Educational exchange programme with US
By Tariq Saeed

INTERNATIONAL Education and Research Programme has this year planned to dispatch some 45 Pakistani students to different cities of the United States under the Youth Exchange and Study Programme (YES). While the whole exercise, the Programme claims is aimed at promoting mutual respect, tolerance and understanding together with excellence in education and leadership through such kind of ‘exchanges’, the element of exchange is literally missing in it as the US students are yet to land in Pakistan under the same programme. The so-called security hazards as usual are attributed as the major and perhaps the only reason.

The Programme with the help of US consulate in Peshawar arranged a pre-departure orientation programme for the selected students recently at a five star hotel here. The orientation get-together participated by the parents and teachers of the outgoing students as well as a section of press, however, raised many a questions.

We do not doubt the sincerity of the International Education and Research Programme, which they define as a network of teachers and students working at the local, country and international levels to implement project-based collaborative education programmes across a wide-range of topic areas, and acknowledge its efforts being made towards bridging the gap among the countries with divergent views, cultures and civilisations. We do believe that the misunderstandings between Pakistanis and the Americans, between the West and the Muslims, particularly in the backdrop of nine eleven incidents, ought to be removed but could one thinks of one-sided exchanges.

Would this one-way traffic not lead to creating misgivings among the people here, specifically the common man and would that not further widen the gap between the people of the two countries with different, religion and the social values?

It would not be impertinent to mention here that all those students selected for YES programme aged between 15 and 16 and a half years with the girl students constituting majority in the group. Their fresh minds are always likely to get first impressions as last of whatever they get appeased with.

The Provincial Minister for Science and Technology in the presence of Mr. Michael A. Spangler the Principal Officer of the US consulate in the function, very rightly asked as to how could such exchange programmes with one way traffic deliver good. Would the teenaged ambassadors of Pakistan (45 or so students going to US under YES programme) be able to plead their case or remove the misunderstandings about the Muslims effectively?

He was justified to say that unless and until the US students land in Pakistan and provide us the opportunity to be their host and apprise them of our values, it would be unwise to expect the desired results.

The Science and I T minister very graciously offered to host two American students under the same programme every year in his family in a most congenial, secured and friendly atmosphere.

No doubt the Programme’s senior officials as well as the US people present in the function agreed with this scribe that it was imperative to have the US students in Pakistan under the same programme in order to have better understanding about each other and to bridge the gap between the two civilisations, at the same time they expressed their inability to facilitate the same owing to so-called security hazards in Pakistan.

Unfortunately the western media is spending all its resources to prove Pakistan an entirely insecure nation with most uncertain living conditions. The West with particular reference to Americans will have to give up the misconceptions about security measures in Pakistan, their ‘frontline coalition partner in war against terror’. We believe the incidence of murders, dacoities, robberies and other terrorism taking place in two US states Chicago and Texas alone in one month must be more than those reported in Pakistan during the whole year.

The only difference perhaps is that the subversive activities taking place in American states are hardly reported by their media, which cannot go beyond the limits specified by their government. (This impression was confirmed by an American national, who says we really don’t know what is happening in the outer world and the government passes on only that information to the media which it deems fit). On the other hand the western media would not let an opportunity go waste to over highlight the routine crime taking place in Pakistan or other Muslim countries and relating the same with the international terrorists network.

The ‘engineered’ incidents of terrorism taking place in remote tribal areas of the country have got nothing to do with the settled areas. We being the inhabitants of provincial metropolis Peshawar that is surrounded by the tribal belt, never felt insecure nor did we come across major subversive acts in the town as in Punjab and Sindh provinces. Exceptions are, however, everywhere. The American or other foreign students can comfortably be accommodated with the host parents (families) living in extremely safe environments.

We believe that the misgivings and misconceptions about each other can only be removed when the educational exchanges are conducted in real sense of the term and the American students do undertake trips to Pakistan under the YES programme.

While a senior official pledged to do much more in this regard and ensured that the students from the West especially Americans will also come to Pakistan under the educational exchange programmes, those at the helm of affairs in the American missions here are also required to play their role in this direction. They have to convince the bosses in Washington not to feel afraid of so-called security hazards in Pakistan and let their youths get exposed to one of though murkiest but serene cultures of the globe, which believe in ‘live and let live’ notion of humanity.

We believe that a majority of the policy makers in America think on the same lines and earnestly want interactions between the people of two countries but no one is willing to take the initiative. As a Chinese philosopher said that a thousand miles journey begins with a single step which Americans are expected to take and should not wait in the wings for too long. It’s about time we all should live up to the calls of the day and age.

It indeed makes a lot of difference when the stronger goes to the weaker who takes pride into that. The US civilisation is stronger in a sense that they are at least in vogue around the globe. It is for sure that the Pakistani people would welcome the Americans students coming here under study exchange programmes. Americans are expected to show sanguinity in this regard which will not only have long-lasting and indelible impacts on the Pakistanis but would also help remove the misgivings of a common man about the genuineness of these programmes.●

© 2005 Tariq Saeed