F O C U S

A dedication to Samjhota victims
Ishtiaq Ahmed

Saturday, the 24th of February 2007 is a very special day for me. It is my 60th birthday today. It is once-in-a-lifetime coincidence that it occurs on the same day my weekly column is to appear in a leading newspaper. My colleagues in the department of political science at Stockholm organised a very fine reception for me. There is, therefore, abundant reason to feel good and fulfilled, but my heart bleeds and cries for the crime committed against the passengers of the fateful train from Delhi to Lahore on midnight, Sunday, February 18, 2007.

The fact that it occurred close to Panipat makes the whole tragedy acquire a personal dimension for me. Only a year earlier I was there and met the venerable Professor Vaid and Mrs Vaid along with my friend Hitesh Gosain. Once upon a time there was a large Muslim presence in Panipat. Professor Vaid took me to visit Mr Ahuja who cried when he learnt that I was from Pakistan. He was a freedom fighter in Sargodha and had been in jail together with Mian Iftikharuddin, whom he considered a great leader and human being. I have travelled a number of times on the route between Delhi and Chandigarh.

Fortunately neither my relatives nor friends were in that train; those who died or were maimed were not all Pakistanis or Muslims though most were; there were Hindus and Sikhs too; and, then, among the Muslims who knows who was a Shia or a Sunni or someone else. So, with whom did I feel special closeness and why? The answer is that I identify with each and every individual who suffered in that outrage, They were targeted and punished because by travelling in that train they were perceived to be supporting the idea of India-Pakistan peace and reconciliation.

The carnage on the Lahore-bound train from Delhi was a highly focused type of terrorism, although it targeted ordinary folk. The name Samjhota Express (reconciliation express) is anathema to all those who believe that God created this world for India and Pakistan and their people to hate each other in perpetuity. By travelling in such a train each individual had given respectability and dignity to the idea of peace and reconciliation and therefore became a legitimate target for liquidation and destruction.

I bet my life that terrorists think and rationalise their outrages through such twisted and pathological reasoning. They are not interested in understanding the motivations of the people who were on that train. I am convinced that some of those killed or hurt had absolutely no motive at all for travelling on that train. The reason is that they were children, some infants, who were there because their parents were on that train.

Now, if we try to understand the motivation of their parents or other adults the reason for being on that train, may have nothing to do with either supporting or opposing the peace and reconciliation process underway between India and Pakistan. Rather the motivation could be as real and human as a desire to meet relatives they had been estranged from one another ever since India was divided in 1947.

In my various visits to India the only consistent plea I have heard from Indian Muslims is that they more than anyone else want samjhota or reconciliation between the two countries because they have divided families on both sides.

To my great regret I find Pakistanis, even highly educated and successful professionals, continuing to raise the bogey of Hindus and Sikhs taking over Pakistan if somehow the two countries were to enter into free trade and free movement of people. Such a mindset I find very disturbing when I realise that President Bush can send his minor official to our country to tell us what to do and not to do, and so can someone from the World Bank of IMF. Two Muslim fundamentalist states have been fighting their proxy wars in Pakistan and thus subverting the peace between Shia and Sunni Pakistanis.

In all such cases the diminution of Pakistani sovereignty and national pride hardly evokes any comment. Mention peace and reconciliation between India and Pakistan and the reactions become irrationally suspect and hostile.

There is no doubt that identical thinking prevails among sections of Hindus who panic at the idea of reconciliation, peace and friendship between India and Pakistan. The more extreme among them would rather that each and every Muslim was pushed across the border into Pakistan. One does not have to refer only to those who carried out the carnage in Gujarat. There are softer and sophisticated versions of Muslim-hating and Pakistan-bashing. As a column-writer I am used to receiving nasty emails from all sorts of religious fanatics and self-righteous Hindus.

Under the circumstances, the road to peace -- genuine samjhota -- is going to be a long and tortuous one. It is most encouraging that the Indian and Pakistani governments remain firm in their resolve to solve all their disputes peacefully and amicably and the latest act of terrorism will not deter them from the path of peace because it is morally the only right path to follow.

I am convinced that the vast silent majority in both India and Pakistan is not against peace and reconciliation. They probably have no opinion on this matter because their views don't really matter. But they need to be mobilised in favour of peace and the best way to achieve that is to give them sound and enlightened education.

I do not want to speculate who could be behind the Samjhota Express bombing because the list of suspect organisations is too long. All I know is that terrorists target the most vulnerable, and these are the common people you find in streets and shops and railway trains.

I think the two governments can turn the tide on the terrorists by cooperating in the search of the killers. Not only those who planted the bombs that burnt so many human beings to cinders, but their mentors and ideologues should be traced, apprehended and punished severely according the laws that exist for such heinous crimes. They should also be brought face to face with the survivors and the families of those who died so that whatever punishment they get they realise they deserve it fully. The victims of the Samjhota Express terrorist outrage should never be forgotten.

[The writer is an associate professor at the department of political science at Stockholm University in Sweden. Email: ishtiaq.ahmed@statsvet.su.se

courtesy http://www.thenews.com.pk/news.asp?cat_id=9]

BACK

Immigrants in the Land of Honey and Milk
Gobind Thukral writes from San Francisco and Vancouver

FOR Indians, particularly from the land of Punjab, both east and west, Canada is the land of their dreams.  Youngman and young women in many respects would do anything as their guardians to travel seven seas to reach this dreamland.  They would spend millions and even cheat the immigration to cross over to be where there is great wealth. Some enter into fake marriages or hide in containers to reach these dream shores. And, some even encounter tragic events. Unmindful of expenses, pain and hard life, for Asians North America along with Europe is the destination of even those who could do well back in the land of birth.

As immigrants including those who are second or third generation recount their encounters, happy or sad, they tell their exploits too.  For those with little education and lacking skills, menial jobs are okay. They know the hard struggle they have to face and wealth they have to create to be something back home. Some like Gumeet Singh, a young driver who drives heavy trucks on highway from California to Toronto non- stop for days, family obligations are to be honourd. Sisters to be married and brothers to be settled, “My father sold two acres near Malerkotla paid ten lakh rupees to send me here. I have to work as hard as I can to do my part”, he pronounced in a matter of fact way as he climbed into his cabinet with his buddy. But how about those educated: doctors, engineers and other professionals. Many of them see their dreams go sour.

It is indeed strange in a country like Canada where immigrants have not only added huge wealth, but brought in great cultural legacy and professional skills, they should be treated shabbily. While there is no denying that Punjabis have a disproportionate share in public life as politicians at all levels, yet the suffering which they undergo all the time is at times heroic but mostly tragic.  And, there is an endless debate across the political spectrum about adjusting immigrants, assimilating new cultures and making full use of the skills. They positive contribution of immigrants is well recogonised and research at various universities support, but racial discrimination is well written on the face of North America. It smears the face as it wastes rich human talent and bleeds people.

Studies have shown that the underutilization of immigrant skills in Canada represents an earning deficit of billions of dollars. The 2006 federal budget allocated $18 million for consultation on the creation of a foreign credentials recognition programme.  Yet nothing has really happened.

Among the major political parties New Democratic Party [NDP] and some extent Liberals share the suffering and support justice to immigrants, Conservatives by their political nature are less obliged to be helpful. A recent debate clearly points this out. As Canada celebrates the 60th anniversary of Canadian citizenship, Stephen Harper and his Conservative government continue to treat immigrants and new Canadians as second-class citizens.  They are certainly failing the immigrant communities by not allowing them to reach their full potential in Canada. “We have enriched Canada in many respects; not only economically and culturally, but political also. We are p[participation in public welfare is unmatched, so why any discrimination?”, two popular NDP  members of British Columbia assembly, Harry Bains and Raj Chuahan question.

NPD has come open to voice his concerns. With personal testimonials from immigrants about their struggles in finding employment in their field, NDP Leader Jack Layton outlined the need for the government to recognize foreign credentials and overseas employment experience. Last year, the government had promised to create an agency to assess and recognize foreign credentials and earmarked $307 million over the next two years to improve settlement programs. However, nine months have passed and no progress has been made and no action has been taken to improve the situation for new immigrants.

 The NDP proposal is based on years of consultation and working with immigrant-serving agencies and new Canadians. The proposal includes the creation of an agency with an internet portal and a toll free line where potential immigrants could access information on assessment criteria, education and licensing bodies and recognition processes. This information and pre-assessment would be made available at orientation sessions at international visa offices so potential immigrants can get assessment and accreditation prior to their arrival to Canada.

Other NDP recommendations include coordinating information and processes with various professional bodies and provincial accreditation offices to ensure a uniform recognition process throughout the country; and the establishment of reciprocity agreements so immigrants arrive in Canada ready to work.” Canada’s failure to recognize the credentials of qualified, skilled and professional foreign-trained immigrants in the workplace is widening the prosperity gap for new Canadians,” said Layton. “New immigrants contribute to the country by providing essential services, yet they continue to be discriminated against and forced to accept low-paying jobs. This is unfair to them as they are hardworking Canadians trying to provide a better quality of life for their family.”

The tragic fact is that Canadian government lures people to come here. It recognizes their value and gives them points for their experience, and their professional credentials. "They tell their families that Canada wants us as doctors, accountants, engineers, experts...they come here and the doors are simply closed." "It's one of the great tragedies we see in all of our immigrant communities," Layton said and urged the government to come clean on the issue. The New Democrats are also pressing the government to address the discrepancies between the immigration application process and the recognition of immigrants' credentials in Canada. Immigrants hoping to relocate to this country are ranked and given points according to their skills and professional background. But those skills and professions often go unrecognized when they arrive here.

But what does the government say. Federal Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Diane Finley said "Canada's new government, through Citizenship and Immigration Canada and Human Resources and Social Development Canada, is committed to establishing an office that will help qualified foreign-trained professionals become accredited so they can practice in their chosen fields in Canada." Empty words. Look at one such newcomer who was given additional points on her immigration application because of her masters’ degree in pharmacy was Mozgha Nuviue, who came from Iran nine months ago. "During these nine months, I looked for a job related to my field, but I wasn't able to find one. So, I took a job as a cashier at a grocery store." "But I really need to find the right job, because I am an educated person and I came to this country with hope," she says woefully. There are many more in similar situation.

Now at top there is a proposal to deny dual citizenship guaranteed in 1977. Immigration is politically correct for Canada and her role in the world. Revoking dual citizenship would hurt the country, be a major blow to many Canadian citizens, decrease mobility, make international travel more difficult, hurt tourism and immigration, and impact negatively on trade and Canada’s international relationships. Dual citizenship is a distinct advantage, not just for individuals but for the country.

BACK