My Indian family of friends
“My first visit to India in 2006 was an eye opening experience. Having grown up in Pakistan and read history books, all sorts of questions popped in my mind – until the day I visited the land of my ancestors. That day I said to myself, “These Indians don’t seem as bad as I had thought”. Suddenly, I had answers to the questions that had been nagging me for so long. I understood how political animosity had sidelined our common social facets. All those things that brought us closer together pushed aside, replaced by a gratuitous mess. Tanks, guns and bombs overshadowed the music, films and cricket we enjoy. We can bring this back by ‘Romancing the Border’.
As a homesick student in London, the first empathy and motivating words that made me cheer up came from my Indian friends, whom I met randomly on a bench on campus. It seemed like I had known them for a long time. In no time we all sat there talking and laughing like childhood buddies. This experience left thought-provoking ideas in my mind. There was something that made us get along together. I realised that it was because we shared the same way of thinking and warmth for each other. It seemed like I had found a family of friends in London. Its awesome to be around with them relating to each other, cheering over India-Pakistan cricket, fancying Bollywood actors, chanting to Pakistani music.
I believe in Romancing the Border because it is ‘us’ who can make the difference. Our political leaders might not want to reduce these tensions anytime soon but I believe that the people living in these countries can achieve this difficult task with more ease and less time through more social and cultural interaction. Let’s give peace a chance and let the dove of peace fly free in our part of the world.
Rahema Hasan,
Lahore, Pakistan”
Become a Peace Maker today!
To participate in ‘Testimonials’, a collaboration between Aman ki Asha and Romancing The Border, please email your views on India-Pakistan peace (a brief write-up, including your location), and a nice picture to:
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