Karachi’s Great Good Place

On my first day in Karachi, I went to visit a cafe/bookstore/gallery/performance space called T2F (The Second Floor). It would not seem out of place in Seattle or Brooklyn or New York, but it was a surprise to me being in the middle of this city. Please note that I have no problem expressing thoughts that reveal my ignorance of cultural matters, so if the reader thinks an observation like that shows my deep limitations, I could not agree more. It may, however, seem understandable when you realize how deeply conservative the government is, and how deeply revolutionary this space is.

Its founder was Sabeen Mahmud, a progressive human rights advocate and social worker. She would be a force in an culture, any country, but in Pakistan she was extraordinary.

Sitting in the cafe, listening to the conversations and feeling the energy of the youth,  strongly reminded me of Lawrence’s El Taller. It reminded me of a space for youth run by ConTextos in San Salvador. It reminded me of the Great Good Place.

Ray Oldenburg’s book is titled, “The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community.” It posits that a healthy, vibrant society needs a third space - separate from home and work - in which a sociable environment leads to an interchange of ideas. History is replete with these spaces and the incredible impact they have had on large-scale events: the tavern during the American Revolution, the London coffee house during the Enlightenment and the agora in Greek democracy.

I came to the book through my friend Rich, who was a co-manager with me at a Borders Books & Music. This was back when Borders was a bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan that opened stores around the country which reflected their independent book seller values. My job was as the Community Relations Coordinator, a role in which I helped create a community of book, music and coffee lovers through live music, poetry readings and book signings. In those early years, though profit was important, it wasn’t the only thing, and Rich got me to believe that we were helping create an American Great Good Place.

Sabeen, and those who helped her create T2F, knew instinctively that a space was needed to stimulate dialogue, to foster a passionate, civil debate about the problems their society. Like J. S. Bach with Cafe Zimmerman and Karl Marx at Museum Tavern, she felt the creative, furious energy that comes from a space where discussion flows freely - and then she went about to create it.

mural outside T2F

Too many times, bold and challenging thinkers are directly confronted by the problems that they are trying to solve. It was just so for Sabeen, who was murdered by gunmen on April 24, 2015. She was driving home with her mother from T2F, where she had hosted a controversial discussion concerning the Balochistan separatist movement. A province in Pakistan that is rich in natural resources and devoid of any political control over its area, Balochistan and its independence is a topic bursting with anger and indignation for someone like Sabeen. The killer was caught, though the circumstances behind what is thought to be a direct targeted killing is murky at best.

You can read more about this miraculous person and the time leading to her murder here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-life-and-death-of-sabeen-mahmud

Today, life at T2F goes on, with a heavy sense of her presence. The walls leading up from the ground floor gallery space to the 2nd floor cafe are littered with aphorisms of independence, feminism, self-love and love for Sabeen, all written by patrons, most of whom probably had never met her. There are tabla and guitar classes, book clubs and a popular open-mike night (which I will participate in later in the week). Most importantly to us, they will be the host space for our culminating event, Arts without Boundaries.

Knowing her only through articles and the sense-memory of this establishment, I feel confident that she would love the thought of what The School of Writing is doing with Pakistani youth. At the end of this week, these walls will be filled with the students’ photography and the air thick with their voices. Voices that Sabeen worked hard to amplify.

We hope that even a few hours in that space, new to most of our students, gives them a confidence in their ability to change their world.

As Sabeen said, “...you can’t let fear control you, you’ll never get anything done”.

mural outside T2F (note tabla and other instruments)