FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Tarang’s latest Magnum Opus
FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Feature
Cover Story
A slow demise
On the right track Karachi’s historic railway station is being restored to its former glory
Pakistan’s freshwater turtles need to be rescued
22 Feature
The other war Pakistan’s polio workers put their lives at risk in the line of duty
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38 Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with beautiful people 46 Review: Movies 50 Society: 141 schools for peace project
Magazine Editor: Sarah Munir and Senior Subeditor: Dilaira Dubash Creative Team: Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Mohsin Alam, Omer Asim, Aamir Khan, Sanober Ahmed & Talha Ahmed Khan Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Ahmed Saadat
3 Bahadur premieres at Nueplex Cinemas in Karachi
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Fahad Chinoy with their daughter Amelia
6 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Humayun and Ahmed Ali Butt
PHOTOS COURTESY LOTUS CLIENT MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC RELATIONS
Saba Obaid, Humza Obaid and Hadeel Obaid
PHOTOS COURTESY LOTUS CLIENT MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC RELATIONS
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Mehreen
Zulfiqar Ali Ansari
Atique, Naheed, Neha and Sophia
8 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Jerjees Seja
Fahad Mustafa
Jamil Ahmed Mughal
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Amna Ilyas and Junaid Khan Huma tahir Anmol Shah
The movie Good Morning Karachi premieres in Karachi Beo Rana and Yasir Aqeel
Misbah Mumtaz
Deepak Perwani and Areeba Habib
10 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Nubain, Wardha Saleem and Fatimah
PHOTOS COURTESY HOUSE OF RANA
Fareena Aijaz
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Beenish Khan
Fayezah Ansari
Manaal e Fizza
PHOTOS COURTESY HOUSE OF RANA
Sanam Saeed
Aiman and Minal
Javeria and Tapu javeri
12 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Monicca Benjamin
Sania Khan
Saadia Siddiqui
Sarah Khan
Farhan Aly Agha and Bushra Ansari
PEOPLE & PARTIES Nazim Shahzad and Yasmeen Nazim host a dinner at Cosa Nostra, Lahore, to celebrate the opening of new House of Ittehad stores
Hina, Rabia and Farah Israr Shanze and Aliha Chaudhry
Zahra and Adnan
Nazim Sheikh, Shaan and Yasmeen Sheikh
PHOTOS COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR
Asad and Anusheh
Huma, Lubna and Amna Adeel
14 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Sonu, Zara and Murad
Hashim and Sobia
PEOPLE & PARTIES
Brig Bakhtawar, Brig Mehdi, Col Sadiq and Brig Rizwan
Hera Gillani, Anooshay Ather, Urfa Ali and Nida
Awais and Sehrish
The CEO of Bahria Town project Ali Riaz Malik inaugurates the Arena cinema in Bahria Orchard, Lahore
Sajid Ilyas, Azam Bhatti, Brig Omer Farooq, Brig Ahad, Mohammad Ilyas, Ali Riaz, Ali Ishaq and Shahid Qureshi with a guest
Col Ali Ehsan, Amer Rasheed and Maira
16 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Sana and Zahid
PHOTOS COURTESY VERVE PR
Juggan and Imtisal
PEOPLE & PARTIES Amin Gulgee Gallery holds the exhibit ‘Dreamscape’ in Karachi
Neelofar, Iztiyar and Fozia
Sameera
PHOTOS COURTESY PHENOMENA PR
Ali, Naiza and Zarmeene with a guest
Amin Gulgee
Maria
18 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Alina, Minal and Mashal
Sara and Khadija
Ayesha
FEATURE
A slow demise Freshwater turtles are in dire need of being rescued in Pakistan BY SYED MUHAMMAD ABUBAKAR DESIGN BY SANOBER AHMED
Turtles may have won the proverbial race against rabbits for their slow but steady approach but are gradually losing the battle against humans. These living fossils have survived on this planet for almost 350 million years and have successfully adapted to almost every environmental change, but now face a number of threats which have endangered their population. 22 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Freshwater turtles, such as the black pond turtle, need to be protected from anthropogenic activities. PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCK BONIN
Javed Ahmed Mahar, chief conservator at the Sindh Wildlife Department, at the repatriation ceremony held at Pak-China Border. PHOTO CREDIT: WWFPAKISTAN
Black-spotted turtles are most subjected to pet trade. PHOTO CREDIT: WWF-PAKISTAN
Despite being deemed illegal by national and international law, trading of turtles and their body parts across national borders is flourishing and five out of eight species of the freshwater turtle in Pakistan are either endangered or vulnerable
In Pakistan, freshwater turtles have a wide distribution range; they are found in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan in all the rivers, canals, ponds, streams and even rice fields. Their numbers, however, are now decreasing rapidly due to the high demand of freshwater turtle meat in East-Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong and Vietnam. Their body parts are also used in traditional Chinese medicines, leading to illegal exports from Pakistan. Despite being prohibited religiously, turtle meat is also consumed by some nomadic communities residing along the Indus River. This is not all, as poachers have found a new way to harm freshwater turtle species by illegally exporting them to western countries to be sold as pets. People in the USA and UK are willing to pay as much as $2,000 (approximatley Rs200,000) for a turtle, thus luring wildlife smugglers to indulge in the trade. Despite being deemed illegal by national and international law, trading of turtles and their body parts across national borders is flourishing and five out of eight species of the freshwater turtle in Pakistan are either endangered or vulnerable, as classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Only a day after the freshwater turtle was notified as a protected species in Sindh, a consignment of 218 black spotted turtles was seized at the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi. According to customs and wildlife authorities, the consignment belonged to Sajid Cheema, a resident of Gujranwala, who was carrying them in two suitcases on a flight bound for Bangkok. The turtles were later released into their natural habitat when the Malir District Court ordered their immediate release. Later in the case, the court issued a stay order on the acquittal of the turtle smuggler which shows a small 23 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
FEATURE
Illeagal export of freshwater turtles is flourishing in Pakistan since they are in great demand as pets while their meat is consumed for other purposes. PHOTO CREDIT: WWF-PAKISTAN/SYED MUHAMMAD ABUBAKAR
Even though we face immense pressure and threats from high profile socio-political groups to back out from pursuing these turtle cases, we are determined to end this by all means Chief conservator at the Sindh Wildlife Department Javed Ahmed Mahar
but positive trend in conservation. A consignment of 42 green turtles was also confiscated at the Allama Iqbal Airport, Lahore, in November last year while another one containing 640 black-spotted turtles was caught in December. According to Faisal Siddique, the advocate pursuing the case, turtle smuggling is not just a violation of the Convention on International Trade in 24 Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Freshwater turtles have great ecological importance as they act as natural recyclers by feeding on dead organic matter and diseased fish. PHOTO CREDIT: WWF-PAKISTAN Flora (CITES) and provincial wildlife acts but also an offence of smuggling in which the offender can get up to 14 years of imprisonment. Due to an increase in the number of threats to the freshwater turtle species, WWF Pakistan lobbied with the governments of Punjab and K-P to classify the species as protected, and in 2007 it was declared a protected species under the Punjab and K-P Wildlife Protection
Acts. Moreover, in August last year 229 black spotted turtles were repatriated from China in a friendly ceremony held at the Pak-China border. This was made possible due to CITES — which states that any wildlife illegally exported from its home country must be returned to its country of origin — to which Pakistan is a signatory. Members of the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) and WWF Pakistan received the
turtles and later released them into their natural habitat on September 22, 2014, after they were rehabilitated in a quarantine facility in Sukkur. The Government of Sindh has further tightened wildlife rules keeping in view the increased turtle trafficking. While previously, the fine for an entire consignment was Rs50,000, it has now been revised to Rs12,000 for each living turtle and Rs20,000 for each dead one. “Increase in fines will discourage turtle smugglers, as they will think a 100 times before indulging in such trade, “ says Javed Ahmed Mahar, chief conservator at SWD. “Even though we face immense pressure and even threats from high profile socio-political groups to back out from pursuing these turtle cases, we are determined to end this by all means.” Peter Paul van Dijk, a turtle conservationist who co-chairs IUCN Species Survival Commission Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist group, warned
If turtle trafficking and trade does not stop, the species can get critically endangered in the future which can lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem Senior director at WWF-Pakistan Dr Ejaz Ahmed that illegal turtle trade was impacting populations of freshwater turtles in Pakistan, causing them to become scarce or disappear altogether from rivers and wetlands. “If turtle trafficking and trade does not stop, the species can get critically endangered in the future
which can lead to the collapse of the entire ecosystem,” says Dr Ejaz Ahmed, senior director at WWF-Pakistan. A little know fact about turtles is that they acts as natural recyclers for the ecosystem, purifying water by feeding on dead organic matter and diseased fish. Moreover, they also covertly fight against harmful algae and other matter which threatens fish populations, thus helping maintain a healthy stock. But for these ecological functions to occur at a significant level, the turtles must be part of the ecosystem in significant numbers and with significant biomass; a few turtles here and there is not enough. Concrete steps to ensure the long term survival of turtles are the need of the hour if we don’t want them to suffer the same fate as the Gharial or the fish-eating crocodile that fell prey to human recklessness as well not too long ago. Syed Muhammad Abubakar is a freelance journalist. He tweets @SyedMAbubakar
Freshwater turtles, such as the brown roofed turtle, support livelihood of millions of fishermen by feeding upon diseased fish and should, therefore, be protected. PHOTO CREDIT: FRANCK BONIN
COVER STORY
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
BY SANAM MAHER DESIGN BY OMER ASIM
How a group of Karachiites came together to breathe new life into the city’s historic railway station
28 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
If one is a 29-year-old architect and they’ve lost their sense of direction, it seems entirely fitting that their dream job would land them in Karachi’s Cantonment Railway Station. “I had left my job at the Heritage Foundation. I had no jobs lined up and I didn’t even know how I would pay my bills,” recalls Marvi Mazhar. “Then I got a call from architect Aqeel Bilgrami and he asked me to come see the station, as a group of artists and architects was hoping to revitalise this beautiful 19th century building.” The rest, as they say, is history. Looking beneath the surface Mazhar was drafted by Pursukoon Karachi, a nonprofit organisation comprising nine artists, sculptors and architects, to restore the 150-year-old building, stripping it of false ceilings, poor paint jobs, shoddily constructed additions and several coats of crimson paan stains. Initially, the Pursukoon group planned to have
Sketches by Marvi Mazhar.
29 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
COVER STORY THE GOOD LIFE the station cleaned and painted. “Once I saw the building’s original yellow stone, however, I said we needed to remove all the layers of paint and concrete in order to restore the original structure.” For four months, Mazhar worked for free on a few parts of the station, in what became a litmus test for her ability to work with the building and the many challenges it presented. “I might have worked for free, but for me, the barter made sense. If I was successful, I had the job. And who else would let me touch a 19th century building at this age?” she shares. In the absence of substantial archival photographs, blueprints or notes, the project required a fair amount of detective work. Mazhar stumbled upon photographs and log notes from the time of the railway’s construction in 1865 in London’s British Library. One morning, she spotted a slightly raised curve under layers of paint and concrete and guessed that an arch must be hidden underneath. The first glimpse of the original slate, grey stone floors came from a small patch inside the security officials’ offices. Many times, the material would confound Mazhar’s expectations or local architects and engineers would question her approach. “When we started chipping off the layers of marble and concrete, they were coming off in sheets and I was very nervous about what I’d find underneath,” she says. “One engineer warned me that the
building was weak and wouldn’t withstand the process. But I remembered what Yasmeen Lari would always say when it came to heritage buildings: ‘You’ve got to remove all the concrete and you’ve got to let the building breathe.’” Thus, much of the work was informed by a previous conservation project undertaken by the Heritage Project on Karachi’s Denso Hall in 2010. Mentors such as Bilgrami and Kamil Khan Mumtaz also helped soothe the nerves. “There was one area of the station where the original yellow stone was turning black,”
Kamil Khan Mumtaz examines a patch of fungus on the original stone wall. PHOTO COURTESY: MARVI MAZHAR
One engineer warned me that the building was weak and wouldn’t withstand the process. But I remembered what Yasmeen Lari would always say when it came to heritage buildings: ‘You’ve got to remove all the concrete and you’ve got to let the building breathe Architect Marvi Mazhar The ticket office after it was restored. PHOTO COURTESY: MARVI
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MAZHAR & ASSOCIATES FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Mazhar recalls. A hastily-organised visit to the station by Khan confirmed that the stone was simply ‘breathing’ after decades of being blanketed by concrete and fungus was growing on the wall. The station’s booking office was the first hurdle for the team. Ticket officers sat on plastic chairs atop a three-foot-high concrete slab to be able to reach the ticket counter. A small square skylight had been punched into the false ceiling and a ticket box from colonial times was propped up next to a barred window. Additionally, rusting aluminum cabinets lined the wall, stuffed with paperwork. The air conditioner never cooled enough and the false ceiling was warped by humidity. Today, there is no need for an air conditioner there. “This building was constructed keeping the weather of Pakistan in mind,” explains Mazhar. Once the team got rid of the false ceiling and restored the windows to their natural height and removed the concrete slabs and bars from the windows, the humidity was taken care of. Light now streams into the high-ceilinged room while the ticket officers perch on high wooden chairs rescued and restored from the station’s warehouse. Mazhar’s team stripped the office’s original doors of seven layers of oil paint and fixed the original lock. The old English ticketing boxes have been polished to a high gleam. “The officers wanted new ticket boxes, but we didn’t see the point in doing that when the colonial ones had survived so beautifully,” she explains. “Building bohot fit hai abhi (The building is in great condition no),” comments one of the ticket officers as he punches out a business class ticket from one of the ticket box’s narrow metal slots. “Dil khush hota hai yahaan beth kar (one feels happy sitting here),” he adds. He then leans back in his chair and says something you would never expect from
e a government servant: “I find this office very relaxing to be in now.”
Money matters For the last six months, however, work k n has ground to a halt at the station e as funds have dried up. While the o Pursukoon team grew accustomed to e receiving financial support from the e provincial government and private n donors in small bursts, this has been e the longest period where there have been no donations. d The Pursukoon team initially received Rs5,000,000 from the provinciall government, part of which was utilised for a three-day festival in Karachi in 2013. The remainder and an additional Rs2,500,000, given by Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, was poured into the restoration project. Government officials and political leaders, including Sherry Rehman, Nafisa Shah and the special assistant to the chief minister on culture, Sharmila Farooqi, have even visited the station to learn more about the project and have all praised the initiative. Why the lack of funding then one may ask. Farooqi shares that the Pursukoon team approached her a week before the provincial budget was to be announced. “If they had approached the government earlier, we could have kept money aside for such a project, but at the moment, we cannot siphon money from other projects to keep this one going,” she adds. At times when there was no funding, the team would just sit around and make sketches documenting the building and its transformation. They worked piecemeal throughout the station, restoring small portions with whatever funds were available at the time. As a result, the building seems to be a bizarre amalgamation of styles, both modern and colonial.
Signs put up at the station by the restoration team. PHOTO CREDIT: ARIF SOOMRO
The Pursukoon team initially received Rs5,000,000 from the provincial government, part of which was utilised for a threeday festival in Karachi in 2013. The remainder and an additional Rs2,500,000, given by Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah, was poured into the restoration project 31 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
COVER STORY THE LIFE THE GOOD GOOD LIFE Interventions: where old meets new While the two styles don’t make for the best of appearances, it’s the perfect reminder of why the restoration project is so vital. For instance, on one side of the same wall one can see caramel-coloured stone, almost the colour and texture of warm unleavened bread, and when one turns slightly to the right they’ll see whitewashed concrete and perhaps the faint raised curve of an arch that has been bricked over and cemented. The station’s two faces also raise the question on why some interventions, such as ‘no guns allowed’ signs and spikes atop pillars to ward off pigeons, are deemed ‘good’, whereas other additions, such as a staircase that bisects the ticket office, built to save officials the hassle of walking to either end of the station to go to the upper floors, are considered ‘bad’. Before installing anything, however, the team looks at what masters have done in other parts of the world. “While a staircase ruins the purity of the building, anything we have added on does not impact the structure and can be removed whenever we want. For instance, none of the signs are nailed on.” Some interventions, however, do not seem to be particularly successful. Outside the station, a small water body has been built where previously trees and benches
offered travellers respite from the sun. The tiled pool is currently dry and people have thrown wrappers and bottles inside it. Sometimes, they even dip their feet in the water, leaving dirt and leaves behind. “We’re always debating the additions we have made,” Mazhar says. The Pursukoon team agreed to allot a small archway to the Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP), a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to preserving the stories of generations of Pakistanis. Here, CAP’s oral histories and photographs are displayed for any traveller or coolie to pore over. But Mazhar assures that the CAP space or the water body can be assessed in three months to see how people have reacted to it. “If it hasn’t worked for them, we’ll give the space back to the railway department,” she says.
Building a future by consensus Curator, artist and one of the founding members of Pursukoon Karachi Noorjehan Bilgrami estimates that the project requires at least another Rs30,000,000. Farooqi has promised to speak with the chief minister to see if the money can be allocated for the project within or outside of the budget. However, she adds, the Pursukoon team would have to meet with the culture department’s director works to discuss where the money will be funnelled.
If they had approached the government earlier, we could have kept money aside for such a project, but at the moment, we cannot siphon money from other projects to keep this one going Assistant to CM on culture Sharmila Farooqi
Restoration work on the station’s main facade. PHOTO COURTESY: MARVI MAZHAR & ASSOCIATES
At three points in the station, the Pursukoon team has left ‘layers of memory’ — reminders of the damage done to the building — within clear acrylic boxes. On one pillar in the main hall, one can see 22 layers of oil paint that were slapped onto the original structure Irum, a police official, keeps an eye on a bank of CCTV feeds inside the offices for security staff. PHOTO CREDIT: ARIF SOOMRO Bilgrami insists that a working relationship can be forged and is greatly appreciative of the federal government’s support. But it is impossible to ignore the fact that the restoration team works primarily to remove traces of successive governments’ decisions within the station. On Mazhar’s first day at the station, she battled with officials as she tried to remove political posters and banners plastered onto the walls. While many workers said they were too scared to pull down the posters, others simply refused to do so until a rival political party’s posters were also removed. At three points in the station, the Pursukoon team has left ‘layers of memory’ — reminders of the damage done to the building — within clear acrylic boxes. On one pillar in the main hall, one can see 22 layers of oil paint that were slapped onto the original structure. “I am guessing that a new coat of paint was added on every time a government official would visit the station,” Mazhar says. In another box, one can see how marble was layered on concrete and stone in order to sheath the original stone walls. “Before a funding period would lapse, officials would add on another layer onto the walls rather than fix what was already there, all in the name of ‘maintaining’ the building,” she explains. “We keep these layers of memory so we are able to show them to all government officials who visit the station.” “Of course, that was not the right thing to do,” concedes Farooqi. “But until someone doesn’t catch the people who
do this, you have no idea that this is what is happening.” There have been tussles, both internal and with the government, about plans for the station. Some have proposed the addition of cafes or shops to boost the station’s income, while others, such as architect Habib Fida Ali, have instantly shot down such suggestions. Meanwhile, Mazhar suggests that each archway on the station’s upper floor, with a beautiful view of swaying banyan trees, be fitted with tables and chairs and WiFi so it can be ‘rented’ out for hours at a time to writers, journalists, artists or anyone looking for a quiet spot. Bilgrami points out that while there may be a difference of aesthetics between government teams and the Pursukoon artists and architects, many of these differences have been smoothed over through dialogue. For example, while railway officials wished to construct a rockery outside the station, the Pursukoon team convinced them that travellers would be better served by benches and trees in the spot. “Look, at the end of the day, if something has to be done correctly, we have to explain it to those in charge and hope that they understand,” Bilgrami says. Compromise is also required from Pursukoon, simply because, as she puts it, “at the end of the day, it all boils down to the money.”T
Sanam Maher is a senior subeditor at The Express Tribune national desk. She tweets @SanamMKhi FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
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The other Polio workers in Pakistan risk everything to free the country from a crippling disease
Due to the immense threat to their life, polio workers are now accompanied by police officials in the field.
war TEXT AND PHOTOS BY HAMID HUSSAIN DESIGN BY TALHA KHAN
Last year, Pakistan hit a new low when it broke its own 14-year record with 202 reported polio cases, most of them from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). This came as no surprise given the resistance towards the administration of polio drops in the country and the consistent attacks on immunisation teams that have claimed 67 lives since December,
2012. While most of the deceased polio workers have been targeted on duty, there have also been rare attacks on their residences. Falak Niaz, a 40-year-old polio supervisor hailing from the Saro village in Charsadda still remembers the cold April night last year when militants stormed his house in the middle of the night. “It was a horrific night,” he recalls. “Militants operating in Mohmand
The bullet-ridden gate of the house where Falak Niaz and his family was attacked by militants.
Agency attacked our house at midnight, sprayed it with bullets and later hurled hand grenades to cause maximum damage.” The attack left his wife, two brothers and mother severely injured. “We were crying for help but the policemen at the police station, which is at a walking distance, didn’t bother to come and rescue us,” he shares. It was not until the neighbours started firing that the militants fled. Lady health workers have been administering polio drops to children since 1993, when Pakistan started official campaigns to eliminate polio. Things took a downward turn, however, when the Central Intelligence Agency organised a fake vaccination campaign in the town where they believed the former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was hiding. Soon after, polio teams became a frequent target for militant groups who see the vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage, spies and a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims. “They were shouting loudly saying you are doing this for American infidels and now we will teach you a lesson for helping Americans in their conspiracy against Muslims,” recalls Niaz’s wife, Nazia, a lady health worker at the Rural Health Center in Ekkagund area of Mohmand Agency, who has been associated with anti-polio campaigns for the past 12 years. Nazia shares that she was terrified after the murder of Salma Farooqi, a polio vaccinator in Peshawar, in March 2014, and had often even contemplated leaving the job. But her husband talked her out of it and even joined the campaign himself to protect his wife, who wanted to serve
people but had to travel alone in the area to do so. Nazia along with her family has moved to her sister-inlaw’s house after the attack since flashbacks from that fateful night still haunt her. The fear was not unwarranted as her husband also received a letter from a militant group (which he refused to name due to safety reasons) soon after and was told to visit their commander in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. There, he was asked to pay Rs250,000 for ammunition used in the attack on his house or be prepared to lose his family. “I had no choice but to pay money for the bullets that injured my mother, brothers and wife,” he said. Nazia elaborates that no government official visited her after the attack. Their request to the district health department of Charsadda and the political agent for Mohmand Agency for financial assistance also fell on deaf ears.
FATA reported
178 cases, followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where 68 polio cases were confirmed during the year 2014. 39 FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
FEATURE
Pakistan is one of the three countries still affected by polio. The resistance towards immunisation has only made things worse over time. On the other hand, Nazia’s resolve to eradicate the crippling disease strengthened further. “I fear for my life but I am determined to administer polio drops to children in the area,” she says adding that the number of polio refusal cases have gone down as misconceptions have been clarified to a great extent and people are now in favour of polio vaccination — only one polio case was reported in Shabqadar last year. However, she adds that the security of polio workers continues to be their biggest challenge. The problem is echoed by 57-year-old Rubina Bibi, a lady health worker from Katlang tehsil, as well. “I take a pistol with me for protection and I want to tell the Taliban militants that you cannot deter us from our mission,” she says. “I am too old for this job but I have to do it to set an example for young 40 women so they can join the campaign against polio as well.” FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
67 polio workers have been killed in Pakistan since December 2012. Sadaqat Ali, a police constable in the area, shares that he has accompanied polio workers during anti-polio campaigns and would continue to do so because it has now become a matter of honour for him and his police force. “I know [that the] Taliban are well-armed and I [only] have a few dozen bullets but this war is not about weapons. It is a matter of courage and honour,” he says. Twenty two-year-
305 polio cases were reported by Pakistan in 2014 and only one case has been reported in the current year so far. More than 70% of the polio cases in Pakistan are reported from North Waziristan where polio vaccination was banned in 2012 by local leaders which caused severe damage to the efforts for a polio-free Pakistan. SOURCE: ENDPOLIO PAKISTAN
old Sohrab Khan, who also took part in the recent anti-polio campaign, feels that the government should announce special incentives for polio workers to boost their morale and also provide them security. “The sacrifices of polio workers must be recognised,” he adds. Security for polio workers is a big problem in Shabqadar tehsil as it borders the Mohmand Agency where militants are known to be present, shares Dr Farhad Khan, coordinator Extended Program on Immunization for Charsadda. Peshawar-based political analyst Aqeel Yousafzai added that the attack on polio workers was a reaction to the government-military operation against terrorists. However, since the operation had compelled militants to flee from the tribal areas, it offers a great opportunity to expedite efforts against polio. Amidst security threats to polio vaccinators, the K-P government is launching a fresh polio campaign on February 1 comprising of 12 one-day campaigns which would be held for 12 weeks in 14 districts across K-P and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And the people in the area seem equally determined to defeat the disease along with the militancy that has allowed it to breed further. “This is my hometown and I will fight for my people come what may,” says Sohrab. “I want to tell the world that militancy is not a part of Pakhtun culture. Rather, Pakhtuns are at the forefront, fighting it.” Hamid Hussain is an Islamabad-based journalist. He tweets @Hamidlawangeen
(Above) Falak Niaz shares his ordeal in his relative’s hujra in Shabqadar, Charsadda. (Below) Bullet holes inside one of the rooms in Falak Niaz’s house.
Bullet holes
FILM Liam Neeson once again pulls off an action-heavy role in Taken 3 — the last installment in the Taken trilogy — but with an unfamiliar task this time. Unlike its predecessors, the movie doesn’t revolve around a kidnapping plot; instead it centres on solving a murder. Although Neeson gets a lot of flak for his age, the 62-year-old continues to give awe-inspiring performances in most actionthriller movies. And for the most part, his performance in Taken 3 is no different. The triggerhappy protagonist, Bryan Mills, upholds his image as the lethally protective family man by avenging the murderer of his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janseen) and in the process clears his own name. The story, however, is predictable and for the most part an exhausting watch. While Bryan manages to evade capture by the police, he retraces Lenore’s footsteps just prior to her murder and ascertains that a few unidentified men had abducted his ex-wife. His next step is to protect his daughter Kim from being taken hostage by the police while he traces Lenore’s murderers. The movie is also riddled with a number of bloopers and exaggerated scenes, especially the one in which Neeson’s Porsche smashes into the jet without sustaining any damage and when Lenore’s scar heals while her body is kept in a morgue. While the twist in the film’s plot is a letdown for loyal 46 Taken fans, the film’s casting FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Gone for good If you are a die-hard Taken fan, it will be hard to take a fancy to Taken 3 BY MEHAK AMEER
directors made a good decision by bringing familiar faces on board along with first-timer Forest Whitakar who plays the role of a police inspector tasked with tracking down Neeson. The movie’s other saving grace is that it is no longer shot in mucky European locations; it is set in Los Angeles and Covington and principally photographed in Atlanta, giving audiences a much-needed change of scene. Additionally, director Olivier Megaton ensures high-action scenes in Taken 3 instead of long drawn-out and overly dramatised ones. The movie’s pace is, therefore, incredibly fast. The editing is also tight making this 109-minute film a bearable watch. Despite its many setbacks, Taken 3 is likely to do well at the box office because of its star power and the fact that it has less competition from other recent releases. It is a must-watch action-thriller for moviegoers even if one hasn’t watched the previous two installments since it has very little in common with them. And although the film’s tagline ‘it ends here’ promises to bring the franchise to an end after a period of six years, the conclusion leads the audiences to believe that the moviemakers aren’t quite done milking this franchise for every remaining penny. T
Rating: Mehak Ameer is a subeditor on the Express Tribune web desk.
FILM
The King of all films Selma brilliantly encapsulates what the black civil rights movement has accomplished — and what still needs to be done BY SAIM SAEED
It was perhaps inevitable that Selma, the film that highlights a tumultuous three months in civil rights activist Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr’s life, would be sidetracked by controversy and politics. Writer Maureen Dowd called director Ava DuVernay’s portrayal of Lyndon Johson, the American president at the time, “a shame” and its snub at the Oscars (just two nominations which mystifyingly exclude the best actor and director categories) has cast a racial cloud over the film’s reception, which, in little consolation, was personally screened at The White House by President Obama. This is supplemented by America’s fractious political climate in the wake of events in Ferguson and Staten Island where unarmed black men were killed by police officers. But the real shame is that amid all the controversy, people haven’t been talking about what a cinematic triumph Selma actually is. The title comes from Selma, Alabama, a small town in southern United States from where MLK began a march for equal voting rights. One of the scenes in which a senior African American lady (played by Oprah Winfrey, who also produced the film) unsuccessfully tries to register to vote highlights perfectly well what is at stake in this rally. She is asked to name all 67 county judges for no reason other than to keep her away from the booths. And the lack of voting rights has consequences, MLK explains to the president (played fantastically by Tom Wilkinson): only those registered to vote can serve juries, run for office or become public servants. Therefore, unless the blacks are given the right to vote, all-white juries with white judges will fail to convict white suspects of crimes against black people (plenty of which were 48 shown in this movie, including a horrifying attack FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
on a black church that killed four girls). Selma was a town with a black majority, but only two per cent were registered to vote. While MLK is at the centre of it all, Selma features an ensemble cast: a group of activists who cut across generations and include an 84-year-old man who voted for the first time, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference whose members were active in the march, John Lewis, a congressman still serving today, a white pastor from Boston who was killed in a reprisal attack, thousands of men and women who marched along with MLK across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where they were savagely beaten up by policemen determined to halt the march and the powers that be, the President and Alabama governor George Wallace (played by a delightful Tim Roth). DuVernay shows the protests on the ground, where one can hear the sickening sound of club on skulls, and then switches to the corridors of power and conversations between MLK and Johnson and Johnson and Wallace (many of which, the movie chillingly shows, were tapped by the Federal Bureau of Investigation). So how does DuVernay move from Oslo to Washington, Selma to Montgomery, with a cast this big, and a subject as fraught as American racial politics? With the grace and sophistication of a director who deserves far more plaudits than this film is likely to get. T
Rating: Saim Saeed is a subeditor for The Express Tribune. He tweets @saimsaeed847
SOCIETY
BUILDING FOR PEACE Zaki Patel partners with The Citizens Foundation to open up 141 schools across Pakistan for each innocent life lost in the Peshawar massacre BY HURMAT MAJID DESIGN BY ESSA MALIK
On December 16, 2014, Peshawar was struck by a heinous act of terrorism. One hundred and thirty-two children were massacred in cold blood, along with several others. The attack ignited a wave of outrage amongst civil society members who vowed to unite against the Taliban and those sympathetic towards them. Amidst this wave of emotion, Zaki Patel, an average Pakistani, decided to take a more concrete step and pledged to open up a school for each life lost and to bring education to areas that might not have access to it otherwise. It was after Patel came across a tweet about how the best revenge would be to build 141 schools — one in the name of each survivor — that he decided to turn this noble thought into a reality. “There were a lot of people lashing out on social media, but no one was doing something [substantial about it],” says Patel. Without wasting any time, he created a webpage and requested people to come forward and transform their anger into something positive and constructive. “I had no idea there would be such a quick and overwhelming response to the idea. At most, I expected 200 people to sign up, but within three days we had 15,000 responses,” he adds. It was at this moment Patel realised that people were actually willing to contribute and support his cause. He approached The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and pitched the idea to them and asked for their assistance with the project. With TCF’s already established presence in the education sector and pre-existing infrastructure, they obliged instantly and agreed to collaborate. The initiative has since turned into an active, citizen-led web movement. “People are coming forward, contacting us and pledging resources,” shares Patel. “Glass and paint factory owners are willing to help build the schools. There is a theatre group willing to pledge proceedings from a certain number of their shows. Organisations [outside Pakistan] are contacting us to say 50 that they would like to help train teachers. People are willing FEBRUARY 1-7 2015
Zaki Patel took the initiative to launch the ‘141 schools for peace’ project following the Peshawar attack. PHOTO CREDIT: KHAULA JAMIL to help in any way they can,” he adds. The website has its own donations tab that directly transfers proceedings to TCF and there is also an option to contribute via cheques. After funds are collected, TCF will use their expertise to organise and execute the project, Zaki explains. The ‘141 schools for peace’ project is steadily gaining momentum and has entered the execution phase. TCF spokesperson Ayesha Khatib says that for each school to be fully functional it would take nearly a year or a year-and-ahalf. The completion of the project depends on how fast the pledges for donations come through, after which the land has to be sought from land owners to get the construction work under way. It will take approximately six months to erect each building, she says.
If you wish to donate, visit the following website: 141schools.org
So far, TCF has received commitments for two schools and their construction process has already begun. Furthermore, TCF is encouraging support groups to come forward and join in spreading the word globally to help the project secure more funds. “This is a defining moment in Pakistan’s history,” says the CEO of TCF, Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad. “With the formidable challenges facing the nation, we passionately believe that only education has the power to enlighten minds, instill citizenship and unleash the potential of every Pakistani,” he adds. T Hurmat Majid is a subeditor at the Express Tribune. She tweets @bhandprogramme