Lahore-ing the streets

Hello and greetings from smoggy Lahore!

If you read my previous blog entry, you’ll be happy to hear that I have finally arrived in a place that I’m actually quite content to call “home” for the next year.

Since the last entry I have been killing time in Islamabad waiting for VSO to arrange a new placement for me, an experience that yoyo-ed between the utterly tedious and the downright surreal. Sitting, staring, sleeping, scab-picking and going to Macdonald’s feature among the low-lights from last week whilst the stranger events range from intervening in the treatment of a mentally ill VSO volunteer, to playing pool with unnerving ex-pat characters at the UN club and shortly afterwards, having to fend off a very touching but nonetheless unrequited marriage proposal from a determined Pakistani suitor (yes, really). Pictures of that week are here.

I’m writing this from my lovely new habitat in the Lahore Airforce colony which I share with Mary one of the volunteers I arrived with and a very good housemate indeed. I arrived here on Friday evening at around 6pm and by 7 I was out the door with Mary and her colleague Rashid being shown the sights of Lahore including Liberty market which is like heaven for magpies like me. By that I mean that the shops are stocked high with sparkly shoes and accessories, spangly jewellery, colourful material and trimmings to take to a tailor in the basement and have your outfit made to your very own dimensions.

Having already decided that Lahore is indeed a city after my own heart, Rashid, a self-confessed Shrek look-a-like with a very dry, sarcastic sense of humour, took Mary and me to a pre-wedding party (called a Mehndi). We arrived as part of a procession of women with floral bracelets, the men dancing upfront to the beat of some high-octane drumming. The procession ended in an enormous marquee filled with pink sofas and decorated with flowers and fairy lights (see picture). All of the guests were dressed in their finery whilst Mary and I looked sheepish and dowdy in our smart/casual Salwar Kameez. However, people were still keen to welcome us to the party and there followed lots of eating and dancing to Punjabi techno.

The rest of the weekend brought more fun and frolics with Rashid, his friend Faisal and the other VSO volunteers; Sarah and her new flatmate Canadian Cat and Carmel who had come to visit us from Multan. On Sunday we went to Rothas Fort. I can’t say I learnt anything about the place or the purpose it served but it looked pretty cool and here's a picture. In the evening we went to a famous restaurant called Cocoos on the outskirts of the city which is in the home of an artist whose name escapes me. But if anyone saw the programme about Pakistan that was on during the BBC’s India/Pakistan season, you will have seen him interviewed - he’s the dude who paints the prostitutes.

We sat on the roof terrace which overlooks Bad Shahi Mosque and ate some very fine tikka. If any of you turkeys can spare the time to visit me, I will take you there and show you how amazing it is and not only for the charming company (yes, me). And for those of you who don’t come to visit, here is a picture of the view – it’s nowhere near as good as the real thing, but that serves you right for not wanting to visit me, you bastards.

Needless to say I was pretty bowled over by my introduction to Lahore and I apologise for gushing slightly but I do feel that it balances out the negativity of my previous blog entry quite nicely. You can se pictures of my first weekend in Lahore here

On Monday I started my placement at the AIDS Awareness Society or AAS. Unfortunately it is generally accepted, by the director, volunteers and partners that the pronunciation of the organisation’s name should sound something like “arse”. So I spent most of my first day struggling to maintain a perfectly blank expression in the face of such gems as “so, arse gave birth to two other HIV/AIDS organisations in Lahore…” and, whilst cutting a cake bought in my honour, “Welcome to arse!”. Hector who is the director of AAS and pretty much the only person who works there, wants me to help establish some regular funding. In addition to stressing as to how on earth I’m going to do that with all none of my years of experience in fundraising, I’m also wondering how/when/if I should tell Hector that he really needs to start referring to the NGO as A.A.S. if we’re going to be taken seriously by potential donors, especially the UK-based ones. Eek!

After two days of awkward sitting-doing-nothing, face-composure and thumb-twiddling around the general vicinity of AAS, I decided to go and watch the theatre group volunteers rehearsing their play which is aimed at educating youth on HIV/AIDS issues. Before long I was invited to one volunteer’s sister’s wedding in January and serenaded by another volunteer who, having decided I look a bit like Kate Winslet (hmm), dedicated a rendition of Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from the Titanic movie with an accompaniment on the tablah. If you didn’t know, the tablah is like a double ended drum and it makes a noise like something small and heavy being dropped into deep water. Naturally, it goes without saying that I joined-in on all of the choruses.

So that brings us up-to-date with life in Jo-land and that’s quite enough about me, how are you?

Peshawargggghhhhhhh!

Hello to you,

I write to you on Friday the somethingth (15^th?) of November from our flat in University Town, Peshawar whilst sipping a rather cheeky glass of rehydration salts. I don’t have internet access at present so you won’t be able to read this until I get back to Islamabad and post it which could be as soon as later today or tomorrow. Yes, that’s right, we’re returning to the motherland after only 5 days in Peshawar.

As I mentioned in previous blogs I have never been entirely comfortable with the idea of coming to live in Peshawar. I had heard that:

1) It is a very conservative Islamic area where most of the women are fully covered except for the eyes, if not, in full birka with a little grid/mesh over the eyes, which made me wonder how I would be received as a western girl.

2) It is the birthplace of the Taliban and it is still rumoured in the Western press to harbour many Al Qaeda/Taliban sympathisers among its population and

3) There is a general “Anti-Western” Vibe here, probably partly due to the proximity of Peshawar to the Afghan border and a high number of Afghan refugees in the city.

4) perhaps most worryingly of all it has suffered an increasing number of bomb attacks in the past 6-8 months including one on a CD/DVD market around a month ago for being too “Un-Islamic”.

Perhaps you are wondering why I agreed to come here at all, with such a list of concerns floating around my skull? Let me explain using a similar list format to that used in the above “cons” section.

1) Several emails exchanged inboxes between me, VSO UK and VSO Pakistan all of which reassured/placated me to some extent.

2) The placement with DOST sounded really interesting and challenging.

3) We contacted some ex-volunteers who told us that there was a rather good social life to be had among the ex-pat community here, being as there were several NGOs based here and a place called “The American Club” where one can procure alcohol and pork products.

4) They decided to place Sarah with me which meant that I would have someone to play with and it didn’t seem so scary. Of course I’m not blaming her and I think she would agree that having a partner in crime was appealing to her too and we had already bonded at a previous training weekend.

5) VSO UK had always been firm with us young “Youth for Development” ruffians that they would make us an offer of a placement and if it was turned down “it is unlikely that another placement exists”. Having remained months too long in a soul-destroying job on the belief that I would soon be leaving on an adventure and also being really keen to have my year abroad I decided to accept the offer. I have since learned that it is not necessarily the case that other placements cannot be found but it is probably a time-saving tactic the YfD team use to make sure everyone gets placed without fussing too much. I am still seething at myself for not questioning that and at YfD for not having a disclaimer for those with reasonable concerns relating to security.

So now, I need to explain why we’re leaving Peshawar, as if you didn’t already have a good idea. There’s too much detail for a list so forgive me for proceeding thus…On Tuesday, Lovely Uncle Arif arranged a meeting for us and the security guy for The United Nations in NWFP to calm us down. In fact it set our anxieties into overdrive as he chuckled that we had arrived just as the security situation was deteriorating. Peshawar had sustained 7 blasts in 7 days and that some joker had thrown a small explosive into the aforementioned “American Club”. For me this confirmed my worst fears about the rumours of Anti-Western feelings and that we could possibly fall under the category of potential target. He confirmed that yes, there is a definite Anti-American feeling here and that we, as Westerners, would automatically be seen as American. He also told us that there had been bombings at internet cafes as well as DVD/CD markets.

Further to the bombings, he also mentioned that the deploying of female staff was a risky business in Peshawar and he recommended that we avoid taking public transport. (Perhaps due to the risk of kidnapping?) Also, some NGOs have already withdrawn completely from the area as have DfID (The Development agency of the British Government). However those and the organisations that have stayed in Peshawar would have had a proper base here and many more resources than VSO including satellite phones, transport and security whilst VSO in Peshawar consists of little old me and Sarah!

Whilst ending the meeting on a positive note claiming that he felt we would be fine as long as we followed his security advice, we later realised this effectively meant that we would spend a year doing nothing but going to work each day and coming home again in the Dost minibus. Even this was a risky business given his other suggestion that we try to avoid getting into an obvious routine!

After that VSO suggested we take a “wait and see” approach, see a bit of Peshawar and the Dost foundation. This turned out to be impossible since both Sarah and I fell ill with some sort of stomach bug. Last night, after 2 days of barely eating, we ventured out to find a restaurant to eat at. In a short walk Sarah was groped, several groups of men beckoned us over to them, a rock or something like it was thrown at us hitting Sarah on the arm and many vehicles swerved at us. We didn’t feel safe and still having dicky tummies we decided to take a tuc tuc home after dinner only for the driver to grope Sarah as we got out.

At this point I realised I still wasn't over my illness and as I sat on the hard cold stone floor of our bathroom, vomiting my entire steak dinner into a bucket, the vague, unexplained smell of dogfood in our flat making me feeling yet more nauseous I could hear Sarah on the phone to Phil, the Country Director for VSO Pakistan, explaining exactly why we wished to leave Peshawar as soon as possible. In the two hours since I started writing this, I have learned that we are getting picked up in a couple of hours time by VSO. And on that note, I should go and pack. An indefinite period of time in Islamabad awaits while VSO tries to find us placements elsewhere in the country....

Hello again, I'm back in Islamabad now, in the lovely guest house. My friend who owns the guest house has replaced all the soaps in the bathrooms with "Jo" brand soap in honour of his favourite guest and I feel proud. I have just spoken to Arif and he is very hopeful he can find us something else in Pakistan.

Having re-read what I wrote this morning, I feel bad for perpetuating the negative view of Pakistan and particularly Peshawar that is portrayed in the Western media. At this point I would just like to say that all of the people I have met and spoken to, who hail from that area and indeed all of Pakistan have been nothing but freindly, kind and welcoming and I'm sure this is the case with most of the others. There's always a few who have to ruin it isn't there?

A few mornings ago 5 of us met with the staff and service users of an organisation called New Lite who work in most of the major cities in Pakistan. They work in supporting people living with HIV/AIDS (P.L.W.H.A) and their families and one of the other Youth Volunteers, Cat, will be working with them in Lahore. This short meeting was a very interesting, shocking and inspiring experience for me.

HIV and AIDS supposedly has a very low prevalence in Pakistan but is at high risk due to the stigma and ignorance surrounding the issue. I would also think that stigma and ignorance would contribute to inaccurate statistics but of course, it's difficult to say. We heard from 7 people who are living with HIV and in one case “full blown” AIDS and they spoke of the prejudice they have faced from their families, local communities and even doctors since they have been diagnosed.

Unsurprisingly, the existence of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan is almost impossible for many people here to reconcile with the Islamic principles they are supposed to live by. I have read and heard from ex-pats living here that there is a lot of “keeping up appearances” here in Pakistan. By that I do not mean the T.V. show with Hyacinth Bouquet which has coincidentally just this second started on BBC Prime as I’m writing(!) On the contrary I have been told that extra-marital affairs are quite common. On the whole, it seems that for the women, this is a fact of marriage to be overlooked or tolerated whereas for men, it is seen as a great blow to male pride. In many cases I believe it may be legal/expected for a man or other family member to kill a cheating woman. This is known as an “honour” killing, indicating that it is done in order to preserve the family’s honour.

As was revealed in our meeting this has major implications for when a spouse contracts HIV. One male, married, HIV sufferer told us that his wife (who is HIV negative) has stuck by him throughout his illness and would never contemplate asking her husband how he contracted the virus. He then told us “If it was the other way round, I would not be the same, I am being honest”. Another lady who has worked for the organisation for several years told us how she got into that line of work so she could fight the prejudice her husband had suffered before he died from AIDS. However she had no idea how her husband had got it and seemed certain that, had she been the one with HIV, she would have been disowned or even killed by her husband. It was shocking stuff that seems quite deep-rooted in the culture here.

Today is the last day of our in-country training. We were meant to be going to Peshawar tomorrow but the chap from Dost couldn’t get here to pick us up due to some road blocks that have been put in place to prevent a protest. Now we’re going on Monday with Arif our programme manager who will be babysitting us, like I said before. This last week has gone really fast but I’ve had a really nice time hanging out with the other volunteers, we’ve all been getting along really well and I think I’ll miss them a lot after they all leave tomorrow. On Wednesday night we had a surprise party for a lady called Mary which involved decorating the roof of the guest house with balloons and candles, some booze (naughty!), music from my trusty ipod dock and Sarah with her guitar. I’ve added some more pictures of the party and other stuff like our salwar kameezs arriving to the same place as before…here. I hope you like.

Well done if you made it to the end of this depressing blog entry. Until next time xxx

Islama-quite-good- initial impressions

A Salam a Laikhum! or "Hello" for those of you who haven't had a week of intensive Urdu lessons.

I'm writing from a Guest house in Islamabad where I have been staying for a week now. Where to start? My first impression of Pakistan was only formed on the second day or so, due to the overwhelming tiredness I suffered after spending the entire flight watching movies and American sitcoms instead of sleeping like a sensible person. I would say that impression was something along the lines of "hmm Cannabisy" on account of all the weed growing on the roadside. My impression shortly turned to one of disgust when I realised that I had trodden in goat poo (wearing flip flops) while trying to get a closer look at the plant in question. Don't worry guys, it's all been caught on video and I will be selling it to Jeremy Beadle for £200.

My second impression and one that I feel will become very quickly tedious is the amount the Pakistani people stare at us whiteys. Today we went to visit some of Islamabad's tourist attractions however, for our fellow Pakistani visitors, we were the main attraction! We were swamped by groups of Pakistani ladies who wanted to film us and have their photos taken with us. Up to this point I had only observed the men staring at us with their amazing pale blue/green eyes but they don't ever say anything. These women were acting as though our little group of volunteers were the cast from a Bollywood movie. Of particular interest were Sarah declared to be the cutest of our whole group and Corry, a very tall and blonde dutch lady who can be seen here swamped by admirers.

...I wrote the above on Saturday evening but was rudely interrupted from my intellectual musings by the President and Army Chief of Pakistan declaring "A State of Emergency" in Pakistanland. At the time I wasn't quite sure what that meant and now, two days on, I still have very little understanding of what that means in real terms especially where I am concerned. The only effects I have felt are that most of the news channels have mysteriously gone from my telly and also that VSO have put restrictions on what we can do. As for the rest of the countryfolk, I have even less of an idea; as I said, the independent news channels have been closed down and the international media haven't got much detail to give. However, I will try to keep myself informed from here and I suggest you do too if you're interested.

In terms of my placement in Peshawar, VSO think this shouldn't affect it. Sarah and I have been feeling anxious about the stability of that particular area all along as there have been quite a few bombs there this year, not that I want to frighten anyone. I felt no better about it after the weekend's development and spent most of Sunday's cooking lesson ignoring advice on making chappattis choosing instead to concentrate on working myself up into a state. Having voiced our concerns to VSO, it has been suggested that Sarah and I be accompanied to our placement by the lovely "Uncle" Arif, our Programme Manager who will hold our hands for the first week and then find us an alternative if we really aren't happy.

Apart from all these surreal events other noteworthy happenings include a night tour of Faisal Mosque (see pic) with King, the owner of Guest house, shopping for our Salwaar Kameez (the local dress which involves a tunic over baggy trousers) which we will collect from the tailors tomorrow, meeting lots of friendly and obliging people, and being pursued as a potential life partner by King's brother. eek.

If you want to see more pictures, you can do that here. Thanks for reading and I will try to update you again soon. Kuda hafiz, phir melenge! xxxxx