Neighbours. Music. Terrorism. Travel. Hatred. Beautiful. Kashmir. Fight. Brothers. War.
I asked people what comes to their mind when they think about Pakistan and this is what they had to say. While some answers made me smile, others left me sad. India and Pakistan rivalry dates back to history, but come to think of it, are we any different than our friends on the other side of the border? Pakistan is an amazing country with beautiful people. Sure it has some flaws, but which country doesn’t?
Brandon Stanton from Humans Of New York went to Pakistan and captured people and their stories like they’ve never been heard before. These heartwarming pictures clicked by him will make you want to visit Pakistan rightaway.
1. The mothers across the border worry about their kids coming back home safely just like the mothers on this side of the border.
“I’m forty years old, and she still can’t fall asleep unless I’m home safe at night.”
2. The kids there are as mischievous as their friends in India.
“What are you doing?” “Nothing.”
3. “My grandfather was a laborer, but he paid to send my father to a tutor so that he could learn to read. Today, I’m studying political science at the local university. I want to be a teacher.”
“Education changed the lives of my entire family. Before education, we knew only how to work. It was always very quiet in our home. My grandfather was a laborer, but he paid to send my father to a tutor so that he could learn to read. He told my father that, if nothing else, he should begin by learning how to read and write his name. When I was born, my father taught me how to read. I started with local newspapers. I learned that our village was part of a country. Then I moved on to books. And I learned that there was an entire world around this mountain. I learned about human rights. Now I’m studying political science at the local university. I want to be a teacher.”
4. “They didn’t think I was a suitable match. They were a higher class of people. I told them I work. Why am I not good enough?’ But I was never given an answer.”
“I admired her from afar for a while, and eventually summed up the courage to tell her my feelings. She told me that she felt the same way. This was before cell phones, so at first our meetings were limited to random interactions on the street. But then we both got mobiles and started talking on the phone. Eventually she told me that she wanted to marry me. I sent my mother to ask her family for permission, but they didn’t think I was a suitable match. They were a higher class of people. They were educated. Her father was a business owner. I tried to plead with them: ‘I’m not paralyzed,’ I told them. ‘I work. Why am I not good enough?’ But I was never given an answer.”
5. “One night my father organized an entire musical. We couldn’t afford instruments so we pretended that we had them. Every one in the family had a role. I was the star!”
“My father passed away a year before I got married. I wish he could have lived to see me start my own family. After God, he was my god. There was no infrastructure here when I was growing up, so we lived through very hard times and often there was no food. But he’d do whatever he could to make us forget. One night he organized an entire musical. We couldn’t afford instruments so we pretended that we had them. Every one in the family had a role. I was the star.”
6. “I study in the States but never feel completely at ease because I feel that everything I do reflects on my family, my religion, and my country.”
“I’m studying overseas at a small college in Minnesota. I’m just home for the summer. There’s definitely more outward freedom in the states to wear what I want and do what I want. But I never feel completely at ease because there are only three Pakistanis at my school, and I feel that everything I do reflects on my family, my religion, and my country. I feel pressured to always be exceedingly polite and well behaved, even when I don’t feel like it. But in Pakistan I can relax more, even though the electricity sometimes goes out and I’ve already been mugged twice since I’ve been back. Because here I feel like my actions only reflect on me.”
7. “We lost their mother to a heart attack recently. And their father is overseas trying to find a job. So I’m currently Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, and Dad.”
“We lost their mother to a heart attack recently. And their father is overseas trying to find a job. So I’m currently Grandpa, Grandma, Mom, and Dad. Luckily I have five children and eighteen grandchildren, so I’m very experienced. There’s actually one more child at home—he’s eight years old. And none of them can fall asleep unless they are lying next to me. So I have to put the oldest one to sleep first. Then I get up quietly, and lie down between the other two. The only problem is sometimes they fall asleep on top of me.”
8. “I was born paralyzed. But this community is so tolerant that I never had to worry about fitting in. Everyone treated me as normal. I got everything my older brother got, including punishment.”
“I was born paralyzed from the waist down. But this community is so tolerant that I never had to worry about fitting in. I only had to focus on improving myself. Everyone treated me as normal. I got everything my older brother got, including punishment. I never once escaped a spanking. I dove off cliffs. I swam. I played cricket and badminton. I climbed trees. The only thing my family told me not to do was play music, because they thought it would distract me from my studies. But eventually I got so good, they couldn’t even tell me to stop that.”
9. “I f he ever notices me walking down the road, there’s always hot tea and apricot cake waiting when I arrive.”
“He’s a very respectful husband. He’s different from a lot of the men in this region. He never stops me from voicing my opinions. And if he ever notices me walking down the road, there’s always hot tea and apricot cake waiting when I arrive.”
10. “I can’t leave this land because it’s all I have. There is no happiness or sadness in my life. Only survival.”
“My life is on repeat, every day. This area is surrounded by water, but my village has no access, so every morning I make a two-hour trek to the glacier so we have something to drink. During the day I work to maintain this road. I get $100 a month. In the winter, I make daily trips to cut wood so we can stay warm. I can’t leave this land because it’s all I have. There is no happiness or sadness in my life. Only survival.”
11. ” I just found out we’ve been evicted. I’ll handle it. I’ve been through worse.”
“I just found out we’ve been evicted. Right after you leave, I’m going to start packing up. I’ve got to find my family a new place to live by tonight. The landlady is a good woman. She’s just in a tough situation. Her disabled son lost his home. I’ll handle it. I’ve been through worse.”
12. “When I’m bored, I call up Radio Pakistan and request a song, then I start dancing.”
“When I’m bored, I call up Radio Pakistan and request a song, then I start dancing. I’ll even dance on a rainy day. It’s my way of expressing how grateful I am. I am the happiest man in Pakistan.”
13. “I had a dream when I was deciding whether or not to marry him. I was falling through the air, but I didn’t feel any fear, because I knew that he would catch me.”
“When I was working on my doctorate, I discovered on the last day that my thesis was ten pages short, and he left his own office to run whatever errands I needed. He didn’t even have a car. He took a rickshaw. I had a dream when I was deciding whether or not to marry him. I was falling through the air, but I didn’t feel any fear, because I knew that he would catch me.”
14. If only like goats, humans were humans too.
“What’s your goat’s name?””Goat.”
15. ” When you’re in a tough fight for a common cause, you can’t afford to be choosy about where the best ideas are coming from.”
“One beautiful thing about advocating for the poor is that feminist ideals are advanced naturally. In order to fight eviction from their homes, women who patriarchy has kept secluded have been allowed to emerge into public life. Their husbands have been forced to choose their homes over their idea of honor. Even within my organization, the patriarchy is being broken down. Energetic young females are beginning to share influence with older male members. When you’re in a tough fight for a common cause, you can’t afford to be choosy about where the best ideas are coming from.”
16. “Just don’t be afraid. Or you’ll drown.”
“The most important thing about swimming is to not be afraid.””What advice do you have for people who are afraid?””Just don’t be afraid. Or you’ll drown.”
17. “The best part about being a chef is that you can make your own dessert!”
“I want to be a chef.””What’s the best part about being a chef?””You can make your own dessert.”
18. “But then the winter came. And eventually the cold grew stronger than the guilt.”
“I grew up in the village behind me. It’s very beautiful here but there are few opportunities. Whenever I think about my children’s prospects, I grow sad. I have nothing to provide for them so they’ll probably end up like me, taking whatever work they can just to survive. My parents died when I was ten. I went to live with my aunt and my uncle. They never gave me grief. They never made me feel bad. But they were also poor, and every time we sat down to eat, I felt like I was stealing from their family. The guilt grew so bad that when I turned 15, I tried to build a shed for myself. I lived there for about six months. But then the winter came. And eventually the cold grew stronger than the guilt.”
19. Brothers there are as fond of their sisters as the ones in India.
“What’s your favorite thing about your sister?””Her happiness.”
20. “I grew up thinking that the entire world was like our valley. Then I saw a boy eating at a restaurant with his father. He was wearing a school uniform and was my age. I broke down in tears.”
“There were no paved roads here when I was a boy. We had to walk for 3 days to get to places that only take 2 hours now. There was never any money for school. We had no wealth or property. Beginning at six years old, I cleaned dishes at a restaurant until 9 pm. Then I would go to sleep and start again. All my money went to my parents. I’d hear stories about cities and airplanes, but they seemed like fairy tales. I’d dream of visiting these places, but before I could get too far, I’d be hungry again. So I grew up thinking that the entire world was like our valley. I thought all children lived like me. Then one day when I turned 16, I had the opportunity to visit to the city of Gilgit. I couldn’t believe it. I saw a boy eating at a restaurant with his father. He was my age. He was wearing a school uniform. I broke down in tears.”