after-school programs throughout Pakistan. When does a teacher get the chance to explore a new culture and work with a group of master teachers like this? I am indeed grateful.

Thanks for reading,
Rich

Is there a word limit???

This post is by Rich.

It's 8:20pm on Monday July 30, at the Guest House. Brendan and I returned to our room about 8, after a stop at Subway for a late dinner. Day One of the Arts Without Boundaries ABL-TSW conference is in the books, and it is a success!  Of course, not without its challenges...

Mohsin had recruited about 35 students and teachers to attend, from a range of Karachi schools (private vs. government, ESL vs. not, etc.) Between last night and this morning, two schools dropped out, lowering the numbers significantly. Mohsin made some early-momnring calls, and the Dream School agreed to send more than previously allocated. This school serves lesser-advantaged kids, mostly ESL, some distance away. Their bus with 14 students and 2 teachers arrived about 9:45am, and we got underway shortly after 10 - not far off schedule. We had about 30 folks in the room today, and expect another 5 or so tomorrow, to bring us to our original goal.

Mohsin opened the session by asking students why they had come and what their expectations were. The students were shy. Mohsin spoke primarily in Urdu, and the students smiled. He organized the kids in a "name game" activity to break the ice and begin the process of building community. About 10:30 he turned the presentation over to me. The first thing I did was review the Bread Loaf Rules for Writing, which Mohsin had translated into Urdu for me:

ABL has learned the power of these six simple rules over the last few years: Be Kind, Write in Any Language, Speak your Truth, Don't Fear Mistakes, Share - if you want to, and Have fun! It was neat for me to have Mohsin translate my explanation into Urdu, and to see the grins on the students' faces. They are clearly a wonderful lot. I then led a short writing exercise on using the Five Senses plus Emotions. I asked the students to make a list of their favorite places in Karachi, then asked them to circle one, and write about it. The first line is, "My favorite place in Karachi is..." and after that I asked them to describe that place through their five senses and at least one emotion. During the writing time, one shy girl raised her hand. "Is there a word limit?" she asked. "No" I replied, "write as much as you want." She smiled. I grinned. Where else but Bread Loaf does a teacher get asked that question?

After writing time, I invited the participants to share in pairs, then in small groups, and then in the big group. And just like that, another ABL conference was truly underway.

We took a break for tea and samosas at 11:05, then reconvened for a theater workshop led by Julia and Atmul. After a warm-up exercise, we organized ourselves (I became a participant for the rest of the day once my presentation was done) into groups of six. Our challenge was to tell the history of Pakistan in three wordless scenes, and we had 10 minutes to prepare our performance. I was quickly enlisted by a group of boys, where I was of course no use in deciding how to demonstrate Pakistan's rich history in three mini-tableau. The boys discussed intently - all in Urdu - and then directed me as they saw fit. I played a soldier in the Mughar invasion, a president in the 1940 declaration, and a successful refugee in the 2000s. I got off easy - none of my characters were killed, and great fun was had by all. Brendan had to play a British colonizer in his scene.

After the theater workshop, Basil conducted a workshop on making photographs, and the ethical decisions at play in that, to prepare us for our tour of the city for the next two days. After a lunch break, we resumed to a writing workshop led by Brendan, called "Exploding the Moment." It's designed to get us to pay attention to those seemingly small moments of life that, upon closer examination, deserve further attention. As a *secret* part of it, in the middle of Brendan's speech, I such up him from behind and poured a glass of water on his head. Brendan pretended to be angry, but could not hold the ruse for long, He led folks thought a discussion and writing workshop. For our final session of the day, Alan organized our group of perhaps 35 folks and led us through a process to use our voices and portable drums to perform the Owimaweh song, made popular by the movie The Lion King. In just under one hour, he had us performing in harmony.

We were quite loud during the music workshop, and to keep peace with the neighbors, Mohsin invited the folks who work in the office one floor below to join us for the second part of the session.  They seemed to very much enjoy themselves. One of them was a woman named Umme Kulsroom. After the session, Mohsin called me over to meet her. As a seventh grader back in 1998, Umme participated in Mohsin's first Andover Bread Loaf Writing Workshop, which he organized just after participating in the ABL teacher program. Umme remembered the workshop well, and considers it a pivotal moment in her life. She is now a program manager for the US AID (Agency for International Development). I told her how incredibly proud of her were all are. She represents the true goal of ABL work - helping young people develop into social justice leaders. If the participants in this workshop grow up to work for non-profits or become teachers or social workers or do something else to benefit and improve their country, we will have succeeded. Sometimes you have to play long ball.

Our session ended about 4pm with written and shared feedback. Both were overwhelming. Students loved the program and loved the presenters and wanted more. We dismissed them about 4:30, but at least 15 stayed around, talking and sharing, until 5:30. We presenters then held our own debrief, in which we were far more critical of ourselves than the students were. This is part of the cycle of continuous improvement.

We also realized and spoke out loud that to serve the students we have, this program needs to be conducted in Urdu, with translation into and from English where needed. Hopefully I'll pick up a few phrases as the week goes on.  We ended about 7pm.

Tomorrow will be another full day. We meet at The School of Writing at 9, where we will organize the students into two groups, then head off on two buses to visit various sites in the city. Each student will be provided with a camera, their notebook and pen, and charged with documenting the stories of the city, building on the models of Monday's workshops (use your senses, expand the moment, listen for the sounds, look for patterns, look for the history, etc.) Each group will visit one religious site, one historical site, one park, and one marketplace, spending about an hour at each. The job of the adults will be to help the students Observe, then Capture, then Reflect on, the stories of the city. Julia will leave us in mid-afternoon to conduct a three-hour session for teachers at the Society of Pakistani English Language Teachers (SPELT) officers.

Tomorrow evening, we will organize Pakistan's first Family Literacy Night, hosted by the Pakistan American Cultural Center. We have no idea how many people will show up - 10? 30? 100? - but we are excited regardless. Mohsin and I will will invite families to write together, about what they love, they wish, and they dream.

Pakistan trivia of the evening: The Burger King Corporation is apparently majority owned by a Pakistani-American, who donated some $10 million to Habib University. So at least some of the money spent here, stays here!

Thanks for reading,
Rich 

Planning Session Sunday

This post is by Rich.  

Tomorrow is game time! The "Arts Without Boundaries" ABL-TSW Conference is about to begin!

It’s 10:45pm on Sunday, July 29, in Karachi, and we’ve just returned to the Guest House after a fantastic day. Our colleague Brendan McGrath, longtime Bread Loafer and 3^rd grade teacher from Boston, who has accompanied us on trips to India and Haiti in the past, arrived at 2 this morning. Both of us exhausted, we slept past 9 this morning before beginning the day. Mohsin arrived about 11 and we went to a lovely pan-Asian restaurant for lunch, then took Brendan to the Dunkin Donuts, around the corner in the part of the Clifton neighborhood called “Boat Basin.”  A Dunkin run is a ritual for new arrivals now. Brendan observed that once you are inside, this Dunkin Donuts could be anywhere in the US, or anywhere in the world. You really wouldn’t be able to tell. The one exception, as Brendan pointed out – there were 9 people working there. In the US, there would have been 2 or 3 at the most. This country has lots of people, and some are clearly under-employed. The folks working there were very nice, and Alan explained that some of us were from Boston (Dunkin Donuts originated in Quincy, Mass.)  The staff agreed to take a big group picture with us.

Once caffeinated, we headed to the place known as T2F – The Second Floor. It’s a community literacy center, part of a non-profit organization called PeaceNiche. This is now my favorite place in Karachi, and one of my favorite places in the world. Readers familiar with Lawrence will understand when I refer to T2F as the “El Taller of Karachi.”  The first floor is a large open space with hardwood floors, a small bookshop and gift shop featuring peace-related memorabilia. The second floor is a small café. The non-profit PeaceNiche that operates T2F runs a variety of arts, literacy, activist, and peace projects. We arrived about 1pm on a Sunday and there was a guitar class going on. The place hosts open mic events, political information sessions, arts classes, and community gatherings. Their rules are simple  - no drugs, alcohol, or guns. All are welcome. The place was founded by a woman named Sabeen Mahmoud, a friend of Mohsin’s. Due to her public beliefs in peace and justice and open dialogue, over time she became considered an enemy by some who wished to silence such thinking, and was assassinated in 2015. Her story spread throughout the world, including through a brilliant article in the US magazine The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-life-and-death-of-sabeen-mahmud.  Today, PeaceNiche is run by a board of directors in her memory, which “promotes democratic discourse and conflict resolution through intellectual and cultural engagement.” One of their goals is “intellectual poverty alleviation.” It was special just to be in the space. Once I saw the café I became ashamed of my Dunkin Donuts cup. On Friday, August 3, we will hold the final exhibition of our week-long program in the T2F space, open to families and to the public. It’s a special space.

Indeed, if reading these stories move you to action, please donate to these two organizations: The School of Writing (www.tsw.org) ,  and PeaceNiche (www.peaceniche.org).  Both are worth it.

After our visit to T2F, we drove 5 minutes to The School of Writing offices, which are on the 4^th floor of a 4-story building. There is an office space, a small-group working space, and a larger exhibit space, all air conditioned, plus a rooftop. After years of hearing about TSW and supporting its work, it was a thrill to finally be there! The School of Writing has engaged in numerous brilliant projects with teachers, young people, and community leaders through the years, notably Yeh Heh Karachi, a photo documentation project, and Badal Do! (Ignite the Change Within!).  

From 2-5pm, we planned. There were 10 of us present: Mohsin Tejani, founder and director of TSW; Basil Andrews and Husnain Raza from his staff (Husnain is also the son of Mohsin’s cousin); Mohsin’s son Ali Tejani, a recent graduate of Habib University with a degree in social policy; Mohsin’s daughter Quratulain “Annie” Tejani, who handles communications and documentation; Antul Baweja, a comedienne, actor, consultant, and theater teacher; plus us visitors: Julia Perlowski, Brendan McGrath, Alan Nunez, and myself.  Annie is a brilliant 29-yr-old digital media consultant who blogs at www.blissofverbosity.blogspot.com   We definitely want to keep her involved in our network.

I know from our work on other conferences that meeting time such as this is the real work. The ten of us spent three productive hours talking, theorizing, planning, disagreeing, agreeing, and finally settling on a loose plan for the next five days. We want it to be structured enough to work, but flexible enough to allow creativity and student choice. Collectively, we felt good when we reached the end of our day’s work.  Julia and Antul bonded quickly and developed a brilliant plan for co-teaching a one-hour drama workshop.

And so on Monday morning (tomorrow, that is) we will assemble at The School of Writing at 8:30am for a final planning meeting. We expect the participants (22 students and 5-6 adults) to arrive between 9:00-9:30. At 9:30 Mohsin will open the session with introductions, review of the agenda, and a name-game. From 10-11, I will run an opening writing workshop designed to build community. (The first thing I will do is review the Bread Loaf Rules for Writing, in both English and Urdu:  Speak Your Truth, Be Kind, Don’t Fear Mistakes, Write in any Language, Have Fun, Share if You Want To.) We will have a tea break (Pakistan is really civilized in many ways) at 11, then Julia and Antul will run a theater session, followed by a photography workshop with Basil from 12-1. A lunch break will follow, then Brendan will lead a writing workshop from 2-3, then Alan a music workshop from 3-4. We will have a final reflection, led by Annie (who is also handling documentation), and end about 4:30. We plan to spend Tuesday and Wednesday traveling around the city of Karachi to various locations to make photographs, take notes, make videos, write, interview people, and generally collect data about life in Karachi. On Thursday we will re-form into small groups to examine, process, and curate the data to create products (films, writings, dramatic and musical performances) in preparation for the final exhibit at T2F on Friday, and for the electronic book.  The Family Literacy Night is Tuesday, at the Pakistani-American Cultural Center. I plan to wear my new kurta.

A highlight of the day was posing for a group picture in front of the giant backdrop, designed by Mohsin’s son-in-law Shari.

Funniest part of the morning: Learning the Urdu slang term “Gora” – which means, “white man.”  Realizing that my proper name is Richard Gorham, and a slight variation makes my name “Rich Gora,” or, in Urdu slang, “rich white man.”  I’ve decided to own my privilege and go with it.  I can’t exactly pass as a local, anyway.

Also cool was our foray to the rooftop, which afforded great views of the Karachi skyline. The sudden proliferation of tall buildings is startling. Until perhaps 15 years ago, the tallest building in Karachi was perhaps 5-6 stories. Now there are dozens of 20-story buildings popping up, and one 66-story building that once completed will be the tallest in Pakistan. Growth and construction and concrete dust is everywhere. There is a substantial amount of wealth running around – it’s not clear how much is trickling down to the average person, but this is clearly a city in the midst of a growth spurt. With that growth comes growing pains – lots of concrete dust, a severe water shortage, problems with sanitation.

I’m concerned that the growth and the money are not staying in Karachi – foreign chain stores such as Burger King, Pizza Hut, Sizzlers, and Sunoco are everywhere. Dunkin Donuts, is of course, my classic example. Are the profits made at these places leaving the country?  Pizza Hut is an interesting story. There are many Pizza Hut stores around Karachi. I theorize that they are the lingering results of Pepsi Co.’s visionary former CEO Don Kendall, who when he was running Pepsi established Pepsi-related businesses in many countries, including the former USSR, knowing they’d lose money for years, but would eventually earn the company big profits when those nation’s economies developed and the population had become used to those products. Thus, you see a lot of Pepsi, Pizza Hut, and Burger King. However, folks tell me that Pizza Hut is declining in Pakistan, due to the growth of local pizza places. It turns out the Pakistanis have figured out how to make and profit from selling pizzas themselves, and are doing better at it than the foreign chain. I, for one, hope that as the Pakistani economy grows, it grows its own businesses, rather than serving foreign interests.

A quick diversion for something interesting I learned today: In May, the Pakistani National Assembly passed a law ensuring rights for transgendered persons. The law guarantees all people the right to declare their own gender identity, as male, female, or a blend of both, and to have that gender represented on all their official documents, including their driver’s licenses. I don’t know of any place in the US with such a progressive law. Back in my home state, Massachusetts, we are fighting a ballot initiative to remove transgender rights.  Check out this article from Al Jazeera on the Pakistani law 

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/05/pakistan-passes-landmark-transgender-rights-law-180509095207950.html

After our planning session and many pictures, including a brilliant rooftop selfie with the irrepressible Alan, we headed to a local shopping mall. Inside it looks a lot like shopping malls in many countries. We went to a store called Khaadi, a clothing store, where Brendan and I each bought a kurta and shalwar, the traditional Pakistani clothing. “Shalwar” is loose-fitting cotton pants, a “kurta” (sometimes called a “chemise”) is a loose-fitting long cotton top. I settled on a basic blue outfit. Brendan went for a decorative white number with a fitted brown waistcoat. His outfit looks awesome – I wish I was cool enough to pull it off. We plan to wear out new clothes at the Family Literacy Night on Tuesday evening. Alan already owns a custom-made kurta he bought in India a few years ago. The three of us made a pact to each wear our kurtas to teach at our respective schools one day this fall.

After the mall, we headed to Mohsin’s place for dinner. His wife, Sakina, had spent hours cooking and cleaning to prepare for our arrival. Mohsin lives in a very nice, large, three-bedroom apartment on the top floor of his building, with a bonus rooftop patio. In the US we would call it the 3^rd floor – in Pakistan, it’s considered the 2^nd floor – their counting, from the traditional British system, refers to Ground Floor, then First Floor, Second Floor, etc. Alan and Julia estimated that if the apartment was in New York it would sell for around $2 million – in Karachi it would be more like Rs 400m ($350,000.) The home-cooked dinner was exceptional, featuring ten courses served buffet style. Alan and I were particularly enthralled by a chicken and cheese dish, but everything, including rice, nan, chick peas, beef, and other items, was fantastic. We were also able to spend time with Mohisn’s mom, Her name means “sweetness,” and she is indeed sweet, as well as strong. Also present were one of his three brothers, M_____, and Mohsin’s four children and son-in-law. Annie is 29 and works with The School of Writing. Seema is 24 and works in advertising. She was recently married (700 guests!) to Sheri, who also works in advertising. Ali is 22 and this spring was part of the first graduating class from Habib University, the first truly liberal arts university in Pakistan, founded by Mohsin’s friend and occasional partner Wassif, with a degree in social policy. Ali is 15 and will enter the 11^th grade this fall. All five young people are brilliant, thoughtful, and loving. It was a joy to spend time with them. Interestingly, they all follow professional football (what we call soccer) but each has a unique favorite team, from Barcelona to Real Madrid to Manchester United. Annie, Seema and Ali remember when I and others from Bread Loaf visited their home for dinner back in 2000. When Mohsin was out for the room, I asked his younger brother, M_____, for embarrassing stories about Mohsin from childhood, but he could not think of any. “After my dad, I consider Mohsin my dad” said M_____, “I love him.” His smile was genuine. This is a 48-yr-old man who openly expresses his love for his 53-yr-old brother and cannot think of a negative word to say about him, even in jest. I should not be surprised – Mohsin is all about love.  About the only embarrassing things we could find about him were a few unflattering pictures of he and I from our times at Bread Loaf.  Both of us have become much, much more handsome since, despite our loss of hair

A word about Mohsin’s parents. His dad moved to Pakistan at the time of the partition from India in 1947. A gentle man with the soul of an artist, he worked as a banker to support his family, and four sons. Mohsin’s mom was educated only to the fifth grade, but became a voracious reader, and a strong advocate for her children’s education. When Mohsin was a little boy, she became determined that he would attend Habib, the best local school in the city. Many laughed at her, since the family did not have connections, or money to pay the fees. She refused to take no for an answer. She met with the principal and secured her son a scholarship. Mohsin attended Habib for grades 1-10, then went to college, became a teacher and principal, and completed his master’s degree by graduating at Oxford.  He made his mom proud, and considers attending Habib to be the transformative experience of his life. During his time in graduate school, Mohsin considered attending school in the US for a Ph.D., but family responsibilities precluded it. At the time he was unhappy, but in the end, he founded The School of Writing, and has had an enormous impact on education in Pakistan and across the world. I think things turned out better. Had he gotten a Ph.D., he might have gotten lost on the faculty of a university. Instead, he has created something extraordinary, and I am glad to be a little part of it.  His dad died in 2008, but his mom’s smile as she welcomed her son’s guests today told part of her story. She is an exceptional woman.

Thanks for reading,

Rich

Karachi: Initial Impressions

This post is by Rich. Disclaimer: These thoughts and reflections are in the moment,  not extensively researched, and are my own alone. I do not pretend to be an expert in Pakistan, and I apologize for what I will get wrong. I write this post on Saturday July 28 at 9pm local time - it's noon Saturday back home. I've been in Karachi for 14 hours - - 

There's a Dunkin Donuts in downtown Karachi. Mohsin and I went there pretty directly from the airport on Saturday morning:

For a hard-core New Englander, the sight of a Dunkin was comforting, a taste of home. However, as an international traveler, it's also a bit disturbing. Cultural hegemony. What exactly is the US exporting, anyway?

I was in Karachi back in 2000, and returning to the city 18 years later is interesting. What I have observed in  the half-day I've been back in Karachi confirms what Mohsin has told me about the city's evolution this century. It's bigger - closer to 22 million people than 13 million. There has been a ton of development. In 2000 the tallest buildings I saw were 4-5 stories - now, 10-15 story buildings dot the landscape. Several major new roads speed transport around the city. Everywhere you look there is construction. Buildings are constructed mostly of steel frame and concrete, with very little wood and some glass, but not extensive. Residences, offices, stores, are increasing. The city feels much more westernized than it did in 2000. There are more western chain stores, and many more folks wearing western clothing vs. traditional Muslim clothing. Transport is a mix of private cars, buses, motor bikes, and walking.  I've seen a few donkey-drawn wagons, but far fewer than in 2000.

Alan and Julia are here now, and we expect Brendan to arrive later tonight. We are staying at a guest house called Shehzad Cottage - a sort of bed-and-breakfast - the Clifton neighborhood of Karachi:

The accommodations are perfect for us. I will share a 2-bedroom room with Brendan. It's perhaps 15x15 feet, with air conditioning, a TV, wireless internet, and a large full bath with a giant shower. They have a kitchen and we will take some meals here, and the people are very nice. We are under instructions from Mohsin to remain in the guest house unless accompanied by him or someone else from his office, to ensure safety. We have been around the city a little bit, with him. Today we went to lunch at a bar-b-q place called "BBQ Tonight" where I broke my diet and enjoyed various grilled meats. We also visited a book shop, which featured an interesting mix of very Western books (Malcolm Gladwell, Jane Austin) with Pakistan and other South Asian books. There was pleasant music playing and it felt like any bookshop in the US or UK.

In between naps, I've spent some time this afternoon and evening reading up on Pakistan. The CIA World Factbook is very good: here is the link
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html  

The BBC is also a good source of Pakistani news, and the national newspaper, The Dawn at https://www.dawn.com

What I read confirms what I see. Pakistan is the 6th most populous country in the world, at just over 200 million.  GDP is around $5,000 per person (vs. the US $40k-plus, Dominican Republic $10K, Haiti $1k), making it a mid-level country in the world in terms of economics. The country is rapidly urbanizing, with folks moving from rural areas to cities like Karachi. Agriculture continues to employ 40% of the population (vs. 3% in the US) but industries such as surgical tools and textiles are growing. There is a major difference in most quality of life measures between rural and urban areas - employment, access to electricity, internet, clean water, sanitation, and health care, are all much greater in urban areas. The official unemployment rate is 6% but is widely acknowledged to be under-reported, and under-employment is high. The literacy rate for the whole country is around 60%, split between 70% for males and 50% for females. Again, literacy is much higher in urban areas than in rural areas. It's a very young country: 50% of the population is under 25, and only 4% over 65. The CIA World Factbook observes that there is underdevelopment of human capital - not enough education and training programs to take advantage of the human potential that is here. The countries' biggest resource is people. It is a net exporter of labor - people move to US, Canada, UAE, East Africa, UK, and other places to work. There is also a significant human trafficking problem, both into and out of the country, with folks ending up in forced labor (brick making, for example), sex work, and other. Over 2 million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan - those fleeing the war. While Pakistan is not a major producer of illegal drugs, heroin produced in Afghanistan is moved through the country.

Political stability has been a challenge since Pakistan was created as an independent country in 1947 (split off from India by the British as a Muslim-majority country). A transfer of power that is clean and democratic has been rare, although we may have just witnessed one three days ago when Imran Khan's party secured victory in the latest election. Pakistan is geographically strategically positioned, bordering India, Afghanistan, Iran, and China, and with sea ports. Lots of other countries and major international corporations are interested in Pakistan and have wanted to control it. Although it's not a major oil producer (big natural gas reserves, but not a net exporter; a net importer of oil), Pakistan's geographic location has meant than many want to build pipelines through the country.

Political leaders in the country have to balance many competing international pressures, as well as significant cultural pressures inside the country. In recent years, companies from China have made major investments in Pakistan, and the China-Pakistan Partnership constructed major roads through the country, and deep-water ports in Karachi, giving Chinese companies access to shipping. Now, companies in western China can ship good over Pakistani roads from east to west, to the ports in Karachi and other cities, then put them on ships for distribution in India, East Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. While the IMF invested $6 billion in Pakistani development in the last year, China invested an estimated $30 billion.

Culturally, amidst the Westernization, there are many groups who want Pakistan to remain true to its name as The Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Indeed, 96% of folks identify as Muslim, the call to prayer sounds out throughout the city five times a day, alcohol is illegal, arranged marriage is common, women generally do not travel unaccompanied by men, traditional dress for men and women is common, and many folks are serious about Islam. The name of the country is Pakistan. "Pak" means "pure," so "Pakistan" means "land of the pure." At the same time, you've got Burger King and Pizza Hut and Amy Schumer books in the bookstore.  The Taliban and other extremist groups sometimes try to pressure the population and political leaders to restore a more pure version of law and cultural practice, and the Pakistani military and police work to ensure peace. It's a complex situation that I will not pretend to fully understand or be able to explain, but I'll do my best to listen and learn in the next days.

On Pakistani election day (July 25), Donald Trump sent out a Tweet complaining that the US has invested over $30 billion in Pakistan in the last 15 years with no significant return. This assertion has raised the ire of many folks in Pakistan. For one, the US has promised to send that $30 billion, but has not completely done so. Folks in Pakistan estimate that the US War on Terror has cost Pakistan over $70 billion since 2002, as well as thousands of lives. It has also created the massive refugee issue. Again, these are complicated issues I do not pretend to fully understand, but it's definitely an interesting time to be here.

Among the few folks I have talked to, there is significant optimism in the election of Imran Khan as the new political leader of the country. He has pledged to end decades of corruption, and some believe he is the one to get that done.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we will meet Mohsin at 10:30am and go out to lunch, then head to The School of Writing Office for a planning session. Mohsin's family is hosting us for dinner at his place on Sunday evening. The work begins in earnest on Monday morning, with 25 young people and 10 teachers. I am scheduled to lead a writing workshop at 10am Monday, and I can't wait!

Thanks for reading,
Rich

Why Karachi. Because - The School of Writing

On my first full day in Karachi, I visited The School of Writing (TSW), a famous educational center started by my dear friend Mohsin Tejani. This is the physical and emotional epicenter of why we’re here. And I say famous, because all of us in the ABL world have heard of the incredible work that has been done here with students and teachers.

Soon, we will meet close to 25 students and 10 teachers and embark on a week-long exploration of writing, performance, empathy, culture and laughter. We will document those adventures in this blog.

This blog will also contain much more about TSW, a great deal of it written by more able writers than myself. For now, I’ll tell you that the heart of this organization is the way it epitomizes student-led learning, like the ABL Writing Workshop in Andover, Massachusetts it is partnered with and modeled upon.

The mission statement of The School of Writing (theschoolofwriting.org) is: “to promote creative programs in literacy and art, enabling learners to become self assuring, competent and contributing members of the larger society”.

Self assuring. Competent. Contributing members. The larger society.

Many educational organizations state objectives like these, but so many miss the mark. This can be understood when the Monopoly money of test scores are touted like actual achievement, and the real money that capitalizes on public school failures becomes ever more dominant. It happens because it is impossible to quantify the immediate worth of a self assuring, competent and contributing member to society. So, The School of Writing qualifies it instead - knowing that each student and teacher is a force multiplier in the struggle to create a more just and equitable world. 

This is seen in the photo-journalistic publications they produce and thoughtful manuals for the teacher trainings they facilite. It is evident in their slowly, ever-growing library. Here, it is on the walls - and it is all done by students.

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We can all safely assume that it depicts an exchange. How it is being done, in what direction, with what intentions - that’s for the viewer to decide.

As for us, Mohsin and the team of educators he has assembled, we choose to to do it with compassion, in the direction of positive self-worth and with the intent of kindness. And, I’m ever hopeful, it will be led by the students.

in Dubai...

Posted by Rich:

Thoughts while on a seven-hour layover in Dubai on the way to Karachi -

Over the next two weeks, I must remember:

1. The Bread Loaf Rules for Writing:  (Be kind, Speak your truth, Write in any language, form, or register, Do not fear mistakes, Share - if you want to, Have fun)

2. The importance of intentional communication across difference, and the need to examine and reflect on that

3. The importance of of both individuals and a culture as a whole  finding/retaining/reclaiming/owning rhetorical sovereignty - owning their story.