Well good for her and she has done well herself.
I'm not going to praise her for being some sort of super patriot, or someone who is more deserving of our praise than the many pilots who put their lives at risk, in order to defend the skies of Pakistan.
I have to say I am disappointed by her remarks on her profile.
Summary
When you are young, you think you can change the world but as the reality of life, old traditions and shackles of culture come stand as obstacles in your face you realize, may be not! By no means I am trying to state that I did not have the strength and the determination to over come those traditions and break the shackles, but what was next?
"An Air Force Officer who does not stand equal opportunity to make a General, not because she is not good enough, but because she is a woman." my reason for discharge from PAF.
I have a lot of courage, but may be not enough to invest 20 some prime years of my life to wait and see if I could change the way people think in Pakistan.
So 6 years ago, with 2 suit cases, I showed up in VeroBeach, Florida at 10pm, to find myself at a deserted gas station and the only passenger getting off the Grey Hound bus. It was a moment out of the movies, I had no cell phone, did not know anybody, didn't know where I was, didn't have coins to use the public phone and didn't have any phone numbers for a cab service, and english was broken too on top of the culture shock I was in!!
Two hours, multiple phonecalls to cab companies and one 911 call later, I was on my way to FlightSafety to become a pilot.
The little things in life that we never give too much importance to, carry of lot meaning and value,
like being able to breathe in free air and not have a feeling of being watched and harassed all the time, like having a cell phone to call a cab or like having a friend or family member around in the country you live in as your support group. I learnt the value of these little things when I came to USA.
The opportunity of becoming an Aviator, that I was looking for in my own country, in many unsaid words was denied to me, but I got that opportunity in USA and thats why now I call it home. Where I can not only pursue my career but can do it freely, which is what matters the most to me.
Thank you USA for letting me break free of the shackles!!
Free air?
Not having a cell phone?
Shackles?
Oh dear.
These are my heros......
When asked about settling abroad due to the discrimination the Christian community faced,he replied he would die in his fatherland.
MM Alam.
Engaged in charity work and helping his country out.
If you leave, fine, that's not the issue. But don't bash the very zameen that gave you opportunities.