Ejaz Asi - Information Designer from Karachi, Pakistan

From Dawn: http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/26/top4.htm

He was speaking at a ceremony to launch the test transmission of DawnNews television.

While praising the launching of the country’s first 24-hour English language news channel, President Musharraf described it as a unique event. But at the same time he did not hesitate in taking full credit for the mushrooming of private television channels, saying that whatever freedom there was in the country it was only because of him. “I alone had insisted that we must give them freedom so that the media could hold everyone accountable,” he said while recalling the early years in power when he had framed the media policy.

Gen Musharraf rejected the long-stated view of the journalist fraternity that the freedom of press in the country was the result of their campaign and persistent demand and said he was not aware of any such demand when he decided to ‘give this freedom’.

It was quite apparent that the president had come to the launching ceremony to not just praise the media, or take credit for his policy, but also to speak his mind about the prevailing trends in newspapers and television channels. And although he repeatedly assured the select audience, and the country at large, that such level of independence would continue, President Musharraf’s insistence was that such freedom should come with a certain level of responsibility.

He gave examples from the television coverage of the war in Iraq, and said while western media never showed bodies of their own soldiers, they had no hesitation in showing the images of the bodies of Saddam Hussain and his sons.

The other example he gave was of the recent killings in one of the schools in the United States by a gunman, and said the American television networks made a conscious decision not to show the dead bodies.

While presenting his argument, President Musharraf raised the issue of what he described as the trend of repeatedly showing gory images, blood and killings. He said such images were telecast round the clock as if they were from an India-Pakistan cricket match.

Similarly, he said the way religious extremism was glorified by showing militants in Waziristan, or the clerics of Lal Masjid, and the manner in which their views were aired, amounted to ‘brutalisation of society’.

Indirectly holding the media partly responsible for the state of affairs in the country, President Musharraf said it was creating unnecessary alarm amongst overseas Pakistani and other potential investors. He was of the view that if the media failed to demonstrate what he called a certain level of responsibility in the projection of Pakistan, then it may have a negative impact on the economic and social progress of the country.

Now you have to take this down too:
He felt a ‘negative projection’ of the country might affect the economy by scaring investors away.“We need to develop national cohesion, underplay what can lower the nation’s morale and encourage what can raise it.”

What’s with the image thing anyway? Okay, I can actually speak on it some time later.

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Have you ever felt that your life is rented, not owned. Did you ever feel like you are on earth on a leased period of time and your weakness, lack of reason and cowardice makes you live life as it is. Well, here’s a song for you:

I haven’t ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
But if my life is for rent and I don’t learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine

These are few lines from a great mellow song “Life for Rent” by Dido. Very profoundly thoughtful and yet simplistic to understand ideas have been penned down by Dido. If your life is for rent, you don’t own it.

Even though this post isn’t really about Dido or her song mostly but about the reactions of many people within and outside Karachi on 5/12 Riots.

Ironically, with all the education, awareness and championing the modernity the people of Karachi boast, the fact remains that people are more eloquent and openly blame President Musharraf than Altaf Hussain of MQM. And yet everyone of them desire peace and happiness. How does that happen?

It happens when we forget that there are somethings in life greater and bigger than the life itself. No, they aren’t big buildings or your insurance, or big metropolitan areas filled with hottest chicks and so on nor are they about ruling certain people or having big land. No, none of that. They are integrity, freedom and dignity. It may be an abstract idea for many but when you let your self-esteem be on the line, when you sell yourself, your dignity and your liberty there’s nothing in the world you could buy. You’re living a life that’s up for rent.

When you let others run your life, decide for you, live for you, there’s no point in your living. Dido goes on to further say:

“I’ve always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone and live more simply
I have no idea what’s happened to that dream
Cos there’s really nothing left here to stop me”

I feel pity sometimes and often times I laugh at an individual’s incapacity to lead his own life. His inability to take over his very own life from the tyranny of others. That an individual could be so so afraid of taking chances and we forget we had our own lives, our own children and that the life is short and that without liberty and dignity, we are nothing but dirt and dust.

Kant in his most famous essay talks about Enlightenment. If you’d read it, you’d laugh at the sorry ass of Musharraf who has come to be notorious for raising the slogans of Moderation and Enlightenment. Well, in a very crude and common man’s manner, he’s a man who came to city with rural thoughts. Kant, on the other hand says,

Enlightenment is man’s leaving his self-caused immaturity. Immaturity is the incapacity to use one’s intelligence without the guidance of another… Through laziness and cowardice a large part of mankind, even after nature has freed them from alien guidance, gladly remain immature. It is because of laziness and cowardice that it is so easy for others to usurp the role of guardians. It is so comfortable to be a minor! If I have a book which provides meaning for me, a pastor who has conscience for me, a doctor who will judge my diet for me and so on, then I do not need to exert myself. I do not have any need to think; if I can pay, others will take over the tedious job for me. The guardians who have kindly undertaken the supervision will see to it that by far the largest part of mankind, including the entire ‘beautiful sex,’ should consider the step into maturity, not only as difficult but as very dangerous.”

Yes, bad things can happen, yes security and safety will be at a risk if you raised your voice, if you proclaimed yourself be free but no risk and no danger is greater than the risk and danger of falling into oblivion, of being forgotten as a weakling on whom the humanity felt sorry. There’s no danger and no wound greater than the wounded pride and lost dignity. If there ever was, it should have been invented by now

While many people within Karachi, within Pakistan and outside are still contemplating who is responsible for 12 May Karachi Massacre. It is becoming a fruitless exercise in which we have all so favorably determined to put ourselves in. I ask them, every one of them:
How is it so difficult to understand that the safety, peace and freedom of EVERY ONE is an alienable right of every individual. While many Karachiites sadly harbor the notions of leaving them aside so the fear of confronting their deepest fears should not re-surface again. I ask them, how a simple issue of Violence and Human Life be so fervently dragged into the so-called discussions of political acumen and intellectual analysis of who conspired against who and who didn’t?

Is the answer to “who conspired” or “who started violence first” and “why did Chief Justice came to Karachi” missed the truth altogether or is it our greatly consuming fear of being victim of the same violence by the same hands and eventual civil anarchy and a war that has allowed our great intellectual minds to heap symbolism upon a simple issue that never asked or called for an explanation and justification of human life, liberty and dignity.

Former vice-president, John Calhoun wrote an article, Keen Mind of South” in which he proclaimed that the natural state of human life is slavery to which then ex-president John Quincy Adams replied in these resounding words:

Now, gentlemen, I must say I differ with the keen minds of the South, and with our president, who apparently shares their views, offering that the natural state of mankind is instead — and I know this is a controversial idea — is freedom. Is freedom. And the proof is the length to which a man, woman, or child will go to regain it, once taken. He will break loose his chains, He will decimate his enemies. He will try and try and try against all odds, against all prejudices, to get home.

Following the same words and ideology of what John Quincy Adams said in 1841 that if we have become so complacent, so gullible and socio-paths that our lives and our fears are of the understanding that let the violence and killing happen as long as its not us, then what do we do with Islam on which this country of Pakistan exist? What do we do with the colleges and universities who try to betray us by instilling the thoughts of “Knowledge is Power” and so on. What more disgrace and insult are we waiting for before we wake up from the slumbre?

Dignity, Liberty and Integrity of your lives are abstract concepts and ideas and yet they are the most natural concepts and ideas than the biggest scientific inventions and biggest homes and largest malls and so on. Without them, there is no sense of purpose and meaning in life.

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This is supposed to be precursor to my longer post on the idea of “how I became web designer and how I came to love it”. It has to be short and contain the hints of what’s to come.

Someone said somewhere:

Not long ago my youngest son told me “I’ll do anything for money!”

“OK, ” I said “I’ll give you 20 kroner ($4) to pick up the dog poo in the garden.”

“Yuck!!” the kid said, “there’s no way I’m taking a sh*t job like that!”

Kids today - there’s no way they’ll grow up and work jobs that don’t make them happy. That’s why companies today need to shape up and become great workplaces - or they’ll only ever be able to hire old, crotchety types who accept the idea of spending their days in unpleasant or just mediocre workplaces. I’m telling ya - the future belongs to the happy!

Why growth no longer makes us happier. “The formula for human well-being used to be simple: Make money, get happy. So why is the old axiom suddenly turning on us?”

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