get a stupid answer.
Today, on the internet, I got asked why there wasn’t some Muslim fundraising event where we raised a bounty to catch bin Laden.
Sigh.
Most Muslims I know can’t top the bajillion or so dollars that are already on bin Laden’s head. Most Muslims I know are just trying to make ends meet.
I’ve also been asked in the past what I have personally done to fight terrorism.
And whether I’ve turned over any terrorists.
Just to set the record straight, I come from a middle-class Pakistani family that immigrated to Canada in 1965. All my immediate uncles and aunts have come over too.
I have no immediate family left in Pakistan.
If I knew a terrorist I’d turn them over.
I know more about Canadian politics (boo–hiss Harper!!!) than I do about Pakistani politics.
I am saddened by the chaos and bloodshed that is going on there, but I’m equally saddened by the suffering in Haiti, in Darfur,in Gaza, in Afghanistan, in the native reservations right here in Canada.
To me suffering is suffering.
I went to a school the other day to do my presentation on my book The Roses in My Carpets and I always end with an appeal to help fund libraries in Afghanistan.
The literacy rate there is miniscule. I really do believe that education is the answer (after we feed them and secure their safety–people can’t concentrate when they’re hungry or scared).
One kid in the audience asked me what I was doing to help Haiti.
It was a very good question, and a little embarrassing to admit that I’m not doing much. I’ve been continuing with my efforts in Afghanistan.
The way I work is that I don’t jump on bandwagons much. And right now it seems to me that Haiti is getting a lot of help. And boy do they need it!
As long as other people are helping loads, then I’ll continue with my own project.
You can’t forget other places that need help just because a catastrophe comes along. At least that’s the way I feel.
If and when things get better there, then I’ll move on, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen for a while yet.
Sigh.
4 Responses
seeker of knowledge
19|Feb|2010 1Bounty on Bin Laden? Please! sigh x 100.
I am at a loss of words. I typed several things and then erased what I would say so that I do not sound politically incorrect. From the mouth of babes perhaps understandable, but still needing lots of education for both the children and the parents.
Rukhsana Khan
19|Feb|2010 2Hi Seeker,
I have to agree.
But she was no babe. She was a mother of three.
I forgot to mention though, what my response to the question was.
I told her, “Yah sure! We had a huge event. We called “Laying down Laden” We took twenty-four million bucks we had nothing better to do with and added the pot to the bounty on his head. Britney Spears showed up and everything.
She sang “Oops I did it again!” to video pics of U.S. drones dropping bombs on Pakistani villages.
It was quite moving.
I even wore my fishnet stockings and feather boa.”
seeker of knowledge
19|Feb|2010 3I love your response! Better than anything I could have ever said…that is why you are the writer.
Rukhsana Khan
19|Feb|2010 4Thank you for the kind words!
I think sometimes tongue-in-cheek humour is way more effective than a straight-laced reply.
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