Story of a Pakistani Scholar

July 27, 2009

PAKISTANI GIRL
Beenish

As I look back at my one remarkable year in the U.S., I realize how wonderful a country the U.S is and how beautiful my country Pakistan is, and though we are very different but we have more similarities. When I received the confirmation of my scholarship which was through Fulbright commission and fully funded by the U.S State department, people in Pakistan warned me about different issues. My elder brother who is in England from past three to four years warned me of racism. He told me that you are a Muslim and also a Pakistani you should be very careful as people have very negative image of us. My aunts told me how I should be careful not only with boys, but also with girls and that I should not involve myself too much with American people as they have no moral values. One of my colleagues at my bank criticized me that I am doing something extremely wrong as the U.S. is our enemy and I should reject my scholarship and become a more patriotic Pakistani. I took some of the warnings seriously, but with all excitement was ready to spend one year of my life in the U.S.

My experience turned out to be much better than I had thought of. I was welcomed in one of the community colleges in upstate NY. We were four students from Pakistan in this program. There were students also from Turkey, Indonesia, South Africa, Egypt and Brazil. We all students lived at the same dorm floor and were studying almost the same subjects. Since we were all on the same program, we all got very close to each other and learned about these countries as much as we learned about the U.S.

We were paid $ 500 each month and all other expenses such as tuition, hostel, and books were paid by the U.S. government. The purpose of this program was to let Americans know about our countries and culture and also learn about American culture. To fulfill this requirement, all students were provided an American host family. Students could live with them if they want. Mentor families were responsible of keeping the students entertained and allowed them to become a part of their family. I had a mentor family too. It was Ann Sullivan, a librarian at my college and her husband Nick, who is a professor at Cornell University. During my stay my mentor was always there for me. On weekends she took me and my other Pakistani room mate for dinners, shopping, and movies and sometimes to her home. I even stayed at her home during my winter vacations. She was very open to learn about Pakistan and Islam. She respected our values and appreciated the way we lived. I almost felt that I have an American mother and father.

Since we were also responsible to share about our country to American people, Ali, a Pakistani student from Skardu and I went to different libraries, schools, Cornell University and even to a children prison to talk about Pakistan. It was an amazing experience. People wanted to know so much about Pakistan. They were amazed to see Ali and me wearing our national dress. They wanted to know about war, Taliban, Al-Queda, how people live in Pakistan, was it safe to live there. It was very satisfying to tell them about our country and clear some of the misconceptions they had. For instance when the staff at the Children prison informed the prisoners that two speakers from Pakistan are coming to give a presentation, they told the staff we don't want any terrorists. It was funny as these were serious criminals who had murdered some one or were drug dealers. When we spoke to them about Pakistan, most of them were surprised. They were shocked to know about our strong family culture and low rate of children criminals. They also appreciated our closeness to religion and respect for elders.

During this year, I also realized the great opportunities that are available in U.S. educational institutes. At my college, I studied from very hardworking professors. The class room environment was very interactive. Students were encouraged to participate in class discussions and students felt comfortable expressing their opinions. Students had the option of choosing subjects that they wanted to study, there were also many opportunities where students could do internships in different countries. College library had a great collection of books, and students could use internet when ever they wanted.

As a part of our program, we were responsible to take a FDR (Freedom, Democracy and Responsibility) class. The purpose of this class was to let students know about American democracy, how America was formed and principles which are the base of American government. We were taken to Boston, as a part of this class. We visited all historic monuments and studied American Revolution as Boston is the city which gave birth to American Revolution against British. In this class we also learned about the civil rights war, the rights of women, and the extra-ordinary efforts of black African Americans to become an equal part of American society. It was an interesting time to be in America, as we saw a black, African American man to be elected as president of the U.S. first time ever in the history of U.S.

I found American society to be extremely tolerant of diversity. This country has people from all over the world and of all religions. I saw many Muslim women covering their heads and working freely without fear of being a target of racist comments. During my stay I traveled to may places in the U.S. and met many American people and no one judged me because I was a Pakistani or a Muslim. There are problems but they are because of our governments and not people. American people like us don't want war and killing of innocent people. My perception of U.S society has changed. I wish both Americans and Pakistani's could experience what I did. We need more such programs where young people can learn on their own and not form assumptions based on what is taught to us.

Beenish Javed
Pakistan

Source: http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090727/LIFE/907270390/1124/PAKISTANI+GIRL