Surprised by her beauty
It was 4 am as I walked outside of Alama Iqbal International Airport. When the doors opened I felt the heat and I looked into a couple of hundred dark eyes; men and women wearing the traditional colourful shalwar kameez. And as I shook hands with Tayyab, one of the guys from AIESEC Lahore, I knew it; this is the start of a unique experience, the start of my summer in Pakistan.
Let’s start at the beginning; why Pakistan? It is not the first country one would think of. That was exactly the reason why I chose to go to this country. The media creates a negative image of this country. If you are reading an article or watching a TV-programme about Pakistan, most of the time it is about negative topics such as terrorism, war, bomb attacks, the oppression of women. ‘The country must have more to offer than that’, I was thinking. Every country has its beauty, I was ready to discover Pakistan’s. The learning programme, arranged by the board of the Nour Project, provided me the right preparation for the journey.
The first important thing was to leave my legacy; try not to use my Dutch background, be open-minded and accept the fact that this is a different country. I spent the first four weeks travelling around, visiting cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Rawalpindi. I noticed that the Pakistanis were really hospitable; it looked like they were honoured that I took the time to visit their country and not to focus on all the negative attention in the media. A lot of people wanted to take a picture with me, during that moment they convinced me that not all
Pakistanis were terrorists. I told them that it was my mission to spread the positive word about Pakistan in the Netherlands.
After the weeks of travelling, my internship started. I was going to teach English at a private school in Gujranwala, a city close to Lahore. I taught the English Spoken Course at the Bibi ‘n Babaschool; four weeks from Monday to Saturday, nine classes a day, boys, girls and teachers. These four weeks showed me the other side of Pakistan; the future. Looking at these children I saw a lot of motivation to change their country, especially among the girls. The school really tries to stimulate them to go to the university and to become financially independent. However, the quality of education in Pakistan is still insufficient. The Pakistani government should invest in education, because this is the key to a better future. For me, it was an honour to teach the key holders of the future. Their motivation and will to change their country inspired me and opened my eyes; let’s hope that these kids can chase their dreams and that there is a bright future ahead for Pakistan.
The mixture of travelling, working and living made this experience not just a physical journey, but also a mental journey. I really had to leave my legacy, I had to forget the fact that I was a white man from Holland. This journey was an eye-opener, I learned to switch from perspective. Looking to the Western world from a Pakistani perspective, makes you think different about our habits and values. The opportunity to spend two months in Pakistan was unique and mind-blowing; I met a lot of Pakistanis, met a lot of new friends. I would
recommend everyone to visit Pakistan; so leave your legacy, open your mind and dare to
share!
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