Getting the ball rolling

There are some things that have become associated with Balochistan of late; most of them unpleasant. Quetta, the capital of Balochistan, even with its wide open spaces and tough terrain was once regarded as a melting pot of different ethnicities, cultures, and religions. Other images that the name ‘Quetta’ conjured up were a laid back lifestyle, hospitable people, apple orchards, and bustling market places famed for their selection of nuts and dried fruit. In the summers Quetta also served as a base for families vacationing in the not-too-far hill-top resort, Ziarat.

Sadly, a few of the things that come to mind nowadays when one hears ‘Quetta’ are ethnic and religious divisions, organised violence, acts of terror, and mysterious abductions. Not too surprisingly the general consensus for visiting Quetta is: avoid if possible. But closing one’s eyes does not make a problem go away. Some people are relocating from Quetta but most people will stay – regardless to the extent the situation deteriorates to. These persons of different ethnicities and subscribing to different faiths have lived in the same city for generations and will hopefully find a way to live together in harmony for many, many years to come.

Empathy is the essential ingredient for – not merely existing in the same place peacefully – but more importantly to help members of different communities understand one another better and to form relationships with one another. It is hard to empathize in dangerous and unstable times, but this is when it is needed the most. This point was brought home by a group of young people from the city who celebrated diversity and harmony through sports.

Shanti Nagar is an area of Quetta which has been historically inhabited by the Hindu population of the city. A stream and a watering station divide Shanti Nagar from the nearest Muslim settlement. Both communities have had an arrangement for years by which they share the watering station to replenish their water supplies. Tension existed though because of the waste disposed off into the stream. Since the Muslim area is located downstream, most of the trash found its way there.

With time as the levels of pollution in the stream rose tensions turned into a debate, followed by accusations and finger pointing when no mutually acceptable solution could be agreed upon. The standoff reached the tipping point when the elders of the Muslim jirga – a traditional tribal council whose decision is considered unquestionable – hinted at blocking off access to the stream and the watering area.

The solution to the looming crisis came from a group of young people in the most unexpected form. It is not uncommon for young people from both communities – young and old to form friendships. A group of friends comprising both Muslims and Hindus had also attended an Active Citizens training together. They grasped this as the ideal situation to put their training to the test. They put their heads together to come up with a way to encourage constructive dialogue in a friendly atmosphere. They reached the conclusion that to encourage members of both communities to start talking again some sort of positive interaction was needed. One such positive form of interaction they decided was sports.

Quickly two teams from both communities were put together to participate in a friendly football match. All arrangements were taken care of by the funds pooled together by the group of young Active Citizens. Community members were invited to attend the match free of cost and the total turnout on the day of the match was approximately 150 people. At the conclusion of the match elders from both communities were honoured, and young people from both teams spoke about the important role that dialogue plays in resolving conflict.

As a direct consequence of the efforts of these young people influencers from both communities resolved to clean up the stream and to help finance the building of a proper drainage facility. Within two weeks the stream was much cleaner and proper drains were built. Proper waste disposal has not been a topic of argument between these two communities since. Several football matches have been played though.

Reflections on peace in Quetta

Quetta is a city of Pakistan that makes the news from time to time. Unfortunately, most of the news is bad. Kidnappings, targeted killings, suicide bombings, and a simmering separatist movement are not anything new to the people of Quetta; they have seen it all.

The largest province by area, Balochistan just by its geographic placement is a very sensitive and critical area of Pakistan: it shares its south-west border with Iran and its western border with Afghanistan. Adding further instability to the region is the different and diverse mix of ethnic groups inhabiting the province.

Last week I found myself in Quetta after a long time on an official trip. The purpose of the trip was to oversee a film shoot for an upcoming Active Citizens documentary. I visited a number of places where our film crew shot footage of ongoing Social Action Projects, but what I would like to write about today are my observations of a few activities organised for the promotion of peace in the city.

Our local partner organization, the College of Youth Activism and Development (CYAAD) helped organise these activities in Mariabad, an area of the city populated by members of the Hazara community. The Hazara people form a minority in Quetta, and of late targeted killings of Hazaras have shook their entire community to the core. Some people term these killings the work of extremist elements; others term it as systematic ethnic cleansing. When I asked people from different areas of Quetta why they thought the Hazara people were being murdered, and by whom, they could not offer a motive either. The fact remains thought that people are being killed in Quetta – Hazara, and members of other ethnic groups as well.

The first part of the day’s activities was a peace walk to the local graveyard from the city centre. A group of young people from all over the city, comprising of various ethnic groups participated in the walk. It was very encouraging to see young adults and children holding up placards and banners with messages of peaceful coexistence printed on them.

It was a brisk winter day with clear, sunny skies – perfect weather to be outside. Reaching the graveyard, the participants of the walk offered prayers for the dead and hung messages of peace written on coloured paper from a tree in the graveyard. We then made our way back to the city where a workshop on conflict resolution was arranged in a vocational and technical institute.
The workshop was headed by Ms. Najeeba Saeed of CYAAD. Najeeba is a well respected resident of the city because of her long association with the development sector. Her main expertise lies in study of conflict and the resolution of conflict.

Najeeba talked about two major groups in any conflict: one which has something to gain from the conflict, and the other group which wants to resolve the conflict.

She went on to say that people who live in one area of Quetta feel that visiting another area of the city is not advisable; this is the wrong way to think. This city belongs to all the residents of Quetta; staying in one particular area and not venturing out of it only divides the community.

Listening to Najeeba talk about divisions within a community, I could not help but think that this concept could easily be extended from a community’s perspective to a larger one: which encapsulates an entire country. In a way we have adopted a similar mind-set of creating our particular safe zones, and in the process we have isolated other areas of the country and the people living in them. Quetta is one such place.

Balochistan’s provincial minister for quality education, Mr. Jan Ali Changezi was also in attendance. When asked to offer a few words on the occasion, he quoted the following excerpt from the speech that legendary Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz delivered in Moscow when he took the stage to receive the Lenin Peace Prize: “I believe that humanity which has never been defeated by its enemies will after all be successful; at long last, instead of wars, hatred, and cruelty”.

It is true that conflict exists in Quetta, but it won’t be resolved by looking away from it. Nor will it be resolved by rushing into dialogue without a well thought out plan. We have to focus instead on understanding the underlying issues that are causing tension, we have to try and understand the sensibilities of the different ethnic groups that make up the population of Balohistan. We have to work towards a peaceful, and safer Quetta, and consequently a more stable Balochistan. We have to do this by well thought out and sustained engagement; not by adopting a policy of avoidance or escalation.

Fencing out danger

Naveed is an Active Citizen from Quetta. He lives in STN housing community – just off Spinny Road. This area has a high crime rate, specifically theft. The robberies follow a fixed pattern: they take place late at night when most of the residents of the housing scheme are asleep. So far these incidents have been violence free.

The community is constructed such that it has a single entrance big enough for one vehicle to pass through. A rocky road leads up to this entrance. There was talk of carpeting the road once, and construction began; soon afterwards though all construction ceased.

Naveed reached the conclusion that the best bet for a crime-free neighbourhood would be to install a gate at the entrance of the housing community. Furthermore, this gate should be guarded by a watchman.

An idea had been born, but now came the hard part: how to turn this idea for a secure neighbourhood into a reality? Naveed made use of the community and leadership skills that he had learned in his Active Citizens training and reached out to the community members. He pointed out the natural advantage that a single entrance into the housing scheme offered them. Since there was a single point of entry, taking measures to guard it offered the simplest solution.

He also pointed out the increased rate of robberies in their neighbourhood: the most glaring examples were the theft of a motorbike and a family whose house had been robbed. Within their community also resided a member who had been unemployed for a while. Naveed suggested him as the candidate for the job of the watchman.

He argued that if this person were employed as the watchman, an unfortunate member of their community would be in a position to earn a living again because of his community’s help. At the same time he would be giving to the community his time and services. In this way an idea could be turned into a self-sustaining Social Action Project.

To Naveed’s delight the community embraced his idea and elected a committee of residents to oversee the project. A collection was started for purchasing materials for construction of the gate and to pay the hired labourers. Everyone pitched in some money and soon supporting structures for the gate were in place.

But not everyone was happy with these developments. One night some people tried to knock down the gate-posts but were chased away by disgruntled residents who awoke because of the noise. A surprising but welcome ‘side effect’ of this Social Action Project was that once the construction of the gate started, construction of the road leading to the gate was restarted by the local authorities.


At the time I visited Naveed, the gate project was in its final phase. Naveed and his neighbours seemed to be in high spirits and were optimistic about the security that the gate would provide them and their families.

An education in hope

Huddled in a small room in a Baloch neighbourhood of Quetta, Sadia talks about why she runs a school for children in her home. The school itself is a modest affair: a spare room devoid of furniture. The children sit on the carpeted floor as does their teacher. Sadia lives in a small house – partly brick and cement, and partly mud walls and thatched roof.

When asked what inspired her to start a school for her neighbourhood children, Sadia replied: “There should be a safe and happy place for children where they can play, make friends, and learn together”.

Her neighbourhood – Killi Allahbad, is relatively conservative and is said to be a stronghold of a local political party with a separatist agenda. According to Sadia, the young people of the area are mostly unemployed; the illiteracy rate is also high. The nearest primary school for boys is at a considerable distance and the nearest school for young girls is even further away. According to Sadia it takes children approximately 20 – 25 minutes to walk to the nearest public school.
Since most of the people of the neighbourhood do not own cars their children have to walk to school. Because of the daily deteriorating security situation and the rising crime rate most parents had stopped sending their children to school. Their biggest fear: kidnappings.

Sadia attended the Active Citizens training in 2011 along with her cousin, Fouzia. Although the problems faced by the Baloch are complex and multi-dimensional and there is no one simple solution for them, Sadia felt that education is one important piece of the puzzle. Without education she says things will only get worse. This passion for education led Sadia to approach a local NGO who were generous enough to donate books and school supplies for children free of cost to her.

Sadia then convinced her family to let her use an unused room in their house for the purpose of holding classes in it. They not only let her use the room but also helped her decorate it and equip it. In a month’s time Sadia’s make-shift school was up and running. Her neighbours welcomed the move and gladly sent their children to Sadia’s make-shift school. Sadia charges the parents of the children a nominal fee of Rs. 50 – which they are happy to pay. This money helps her cover the school’s monthly electricity bill. Sadia’s students include her own brother, a nephew, and a niece.

But the hard work does not stop here: Sadia attends her high school classes during the day and teaches the neighbourhood children in the evenings. Looking at the happy faces surrounding her it is not too difficult to see the gratification that she derives from her Social Action Project and the sense of contribution to her community that keeps her motivated.

Technology for all

There is no doubting the fact that internet access is a key contributory factor to the progress of any country. This is particularly true for developing nations like Pakistan. Statistically speaking, internet usage in Pakistan is on the rise and there are no signs of it declining.

One stumbling block however is the availability of computers and facilities where people can browse the World Wide Web. Places that provide this facility for a fee in commonly referred to as ‘internet cafés’ in Pakistan. Internet cafés are mostly limited to urban centres and are frequented by people who do not have access to high-speed internet at home.

Internet cafés in the more conservative areas of Pakistan cater exclusively to the male population. Even in cities and larger towns, women frequenting internet cafés is considered a rare occurrence.

Sumaya Ibrahim lives in Quetta and has been running the ‘Amozgha Centre’ for some time now. The centre is popular among the women of the community, who attend the sewing classes that are taught there.

Quetta is a conservative city where women and men using the same internet cafés is frowned upon. Sumaya felt that one thing her city lacked was a place where women from the community could explore opportunities to become better equipped at use computers and to use the internet. She envisioned setting up an internet café inside the Amozgha Centre where computer literacy classes could also be taught.

Sumaya formed a youth group which she named ‘Amozgha Youth Group’ to raise funds for her project. The group reached out to affluent people of the community for financial support. The response they got was overwhelmingly positive. The group was successful in raising enough money to purchase our computers and one printer; and so the Computer Literacy and Internet Cafe for Females was established.

This is not merely an internet café for women, but it also functions as a learning centre where basic computer courses are taught to women. The centre is geared towards women who do not have a computer at home and cannot afford computer literacy courses. Classes were offered at a nominal fee. Special consideration was shown to members of the Hazaara community – a traditionally underprivileged group. Members of the Hazaara community are offered free of cost computer literacy classes at the centre.

The venture proved to be a popular one and soon Sumaya was faced with another predicament: how to accommodate all the applicants into computer literacy classes? Presently a two hour computer literacy class is taught every day and women are encouraged to make use of the internet café in the evening. The strong turnout is a source of encouragement to the youth group: “I would love to buy more computers in order to accommodate more people” says Sumaya.

The computer literacy centre and internet cafe provides the women of Quetta with a safe environment where they can learn together, and is a welcome addition to other skills taught at the Amozgha Centre.

A smile for a rose

Quetta is one of the cities of Pakistan that has felt the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks perhaps more than other places. Quetta has always been known for its diverse population, a rich cultural heritage, and the warmth and friendliness of its people.

The post 9/11 reality of Quetta has been very different: suicide bombings and other terrorist incidents have increased sharply. The region once known for its beautiful landscape and serenity is now associated with a tense security situation and escalating intolerance levels between different ethnic communities inhabiting it.

These incidents are affecting the people of Quetta on a psychological level. People live in a constant state of apprehension. Social gatherings are rare, and people feel isolated and cut off from the rest of the country.

A group of Active Citizens exchanged ideas on how to bring a sense of hope to people and help them forget their troubles at least for a little while. They bought a few hundred freshly cut roses and on a fine sunny day set out to hand them out to any one they came across. Being presented with a rose by a smiling stranger, most people could not help but smile back.