My view on Karachi Society...

For me, Karachi has always been a fragmented arena of lost opportunity
and potential. A large cesspool of decaying talents and abilities that
no one
put to any good use. The sheer quantity of human population brimming
over the sides of the chipped mug we call Society is as vast and
various as the
word 'multi-cultural' can suggest. The sense of regret and sadness we
all feel when cruising along its sight remains as a collective apathy
that does nothing
to fuel the machine for its repair. Indeed, the most acceptable
behaviour seems to be that of cursing its fate and expressing much
lament against the way things
have been working for the last few decades. People are too comfortable
and set in their ways to get up and generate the effort to speak out
or revolt. Most of the
population seems resigned with just 'getting by' and living on the
borderlines of stagnant existence.
Like I spoke in class earlier, the fragmentation I view is widespread
in this Society. Everyone has their pre-set roles and guidelines laid
out for them and most follow
in its limitations. One group of people are of the low income strata
and so they must belong here *sets out lines on a map* and they shop
from here, and work here,
and get their entertainment here. Many scribbles on the map later, the
appropriate route for their existence is complete. The same goes for
the working class of various income
groups, middle, upper-middle, upper class, and elite groups. The map
of Karachi and its society is broken up and everyone is happy. The
haves with all their
wealth to spend get the better shops and cafes to eat from and the
have-nots must be satisfied with the dhabbas, ration shops and
yesterdays leftovers warmed up for
todays dinner.
Although I must admit that though my view of Karachi's society is
largely negative it pains me to accept that that is my real
perspective on things. Of course one see's good
things and is aware of the kind hearted and good souls out there. But
it is always the larger portion that attention is drawn to.
And this larger portion of the vices eating the society up are
ignorance and intolerance of doing or behaving out of the norm. Being
a majorly Islamic and muslim state
which consists of uneducated peoples makes the society a volatile and
emotionally driven one. Law is over ridden as people take justice into
their own hands to take part
in a violent protest to protest some violence that took place earlier.
It doesnt make any sense and the impulsivity and lawlessness that
occurs on a regular basis creates
a sense of mass desensitization to death and disaster.
And a society of people who are unmoved by thanatos is indeed a scary place

Onaiza Qureshi