women under siege

14 May 2012

For me, Spring 2012 has been about Women Under Siege, a Voices Breaking Boundaries production, which I’ve been working on since December 2011. We had an intense Part 1 on April 28, packed with videos, installations and performances. A large number of community members showed up to express their views and respond to the art, and many stories were recorded.

Part 2 was held just this past weekend, a quieter production that was an opportunity to digest and reflect on the art and conversation from two weeks ago. Pictures can be viewed on VBB’s Flickr site. Videos and other documentation will be uploaded soon.

Meanwhile, you can read some of the press about the show by visiting CultureMap’s coverage as well as a Houston Chronicle editorial.

a rough journey

19 July 2011

Our flight did leave on time but Karachi’s international departure lounge was packed with people with barely enough standing room since all PIA flights were delayed.

By the time we landed in Dubai, it was already 3:00 am Karachi time. The airplane coasted along the airport runway for ten minutes. When the plane stopped, I noticed buses pulling up: There was no chute to connect us to the terminal and we would need to walk down the dark staircase and ride a bus (without seats) for another 15 minutes to the terminal for our onward flight. (I take back what I said in my blog-post from when we flew through Dubai a month ago.)

“Why do passengers from Pakistan have to take buses?” I asked an Emirates attendant, who helped me with my hand-luggage as I carried a sleepy Minal down the stairs to the heated tarmac.

He shrugged. “It’s random.”

“Random?” I held on to the metal rail. “I’ve never taken a flight coming from the US and had to deal with this!”

The attendant did not have a response to my anger.

Today, barely recovered from the long journey, I browse through the blog of one Pakistan’s largest English daily newspapers, Dawn, and come across an essay about Saudi discrimination against South Asians. Though Dubai is part of the U.A.E., and is in many ways different from Saudi Arabia, Asian laborers in Dubai experience similar hardships to those that Ahmed Ali Khalid raises in his blog entry. In a 2006 BBC story, reporter Masud Alam writes about apartheid in Dubai (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6171909.stm). Our experience at the airport is a microcosm of a larger story, one that hasn’t changed much since Alam’s narrative posted five years ago.

18 days of protest

11 February 2011

It’s a cold brisk morning in Houston, Texas. I’ve just dropped Minal to school, but for some inexplicable reason, I don’t want to deposit myself at home or in the office. I want to drive and listen to the radio, KPFT Pacifica Radio 90.1 FM. This week is fund-drive, but I have multiple errands to do – stop by the post office, pick up something from the Museum, go to the bank – and I’ll just take care of all my work while I catch up on the latest news about Egypt. As I tune in, I hear the voice of my friend Renee Feltz aka Chickpea, who used to work at KPFT and has recently started employment at Democracy Now in New York. It’s the usual fund-drive exchange: she’s talking to Duane, KPFT’s General Manager, calling for pledges. I’m on Montrose. On a whim, I turn right onto Lovett Street and pull into the Station’s parking lot. I might as well make my donation in person, and maybe I’ll go on air and say hello to Chickpea. And I also figure, I can remind Duane about the protest rallies taking place all weekend in front of Houston’s Egyptian Consulate.

Inside, at Pledge Central, the phones are somewhat quiet, and there are volunteers camped around the table. Duane paces by the french doors, microphone in hand, as I’ve seen him many a time. For a brief second more, I hear Chickpea’s voice, and then she’s replaced by Amy Goodman. I hang out for a few more minutes, share information about the protests, and then drive off, still tuned into the news. Amy Goodman disappears again, and Chickpea comes back on, urging listeners to send in pledges and keep the station alive.

But now there’s a crackle in the air, and increased background noise. Amy’s voice returns. It’s past the pledge time for her show, but clearly, there’s news to share. She urges Houston listeners to pledge, but doesn’t stay on the air too long. Chickpea’s voice is back. I’m driving with my windows rolled up, now listening closely. Something is about to happen.

After a few minutes, Amy’s voice returns. “I have some news,” she says. “And it’s directly from Cairo….Wait, it’s hard to catch from the earphone in my other ear.” Dead air and crackles. “Yes, it’s official. Hosni Mubarak has resigned. He has left Cairo.”

The background noise behind her voice is the roar of the people of Cairo on Tahrir Square.

Minal's MLK Jr Drawing

19 January 2010

Minal’s homework in honor of Martin Luther King Jr: “Write or draw 3 of your dreams.”

Dream #1: a magic pot so I can get whatever I want.

Dream #2: a bed decorated with flowers for Nana so Nani can smile

Dream #3: wallet for (homeless) man so he doesn’t have to clean car windows at street corners.

And on the way to school she asks: “What do dreams do in the daytime?”

I miss Nana...

9 October 2009

Today while I serve dinner, I suddenly put my spoon down and say: "I miss my Ammi."

Minal, hiked up on her stool, chirps: "I miss my Nana."

What do you miss about your Nana?"

There's a pause. "I miss seeing him in the morning and how he asked me for a hug every morning." Another pause. "I also miss how he always used to try to make me try his naashta."