Awakening from the Slumber

Aug 25, 2011 by     19 Comments    Posted under: Cover Story, Non-Fiction

It has always fascinated me how the human mind is actually capable of spilling out words to gain attention and praise from others, but hardly ever connects to it via actions towards what it has expressed. I have seen and heard this one topic being rattled on by almost everyone, no matter which profession they belong to or where in the country they live in. It is the topic of interest of most people and is discussed everywhere; in conference halls of 5 star hotels, drawing rooms, long walks, drives, dinners, classrooms, seminars, talk shows and where not. But do we truly pay attention to it?

Yes, I am talking about the fact that, “the youth of this country is capable of greatness and the youth is our hope for the future”, etc etc etc. I have literally heard these lines almost a zillion times now, since the last half a decade, and now it has started to creep into me as to whether we are actually capable of doing what is expected of us. It is true that we comprise of 63% of the total population of Pakistan and this is both brilliant and dangerous. But is the youth up for this enormous task being handed down to them (bearing in mind their own lives which they have to take care of, personal and professional)?

The current population of our beloved country is a staggering 180 million people all across 5 provinces. It is a shame that we have let ourselves be divided into the ethnic lines rather than staying united and taking this country forward and out of the dogs. I take the courage here to stand up to say, yes, we are going to dogs. Be it the government, the establishment, the citizens or the youth. No one here assumes their responsibility and takes action. Since 1947, the one common perspective that united us as a nation was the vision and the nation, but we choose to prefer our own individual lives over the good of the country, putting the vision aside, and thus, throwing the nation down a line of sewerage pipes. We choose to be defined as Punjabis, Sindhis, Pakhtoons, Balochis, but never do we actually consider acknowledging ourselves as Pakistanis. Therefore, one problem identified here is that, we, the youth of this great state of Pakistan lack a sense of identity and direction. Another issue can also be the lack of confidence, sense of responsibility and courage to stand up and fight for what we think is right.

Attending the three day conference, “3rd Pakistan Youth Congress 2011”, by Drug Free Pakistan Foundation in association with Generation Next- Voice of Youth and Ministry of Youth, Government of Sindh; I realized what the potential of this beautiful country is and how we are wasting it for the sake of our own lives. The conference was held at Regent Plaza Hotel in Karachi from 4th to 6th June 2011, where the country’s renowned speakers, trainers, politicians, social workers, and more than 300 participants from all across the country, gathered to find solutions to the problems affecting our homeland. 3rd Pakistan Youth Congress’s theme this year was “Khudi” as explained by the sheer genius Dr. Allama Mohammad Iqbal. “Khudi is precious” was the tag line of the conference throughout.

Divided into 3 days, the first day focused on the mission of “Self Discovery”, where the participants analyzed their own selves, their strengths and weaknesses, where they lack and what can they do to overcome their weaknesses. This was further pumped by the training sessions, team building activities and interaction with the speakers. Throughout the day, the participants were made more aware of themselves. This day ended on a note of music and fun in the Cultural Night where participants represented their own cultures through their attire and a fantastic performance by Zahrss.

Day 2 was about “Leadership in Action”, where politicians and activists came in the picture to discuss what needs to be done to improve the situation we are facing in this country. Speeches by students on “why we are not one nation but divided amongst ethnic lines” and various other activities were organized to make us realize the trauma handicapped people go through on a daily basis.  Towards the end of this day, the students were asked to paint their t-shirts with their idea of how revolution can be brought in Pakistan. I, of course, had to answer a lot of questions and eyeing as I made the Nazi flag on my t-shirt.

The last and final day, Day 3, ended on a note of “Making the Difference”. This day started off with a basic seminar on disaster management, student speeches in Otaaq on “Whether it is just the responsibility of the Government to eliminate drugs from the society?” The guest appearance from the Minister of Youth, Faisal Subzwari, was welcomed by the participants and ended on presentations of projects by students.

Unlike any other conferences, the participants were divided into teams which where a combination of young participants from diverse backgrounds, and thus, gave us the opportunity to interact with the five provinces, their cultures and backgrounds. Speakers and trainers, such as, Mustafa Kamal, Farooq Sattar, Sohail Zindani, Kamran Rizvi (also known as Kamba), Humair Mumtaz, and the trainer from Indonesia, Riva, all swept the crowd off its feet and grabbed the attention of the crowd with their inspirational stories, encouraging the youth to step forward and take action, while the motivational speakers kept the morale of the crowd at its peak.

It is about time that we all realized our responsibility to our country and ourselves. Ask yourself, are you fulfilling the duty that you owe to this country? And to your conscious, can we really do something to change the situation, be it on a national or individual level? Are we so deep asleep that we do not know where are we heading?

Yes, the youth can do wonders, only if we the youth takes up the responsibility on their shoulders. Think big, change yourself, take action, be courageous about what you think is right, realize your faults and correct them, make your voice heard and your opinion count. That is the need of the hour now.

Wake up from the slumber, my friends, or we will all be destroyed very soon.

The Author

Born on 23/05/91, true Geminie and the only child who studied in between of rowdy boys and extreme sports. Primary schooling from Beaconhouse School System O Levels from St Patricks Girls High School A levels from FPS A levels College Campus Mysterious, passionate, perfectionist, ill tempered and independent... That is who Eisha Salim is...

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19 Comments + Add Comment

  • great ,,,,,

    • Thankyou for reading Furqan Iqbal. Much appreciated.

  • MashAllah. Eisha great work and words. U did a hard task job here. Nice efforts. Keep it up.

    • Thankyou for your appreciation Salman Ahmed.. :)..

  • Thankyou :)

  • did not know that i am taking with such a brilliant talent

    • Ajay, what you dont know wont hurt you :)

  • Memory refresher! m witnessing Eisha Salim doing magic with words, superb job!

    • Thankyou Sajjad Hashmi, your astounding speech about “Why we are not a nation” during Otaaq at PYC inspired this article, so I personally thank you for the amazing experience we shared at PYC.
      Will always cherish the memories. :)
      Thankyou.

  • Eisha Salim,

    My Pleasure. Really u deserve it.

    • Thankyou Salman :)

  • “The current population of our beloved country is a staggering 18 billion people all across 5 provinces.”
    *shakes his head*

    • Asad my friend, instead of shaking your head in disappointment, think of the possibilities of what this massive population can achieve, what we are capable of. Pakistanis are known for their hard work, talent, determination and courage. The World speaks of the strength of our armed forces in reference to the wars against India. And we ideally sit and waste that.
      Its about time we realize the catastrophe damage we are causing.
      Think my fellow country men.

      • You dont get it do you?……We are nation with population of 180 million people not
        “18 Billion”

        • Oh my I mustve gotten a bit too carried away while writing to have made such a blunder. My sincere apologies readers for overlooking such an important fact.
          Will be careful next time. Thankyou for the correcting my error Asad Ahmed Memon.

  • Very Gudddd… Keep it up……….
    can I give my 2 cents input?
    We need to park word “why” and need to focus on “what”……. why this and why that is favourite sports in Pakistan…. we need to focus on “what” we can do for Pakistan.
    1. Volunteer-ism….. Mandatory in civilized society to raise awareness and awake social responsibility, volunteer will have positive thought, just causes and ideas for betterment and off course more humble with tolerance which is gone with wind at this time..
    2. demand for standardised education for every school with one curriculum to provide even launching pad for young population, with more focus on learning then memorizing in early years and hands-on intern-ship ONE year before graduating to produce confident talent for future.
    3. NO Politics and Unions in colleges and University which are breading ethnically/religiously divided segments of population… Colleges are for Education not for Politics……
    4. Dearly respect elders either in family or in neighbourhood..

    • Thankyou Sohail Ahmed. Yes your input is of great value to us.
      Surely we need to focus on the what has to be done for the county but only after the why it is happening is clear enough to set a course to challenge the what.
      1. Volunteering now is a great deal better and being done in a much better way than before as people are now more aware of their social responsibilities and the fact that they can make a difference in the country’s conditions on an individual level though yes i agree it still needs a push.
      2. Demand for standardized education here is a big question make Sir due to the fact that the status differences in the society have created this education barrier too, this will only be eliminated if we all set our differences aside and stand as one to remove this barrier.
      3. Respecting elders is there in a society like ours where family’s a huge deal much more important than in foreign countries but here I would want to share my utter disappointment with you all my readers when i recently saw a news report about an Old Home in Lahore, where parents wait for the sight of their children once on Eid. For God’s sake, think of what is going on!!!

  • hey! y did u make a nazi flag on ur t-shirt? just curious

  • nice article.liked it.but i am not sure if todays youth really can make that difference to build a better and united pakistan! we are more divided than ever before on ethnic nd religious lines! we may not b violent on such grouds since we are educated but a proof of our division is that in our uni’s nd colleges most people we meet still do identify themselves as being punjabi,sindhi,urdu-speaking etc. which in future will create more gaps nd mistrust! hw then will we,the youth unite in our efforts for ‘khush hali’?so i guess v can strt a building process only if we shed our current identities of ethnicity nd don a single identity ‘pakistani’

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