HONY bids adieu but leaves one final gift for Pakistan

[ghazi52]

HONY bids adieu but leaves one final gift for Pakistan

Brandon Stanton, the man behind the popular photography blog Humans of New York, has captured the hearts and minds of Pakistanis over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, he left the country with one final word on Pakistan and the key issue we face as humans in a global community.

A few days after the photographer’s haunting images of Pakistanis trapped in bonded labour triggered an outpouring of donations to help end the practice, Stanton summed up his final thoughts on Pakistan in an eloquent post on how the country, like many others, is a victim of negative publicity.

Stanton, aware of the violence and extremism in Pakistan said the media unfortunately only shows one side of the country — the negative one.

The photographer writes, “Imagine that every time you have a lapse in judgment, it gets printed in newspapers around the world: every time you lose patience with your children, every time you scream at someone in traffic, every time you drink too much and do something you regret. Each time you slip up, everyone hears about it. The world is never notified about the 99.99% of the time that you are a completely normal, productive, law-abiding citizen. The world only learns about you when things go wrong. Now imagine what the world would think of you.”

Stanton endeavored to show the positive side of Pakistan and his posts about the ordinary people of Pakistan has touched hearts not only in Pakistan but all over the world. And, if the comments on his posts are to believed, he has successfully changed many people’s mind about Pakistan. Lets just say that Pakistanis owe him a debt of gratitude.

 

[ghazi52]

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HONY raises $1.3 million to help end bonded labour in Pakistan

Syeda Ghulam Fatima PHOTO: HUMANS OF NEW YORK FACEBOOK PAGE

Brandon Stanton, during his short visit, has captured breathtaking images of our countrymen, publishing their stories and managing to show the world another side of Pakistan.

The creator of Humans of New York (HONY) has, however, outdone himself this time, helping raise around $1.3 million through a remarkable seven-photo series depicting the struggle of a Pakistani female activist fighting against bonded labour.

Stanton set up an account for Syeda Ghulam Fatima, titled ‘Let’s help Fatima end bonded labour’, raising $1,302,440 for the Bonded Labor Liberation Front in just three days.

In the first post of the series, Stanton wrote, “Meet Syeda Ghulam Fatima. Described as a modern day Harriet Tubman, Fatima has devoted her life to ending bonded labor.”

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[Dubious]

HONY bids adieu but leaves one final gift for Pakistan

Brandon Stanton, the man behind the popular photography blog Humans of New York, has captured the hearts and minds of Pakistanis over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, he left the country with one final word on Pakistan and the key issue we face as humans in a global community.

A few days after the photographer’s haunting images of Pakistanis trapped in bonded labour triggered an outpouring of donations to help end the practice, Stanton summed up his final thoughts on Pakistan in an eloquent post on how the country, like many others, is a victim of negative publicity.

Stanton, aware of the violence and extremism in Pakistan said the media unfortunately only shows one side of the country — the negative one.

The photographer writes, “Imagine that every time you have a lapse in judgment, it gets printed in newspapers around the world: every time you lose patience with your children, every time you scream at someone in traffic, every time you drink too much and do something you regret. Each time you slip up, everyone hears about it. The world is never notified about the 99.99% of the time that you are a completely normal, productive, law-abiding citizen. The world only learns about you when things go wrong. Now imagine what the world would think of you.”

Stanton endeavored to show the positive side of Pakistan and his posts about the ordinary people of Pakistan has touched hearts not only in Pakistan but all over the world. And, if the comments on his posts are to believed, he has successfully changed many people’s mind about Pakistan. Lets just say that Pakistanis owe him a debt of gratitude.

Thank you Gora bhai for saying what I repeat here on the forum but goes to deaf ears! People are aware and ignore the thing until it hits them or they get dragged in or it has become 20x worse...

Like my argument with @Side-Winder waiting for 50k people instead of acting on 1 causality!
My argument with @Aether regarding waiting for yourself to be dragged in the shit before helping to voice for others who are being dragged and countless other things I say!

Hopefully people will listen to him and ponder!

 

[Side-Winder]

Like my argument with @Side-Winder waiting for 50k people instead of acting on 1 causality!

We've had enough of it - We better not continue wasting each-other's time.

 

[Dubious]

We've had enough of it - We better not continue wasting each-other's time.

But gora uncle is giving us a reminder naaa

 

[Side-Winder]

But gora uncle is giving us a reminder naaa

Apples & Oranges - Khair, Like i said. Lets just have a break.

 

[Dubious]

Apples & Oranges - Khair, Like i said. Lets just have a break.

Ok

 

[ghazi52]

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Dear Prime Minister, ending bonded labour is not Brandon Stanton’s job, it’s yours

I love brick houses; specifically the feel of those rectangular blocks. But when I know the hands that made those bricks were of a 12-year-old who couldn’t afford a decent meal in the morning, I don’t want to even see one let alone live in one. I cannot hold a passion for those houses anymore.

So my question is, are we really free?

Without sounding metaphoric, there are helpless people in our country who have been condemned to lifelong labour without or with less than sufficient wages. Brick kilns are being ruled by the rich and powerful through exploitation of our fellow men’s destitution. The owners lend them money in exchange for labour, which has been seen to bind generations upon generations.

The severity of this situation was made clear to me, an average Pakistani, through the American photographer and journalist Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York. On his tour of Pakistan, he shed light upon the story of Syeda Ghulam Fatima who has been working tirelessly for this cause. She is a Pakistani woman who has been ‘shot, electrocuted, and beaten numerous times for her activism’. She is a Pakistani who is fighting our war alone.

Thousands of brick kilns are operating all over Pakistan and the bonded labour system is openly practiced despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1992. Imprisonment or heavy fine was supposed to be the punishment if one fails to abide by this law. But such culprits continue to walk on this land free and proud.

• 
  
• I admit that raising funds to donate to this cause is extremely important. However, it is not more important than bringing this matter in notice of our leaders. Mr Nawaz Sharif needs to take the plight of his countrymen into account; he can put the road structures of Lahore on hold for now, as such matters need his urgent attention. This is nothing short of slavery and I for one can no longer be a proud Pakistani, for as long this catastrophe remains in this land.

This issue hasn’t received the attention that it deserves, nor have people like Fatima who are facing the brunt of such brutalities. She deserves recognition. She deserves that appreciate her.

So I’m putting our federal government’s claim to the test. Mr Prime Minister, you have a duty towards your people; don’t make them fight the battles they shouldn’t need to fight at all.

Clearly, Pakistan is not a free nation yet.

Noorulain Sajjad
The author is a student of literature, living in Lahore. She is currently enrolled in an M.Phil program.



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[Metanoia]

No surprise there. It is such a banana republic that it's usually the outsiders coming in to rescue on almost all the levels.