A Bangalore kind of day

Friday, March 23

A little overcast, warm, breezy ... comfortable in the high 60s. It was a little muggier than I would have liked, but for the most part...perfect. I spent the morning watching (or following) the India-SriLanka match on my sofa, dropped by school for a little bit to contribute to diversity, hung out with good friends all evening over kababs (shami, kubideh and chicken) and chocolate cake ... in between mad traffic ... as close as it could come to a typical Bangalore day.

Someone asked me why I referred to it as a Bangalore kind of day - and I gave the functional equivalent of the first paragraph. She then (jokingly) asked me why I was here.

It does sound like the life huh?

Bangalore is home. Its where the family is, where the friends are, where the memories lie. I can walk around almost any part of the city and be overcome with some memory or the other. It's an amazing feeling to have a connection like that with a city. My childhood days were spent at Amma's house - climbing the old Mango tree, teasing Kamla, playing on the roof - skipping past large urns of achaar (mango pickle), chowing down on amazing khana at Amma's kitchen table topping it off with rainbow cake and grape juice (or mosambi - sweet lime, depending on the season). My first taste of real cricket came as a 9th grader when the world cup was hosted in India - schoolday afternoons were spent sitting near the megaphone outside Mr. Mitchell's music room, listening intently to the commentary - trying to keep tabs on the Indian team ... but world cup glory was not to be had in '96 either. Basketball was my religion - days and nights were spent on the court. It was all about the experience. It was all about living my life - and being who I wanted to be. I didn't really care what anyone else thought, or said. Friends were many, dreams were big ... but reality didn't really fit in anywhere. Blissful ignorance.

So why am I here?

Well, I have something here - in the capital area - that I could never have at home. I have something to believe in, I have something work at, and something to work for - a purpose, shall we say? Something bigger than just me - it's no longer just about "my life." However, in a vacuum that wouldn't be enough - I also have friends that I depend on more than I probably should, and more than they likely understand. I don't know what it is about this group of people that keeps me strong ... I've always been blessed to be surrounded by gifted and incredibly intelligent people, but I feel like my current circle of friends has solidified into a beacon of hope (figuritively speaking of course). They keep me focused on the task at hand by reminding me why I'm here, they keep me laughing when I need to stop focusing and if I were ever to swing silently, I know I can count on them to swing silently beside me.

The most amazing part of it is that we share the same core belief system - this is a common thread that runs through our interactions, and makes it so easy, so comfortable and so permanent. And the thread is elastic - they keep me learning, and growing, and like a rubberband, if I let go - they smack me back to reality.

I spent my childhood in India, but I grew up here. This thread is what keeps me here.The slate was wiped clean, and I had the chance to become a person that I never thought I could be - and continue to surprise myself.

The problem is that its a constant choice - a choice that I sometimes hate to make. A choice between comfort, complacency, close proximity to my darling nephews and nieces that really do light up my life ... and a fulfilling and purposeful daily rigmarol. Often its also a choice between family responsbilities and personal goals, which makes it even harder. Right now the lines are clear, but they will get blurrier in time - but it is still a clear choice.

So I choose ... thats why I'm still here.

Courage

"... is not a quality you have or don't have; nobody is born courageous, nobody has courage all the time, and nobody who has no yet been courageous lacks the possibility of choosing it in the future. Courage is a decision you make to act in a way that works through your own fear for the greater good as opposed to pure self interest. Courage means putting at risk your immediate self-interest for what you believe is right. The stakes don't have to be life and death, and the situation doesn't have to be dramatic. ... Courage is our tool in vanquishing fear, but it's not always an easy tool to use, and truth be told, it's rarely glamorous. It's a daily decision to wake up and try to do the right thing, no matter how big the reward or how great the fear."

- Derrick Bell, Ethical Ambition

Another brick in the wall?

Attended a conference at WCL (Holes in the Fence: Immigration Reform and Border Security in the United States - link forthcoming), and one of the issues was the proposed wall on the southern border. One of the panels aptly compared this to the wall in Palestine (the Apartheid wall).

I got to thinking ... I wonder. I googled a little and came up with two pictures. Lets play a little game. Look at the pictures.

One

Two




Which is the American wall and which is the Israeli wall?

Hit me with your best shot.

Akbar Jaan!

A new kind of March madness

Ok ya'llz ... as March madness kicks in prepare to hear alot about a different madness from me. Yes, it is time for the Cricket world cup, and it is around the corner ... in the Carribean. I'm goin' all the way - will be watching key matches on streaming video, joined the facebook group/pool, and who knows - I might invest in some paraphanelia (look out for me wearing a sky blue jersey/t-shirt on select days, clashing with all 'dem Pakistanis and Bangladeshis in their shades of green).

Random note: I despised cricket for most of my life, I think I generally was not interested in sports (odd huh). But the 1996 World Cup totally sold me ... and I joined the millions around the world that would basically live or die for this game. Ok, maybe not goin' that far ... but its pretty hot. And the best time to be a cricket fan is during the world cup. :)

India have a real chance - or so they say ... they're considered to have the best team, um ... on paper. Incidentally, the Indian cricket team have mastered the art of losing when they're in a prime position to win. But I have faith. Sachin's in form, Rahul is as solid as ever, and even whats his face is in some kind of form after being humbled a couple of years ago. My man Ajit is back, and will give Irfan and Zaheer some good back up. Can't wait.

Their first match is against Bangladesh ... and its fun fun fun from there. Will keep you posted. In the mean while - here's some good reading material:


ESPN

Notable quotes:

Bangladesh: I have never seen Bangladesh play but the cab driver who picked me up at Newark the other day and took me into lower Manhattan assured me they're going to win the whole thing.


Pakistan: The most unpredictable team in world cricket -- who knows, they might turn up dressed as pirates -- but certainly capable of thrashing anyone. Missing some players but should make it into the second phase, "The Super 8," with ease. If they end up playing India, expect war, and not much customer service on your PC help line.

Jai Hind

high school 101

Peeling paint. Hair extensions strewn across the walkway. Empty cans on the street, and the hallways. Broken lockers. And yes ... the metal detectors. No cell phones on the property, and did I mention that you can't drink the water - its chock-full-of lead.

Welcome to a D.C. Public School.

It's hard enough having a conversation about genocide with your peers, or with activists - people who recognize the problem; but try talking about genocide to kids that may have already witnessed grave injustices in front of their eyes. How does one get someone immune from violence to recognize that there is a grave violence that exists, but that there is something they can do - and that its up to them to do something about it?

In answer to the question - where in the world is genocide happening today, one girl said, "shoot, right here in sou' eeas." Well, do you think that we should do something about it - "man nobody lookin' out for anybody but me ... I'll stand up for me." In response, someone said - "whatcha goin' do for yourself if you'z dead." I had to pause, and let them continue their banter - because I didn't know how to get them to relate. These kids see violence around them all the time. The metal detectors and the police patrolling the corridors are there to make sure that a discussion doesn't go awry, leading to someone getting shot. What do you say when, in response to the question - aren't you scared if someone came up to you and said they were gonna kill you, they say - no.

How do you convince a generation that is so jaded that writting a letter to their congressman, or to the President could make a difference? They look at me like I'm crazy, and say "we could write to the President, but then there's lead in our water - why'd he care - they don't listen."

Its incredibly difficult to transfer the careful optimism that we cultivate, and protect from the elements - and from the constant negativity that surrounds us, into kids that are struggling to deal with their own problems - especially when the issues we bring before them, are so much bigger and more daunting - but are so far removed. How do you make them care about little children in Africa, or Iraq, or Kashmir ... when they're fighting their own battles here at home - in our nations capital no less.

The most powerful city in the world - packed into 70 odd square miles. World leaders gather less than 5 miles away from this high school, over cocktails and bottled Perrier - while these kids are drinking water pumped full of lead.

Laboring for an answer

Over the past few years, I've struggled to figure out what it is that bothers me about returning to India. I've acknowledged that part of the reason is my changed belief system, and the fact that being away from my support network would be incredibly difficult, and also that my purpose in pursuing my law degree has a narrow, largely domestic application, at least in the short run. I think I might have figured out the rest - or at least a very large part of the rest.

I read, or rather briefly skimmed, this article in the NY Times - "Stricter Law Fails to Diminish the Demand for Child Laborers in India"

India has no outright ban on child labor and had long allowed the employment of children under 14 in all but what are deemed “hazardous” occupations. But last October a stricter law took effect; it prohibits the employment of children under 14 in hotels and restaurants, and as domestic servants.

Five months later, children’s rights advocates say, the law has had little effect. Under-age children, mostly girls, are as in demand as ever to be maids and nannies.

This is the world that I lived in, although as I recall, I don't think any of our domestic help (for lack of a better term) was under 14 - but I wouldn't rule it out. In fact, I think that when I was very young (a toddler perhaps) there was a young girl that lived in our house - probably not much older than I was, who helped take care of me (yes, the silver spoon was delicately placed in my mouth) - however, I recall that she was more of a constant playmate than anything else.

Does this bother me? To some extent it does - what was so special about me that I was given the opportunity to be educated, and the little girl didn't? It's a fundamental question of fairness, and I suppose the usual contemplation over the cards that we are dealt*. I also believe that its not just a privilege, but also a responsibility - in this instance, to encourage the upliftment of those that are less privileged and therefore, more susceptible to injustice.

Then again, the flip side of the coin is - is this notion of fundamental human rights a predominately western ideal? Don't get me wrong - I'm a firm believer in our common humanity, but I was prompted to think about this issue a little differently after an event at school last week. It was suggested that the UN Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR) was a codification of predominately western ideals of human rights (only one non-westerner was a part of the committee that drafted it), and secondly, that human rights aren't mandated by humans, they were mandated by the divine. This is not to suggest in any way that Indian labor laws are not unjust and unfair, but merely a different lens with which to view the world.

Sometimes I think that Indian society is in a huge quagmire - they have a massive population, largely uneducated and living below the poverty line - and not alot of resources to do much. How do you convince a family that it is more important for their children, particularly their daughters, to go to school - to be merely a mouth to feed, rather than hands to work. On the flip side, how do you turn away a child who is willing to work - and often has little choice in the matter, for the higher moral ground of not resorting to child labor - particularly when the other option is that he or she might starve. Ideally, and this isn't a perfect solution, you offer to let her work/live in your home, but also offer to give her access to an education, thereby investing in her future. Flip the coin back - there are alot of children that have no desire to educate themselves, or to put in the hard work ... do you then either (a) force them to go to school (which they still may play hookey from), or (b) give in, and hope that you've been able to help someone gain a livelihood.

This is the problem that I have with returning home - dealing with these real life problems, and competing realities. Taking responsibility for things that are so much bigger than you or me, because that is the position you have been assigned. I find it much simpler to deal with just my own reality, or this largely intellectual and relatively sophisticated battle of civil rights. Its one thing to be able to deal with problems and mistreatment by created by the history of a society, and it is quite another to deal with a situation that was inherited as a result of colonization by another.

And yes, it is easier to write from a soap box, into the infinite abyss that is the internet, rather than actually go out into the surprisingly finite, and closely interrelated world, and work in it.


*I don't literally mean that I believe that our lives are so random as the dealing of cards - but its an metaphor! Ok, I admit - improperly used!! but it sounds good! :)

Welcome ya' Inayah

Inayah: Care, Concern

March 4, 2007

Mabrook to the proud parents and their families!

[P.S: Don't you love the funky hair she has goin'!]

Picking lenses ...

I sat in on a short lecture on the Law of War and Rules of Occupation by WCL's inhouse expert, Prof. Bob Goldman. It was an interesting lecture, and while I didn't think I actually knew much about humanitarian law - I think I know a little more than I thought I did. I was prompted to post not because of the substance of his lecture, but to some extent his perspective. Of course, he was of the mainstream view amongst academics that US presence in Iraq and Afghanistan are problematic - going as far as to say that US occupation of post-war Japan and Germany will be studied by future generations as two successful occupations, and the Iraq/Afghanistan occupations will be considered the greatest failures. Again - not the reason that I'm posting.

Towards the end of the lecture, Prof. Goldman said something very interesting. He was talking about how the international community, particularly the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and other U.N. agencies have addressed long-term occupiers and said something to the effect of, "of course, the U.N. keeps beating up on Israel - and they will continue to do so." That statement caught my attention immediately - and my immediate thought was, hm, what's his point. He then went on to say that yes, Israel has done it's share of bad stuff - but it undermines the credibility of the HRC to ignore other atrocities by other occupiers around the world - and mentioned the situation in Africa.

I have to admit, he has a point - it does undermine the credibility of human rights bodies to focus on one nation, and it definitely needs to start challenging the practices of other nations; however, this does seem like a little bit of spin - and I could go into distinguishing Israel from other nations in the world. The point is that our views are so dependent on which lens we choose to look at the world through.

Just listen to the noises
Before you tell yourself
It's just a different scene
Remember it's just different from what you've seen
--- Stone Sour, Through Glass

I wonder - is our perspective wide enough, are we choosing our lenses well? I personally haven't taken enough classes with conservative Professors that have views that are not on par with mine, and I think that I should. I'm concerned that this limits my ability to relate to people on the other side, or even people on the same side - if there is a bright line that divides us. Maybe there is no clear line ... now this probably isn't the most profound realization but even if we're fighting for the same side - there are sometimes starkly differing views on the same subject. Sometimes it bothers me - because I can't nail down the view that I adhere to. On the other hand, I'm sometimes afraid to create my own view because I'm concerned that it won't fit - with what I'm not sure.

My focus has slowly narrowed - it started out with me examining Islam, and the beliefs that I realized were a part of me from the outside; next I began to look at the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims, followed by the most recent somewhat introspective intra-Islamic assessment (SuShi relations). In a sense its coming full circle - it's back to me, and how I form my views ... how I pick my lens, whether I'm capable of doing so ... and whether that lens'll fit.

Whether that lens will allow me to form opinions of my own, that are not either regenerated from other people's thoughts or neccessarily on par with a group - unless, of course I really do agree with that view - who knows. Regardless, its time to challenge the status quo.

The Ali Mohammed family has a new addition!

ma'shaAllah she's sooooo cute!