I am a patriot. Through and through. I get very emotional when 14th August nears and i see Pakistani flags flying high and bright from rooftops. I listen to patriotic songs and watch Jinnah every year. I even say i would die for my country. Die for a country run by who? Die for just a piece of land? Die for the ideology that was or the country that is?
These are the questions that haunt me when I lay awake at night after watching the local news. To be sure, when Jinnah fought tirelessly for a separate state for the Muslims, he did not have this Pakistan in mind. What is Pakistan? What are Pakistanis known as in the world? We are just a small, poor country with corruption and terrorism as two of our most famous attributes. No one cares about the 'real' Pakistan. When people hear the name Pakistan, the first thing they think is terrorists. Everyone forgets our beautiful geography, our rich culture, our delicious and mouthwatering food, our artists, our true identity. Is this fair? Not to us, it's not. By us I mean, the youth of Pakistan. When it is finally our turn to shine bright in the world and put our mark on it, we have already been branded as something we are not.
The problem is not just how we are looked at by other countries but how we are treated by our own people. Whenever I speak up during a heated political or social debate and give an opinion I think would help improve our situation, I am either laughed at because 'Pakistan is beyond repair' or I am very arrogantly told that 'I would not understand these matters because I am nothing but a child'. Aside from being extremely embarrassing, it is also very frustrating.
GIVE US A CHANCE.
If there is one thing that the Pakistani youth has in common, it is our loyalty and passion that we feel for our country. It is our unity that we should be proud of. We should use it to be better. Become one of the strongest nations.
'Ask not what your country gave you, but what you gave your country'. Pakistan has never asked much of us, maybe it's time we put down the guns and put aside our differences and do something for her good and her prosperity. Maybe it's time to try something new and someone new. Maybe it's time to let the youth take charge and show the world that there is still hope for us, there is still hope for Pakistan.
Just give us a chance.
These are the questions that haunt me when I lay awake at night after watching the local news. To be sure, when Jinnah fought tirelessly for a separate state for the Muslims, he did not have this Pakistan in mind. What is Pakistan? What are Pakistanis known as in the world? We are just a small, poor country with corruption and terrorism as two of our most famous attributes. No one cares about the 'real' Pakistan. When people hear the name Pakistan, the first thing they think is terrorists. Everyone forgets our beautiful geography, our rich culture, our delicious and mouthwatering food, our artists, our true identity. Is this fair? Not to us, it's not. By us I mean, the youth of Pakistan. When it is finally our turn to shine bright in the world and put our mark on it, we have already been branded as something we are not.
The problem is not just how we are looked at by other countries but how we are treated by our own people. Whenever I speak up during a heated political or social debate and give an opinion I think would help improve our situation, I am either laughed at because 'Pakistan is beyond repair' or I am very arrogantly told that 'I would not understand these matters because I am nothing but a child'. Aside from being extremely embarrassing, it is also very frustrating.
GIVE US A CHANCE.
If there is one thing that the Pakistani youth has in common, it is our loyalty and passion that we feel for our country. It is our unity that we should be proud of. We should use it to be better. Become one of the strongest nations.
'Ask not what your country gave you, but what you gave your country'. Pakistan has never asked much of us, maybe it's time we put down the guns and put aside our differences and do something for her good and her prosperity. Maybe it's time to try something new and someone new. Maybe it's time to let the youth take charge and show the world that there is still hope for us, there is still hope for Pakistan.
Just give us a chance.
