There's a Brexit inside us all.

The thirteenth sign of Qiyamat just came to pass with Britain (the "Great" now being questionable) voted itself out of the European Union.

The effects were immediate: the Pound fell, the EU threw up their collective arms in a Mexican wave of disappointment, and Facebook-warriors from as far as the colonies statused their sincere disgust at the obvious stupidity of 52% of the British people.

But is the outcome really that outlandish?

Sure, sitting a thousand miles away the fact that Brexit was even an option seemed bizarre. We all know that greater cohesion and cooperation between nations is the future of global economic growth. Britain reclaiming its "nationality" certainly seemed like a step backwards.

But this wasn't just an economic issue, a problem that could have been reduced to its mathematical components and logically solved.

This was one of the many anti-immigration posters put all over the country, pleading the people to come to their senses and "take control" of their country. Using the refugee crisis as fuel for their fear-mongering, the UKIP leaders painted a dystopian picture of hordes of unwashed non-white refugees flooding their streets, taking their healthcare and jobs, spreading disease and extremism.

This was a race issue. This was a xenophobic issue. This was an elitism issue. 

Already, social media is rife with reports from minorities (read non-white) in Briton facing harassment.

This evening my daughter left work in Birmingham and saw group of lads corner a Muslim girl shouting "Get out, we voted leave". Awful times

— Heaven Crawley (@heavencrawley) June 24, 2016

@miqdaad My 13 y/o brother had chants of "bye bye you're going home" at school today. He insisted that it was "a joke" but it worries me.

— Yasin. (@Yxsinyoh) June 25, 2016

Oh, but there is more:

 

The racism and bigotry literally don't fit the page.

Can we really be surprised of these after-effects of a campaign based on hate, alienation, and fear of those different from you?

But these aren't just the symptoms of an immoral, ailing western society. Not even a few weeks ago, right here in Pakistan, we experienced our very own version of mass, outspoken xenophobia and racism.

Border guard killed in Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes

Things heated up with the recent border clashes with Afghanistan, which resulted in loss of life and several injuries. However, the following hate-storm on social media brought to light the ugly sentiments of the people, lurking just below the surface.

Tweet upon tweet called for the explusion of all Afghan refugees, for the borders to be sealed, many accompanied with blatant racism and ethnic slurs. Was this much different that the so-called "stupidity" of the British people? Did we not also succumb to the same forces of fear, racism and self-interest over all, forgetting that the refugees were forced to leave everything behind from a war-torn home trusted in the generosity and humanity of their neighbors? 

We all have the capacity for racism, for judginh and alienating people who are different. We can very easily ignore the plight of refugees and focus on our hate of the "other", of how they bring crime, drugs and poverty.

What we need to realise is that these are the symptoms, not the causes of the problems. The real issues are war, strike, unemployment, discrimination, persecution, and the list heart-breakingly goes on and on. Blaming the victims only serves to further the divide, exacerbates the problems, and leaves no room for positive discourse and improvement.

Empathy is a dying trait, and we need to try our damnedest to hold onto whatever shreds that our left in this world full of pain and suffering.

The problem was never the refugees or lack of border control. It is, and always has been, our selfishness.  

 

Reflections on education in Pakistan.

No words are minced when it's said that education in Pakistan is among the worst in the world. Pakistan has the highest number of out of school children. Various reports peg the exact number differently, based on different indicators used for measuring. The number ranges from between an unimaginable 25 million children (i), 12 million children (ii) to 5.4 million children (iii). However, the one statistic that has a consensus, and put these frankly ridiculous numbers into perspective is this:

About half of all children in Pakistan are out of school.

There are numerous excellent reports detailing the extent of the education crisis. The Government as well as international relief organisations are spending significantly across multitudes of programs in honestly an admirable effort to eradicate these issues. Most of the reports you will come across will be about statistics and dollars, challenges and risks, goals being met and not met. What I feel is not highlighted enough, is the on-the-ground reality of how the community reacts to these issues and the projects implemented to counter them.

Recently, as part of the assessment of the Department for International Development (DFID) funded Punjab Education Sector Project (PESP) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Education Sector Project (KESP), the largest education projects in the world, I traveled to the districts of Charsaddah and Lahore. 

It is DFiD's aim to build more than 20,000 classrooms across the nation by 2015 (iv). In regards to this project, I visited three government schools each in Charsaddah and Lahore and interacted with their respective communities. And in a word, the response I experienced has me hopeful for the future.

It is all too common to bash the Government, or the system, and focus on the negatives and the problems plaguing our societies, rather than on progress and the, granted relatively small, achievements. This trip, to areas ranging from rural to urban, poor to rich, filled me with optimism because of one common factor: the level of community participation.

As part of the project, leaders are sought from among the community to form a committee, which is to oversee the project's operations in their neighborhood's schools. A salient feature is to increase  awareness of the importance of education, and as a member of the project team put it very nicely: to make the community own their schools and the responsibilities to their children.

I believe that the idea here is beautiful; to encourage the community to take ownership of its own assets, to be aware of their social responsibilities, to feel protective of their children and to think in their best interests; all these result in a stronger, more cohesive, more productive, safer community. The people are aware that the children are their future and that a good sound education is exactly what is needed to make that future brighter. 

At one school in Charsaddah, the committee was made up exclusively of elder community members. Their sons had initially been nominated for the posts, but they took over because they could give the time they thought the project deserved: they visit the school every single day, from morning till dusk. The school has had one classroom for 23 years, where more than a hundred students study, sometimes having lessons in the playground due to lack of space. One of the committee members excitedly told me how the community had themselves funded construction of a new classroom, and of a new water well for the students. After the project's completion, this school will have at least four classrooms.

Keeping in mind that this was quite a poor rural community, their level of zeal and dedication is truly inspirational. The community banding together, taking responsibility, and tackling a prevailing social issue is exactly what gets things done and brings progress to society.

I found the same level of admirable and heart-warming participation in urban Lahore.

At the renowned Kinnaird High School, a 150 years old institution, I had the pleasure of meeting with the president of the Parent Teacher Council, with a history of more than 50 years. Representing more than three thousand parents, she had taken the mantle of president after her own mother. She had galvanized parents to take an active part in the educational affairs of their children, a feat which she impressed was no easy task. She said that parents of private school going children are inherently active regarding their children's education, considering that it is a significant investment on their part. The same cannot be said for government schools, where parental involvement is unfortunately a rarity. Changing the attitude and mind-set of parents in this environment is all the more impressive.

It is heartening to see that awareness of one of the most fundamental rights, the right to education, is spreading. These ideas will take root when they start from the bottom up, from the communities themselves. We all need to take a step back, and realise our responsibility in promoting education and building a better brighter future. Following in the example of these incredible people, there is a need, now more than ever in these times of growing distances and distrust, to unite for a common noble goal. And what goal is nobler than striving for a parha likha Pakistan.


References:
i :  25 Million Broken Promises, a report by Alif Ailaan
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/alifailaan/pages/540/attachments/original/1415950791/25_million_broken_promises_-_Summary-lowres.pdf?1415950791
ii : UK/Pakistan: Education April 2014, by Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukpakistan-education-april-2014/ukpakistan-education-april-2014
iii : Financing Education in Pakistan, a Country Case Study for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development
http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/pakista.pdf
iv : DFID Pakistan
https://www.gov.uk/government/world/organisations/dfid-pakistan