7 Pakistani army band members want to stay in US

[mohabbat]

Seven members of the Pakistani Army band that had flown to New York to perform in the August 14 Pakistani Independence Day celebrations have disappeared in the middle of the night from their Brooklyn residence! It was a chance to come to US and stay here for good. Since the takeover of the military government there has been increase of Pakistanis immigrating to Western countries, seeking asylum.
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep20...00/oped/o4.htm
http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep20...main/main7.htm

http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/aug20...00/oped/o3.htm

[Some1]

The best lines yet from the above-mentioned links :
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Should they stay in the motherland, play "Mera Lal Dopatta Mulmul Da" or fry burgers in a seedy Mexican-run hole on the edge of the border, for half the wages and an uncertain future? That they have chosen the latter, is not without meaning. They are not the first ones to do so and over the years, many have made a trip abroad, part of a delegation and then disappeared at the first chance. In a way, I hope the seven are not found.

They may not make the big time there, but they might find the opportunity to make an honest living in an alien culture and eventually even succeed. There are any number of Pakistanis now comfortably off, who escaped in great desperation from their country to seek a life elsewhere. No one readily wishes to migrate because your land, howsoever horrible it may have become, never ceases to draw you back, but Pakistanis are looking at other lands and other cultures because a majority of them understand too well, that there is nothing much for them here, never was and never will be.

[Akmed786]

I would not be surprized if Pakistan's CEO ends up in the west a few years from now.


[This message has been edited by Akmed786 (edited September 03, 2000).]

[mohabbat]

Zia-ul-Haq's son's live in New York. Benazir Bhutto lives in UK. Jinnah's daughter lives in US (New York). Most retired Pakistani army personnel move to US. Altaf Hussain lives in UK. Imran Khan was in UK for many years. Musharraf's brother and son Bilal are in US, so there is very high chance he might move to US like Jahangir Karamat

In fact many PTV artists are moving to US . Tahseem Javed lives in Arizona, In Houston there are couple of artists who have moved for good.

[This message has been edited by mohabbat (edited September 03, 2000).]

[Some1]

It does not come as a surprise thus that most of the Paki Guppies here live abroad and have not been to their homeland for years. Some like NYA go to Pak and come back to write about their adventures there as if they had gone through some sort of a challenge in visiting Pakistan as opposed to casual homecoming.
People like Benazir,Imran,Altaf and others mentioned in Mohabbat's post and some of our very own e.g. Xtreme swear by Pakistan - but from a distance.
I know Indians too migrate in great numbers but staying back in India is not a sin yet.And infact a lot of them, especially professionals in various areas are actually returning. Helping them do that are sites like http://www.return2india.com .

[proudpakistani]

TORONTO, Sept 2: The sports community in Canada's British Columbia province has been shocked by the disappearance of
23 Indian athletes who travelled to the country last month to participate in an international event, but never turned up.

The athletes, including 15 men and eight women aged 30 years and above, arrived in Toronto and were to take part in the
World Association of Veteran Athletes (WAVA) Regional Championships from August 18 to 20 at Kamloops in conjunction
with the Canadian National Masters Track and Field Championships.

The largest number of Indian athletes, seven, were from Punjab, followed by three each from Chandigarh and New Delhi
and two each from Uttar Pradesh and Goa. The remaining were from Haryana, Jammu and Maharashtra and
Gujarat. The athletes were accompanied by a coach, a trainer and a doctor
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unity, faith, discipline

[Some1]

proudpakistani, there is a difference between ex-primeministers/kins of the CE/ex-military top brass immigrating AND a group of unknown veteran amateur atheletes taking a shot at western life......

While on the subject , the following bit is not out of context.....

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Not Silicon valley but making it big right here in the city of dreams Mumbai is the latest NRI dream. More and more second generation Indians are now doing a reverse migration hoping for a shot at stardom. For 18-year-old Murtaza Ali, the ultimate dream is to make it in Bollywood and to star in a movie with Aishwarya Rai. Though born and brought up in London, the city neither holds little fascination for him nor is Hollywood a final destination.

Like Murtaza, there are many second generation Indians in Britain and America for whom Hindi films are a staple diet. For the star-struck among them, the highly competitive world of entertainment in the west offers few opportunities to break through. Indian films and television, by contrast, are seen as a real option and many youngsters are ready to pack their bags and try their luck.

To cater to this growing demand, specialised finishing schools have emerged in both England and the United States to teach aspirants dance, acting, and, of course, Hindi. According to Shazia Qureshi, a model coordinator, "We teach them all that is required for them."

There is also a small emerging market of
British Asian films like East is East. Budding actors see these films as a stepping-stone to getting a break in Hindi films. The attraction for Hindi cinema and television as job options also reflects a unique generational change. The parents of these hopefuls had left India believing the country had little to offer. Now, their teenaged children actually see India's film world as a glamorous return home.

[This message has been edited by Some1 (edited September 04, 2000).]

[Mr Xtreme]

Some1 :

There is also a small emerging market of
British Asian films like East is East. Budding actors see these films as a stepping-stone to getting a break in Hindi films. The attraction for Hindi cinema and television as job options also reflects a unique generational change. The parents of these hopefuls had left India believing the country had little to offer. Now, their teenaged children actually see India's film world as a glamorous return home.

yaar, do all you Indians live in cloud cuckoo land? Indian actors and actresses are training in the US so that they can go home to Bollywood??

*POP*

That's the sound of your bubble bursting.

Seasoned indian actors leave India to play insignificant roles in turgid soaps in the UK. Saeed Jaffrey played the role of an oily convenience store owner in Coronation Street, a daily soap about a down-trodden area of Manchester.

Madhur Jaffrey presents a cooking programme in the UK.

Mira Nair had to cut 2 minutes of homosexuality scenes in her film Kama Sutra before Indian Censor Board would allow the screening. That's probably why she lives in South Africa now. Remember, filming of Deepa Mehta's film 'Water' was halted by authorities after protests by hindu fundos.

Unfortunately for dreamers like some1 and mohabbat, India is still a 3rd world country filled with stinking beggars and mud houses. That's why this thread is a pretty futile attempt at one-upmanship.

[Some1]

Xtreme wrote :
India is still a 3rd world country filled with stinking beggars and mud houses. That's why this thread is a pretty futile attempt at one-upmanship.

For once I will agree with you Xtreme.
Again yiu have got me all wrong though. While India and Pakistan may be same in many ways, yiu have to acknowledge that India is not the same it used to be a few years back.Career wise, there are a lot more opportunities there (after the economy opened up) so much so that people like me have real thoughts of going back there pretty soon (I am in the US)...
. And a lot of people I know have been returning.Some have even forfeited their citizenships/greencards.
more on this later.....

[Farid]

mohabbat,

Pakistani nation lakes in patriotism. Though Pakistan is a sovereign country, the successive dictatorships had given many gifts such as lack of patriotism, terrorism, uncertainty, and so on. It is not un-usual for the people what ever their rank is, to run-away from country and take asylum in the land where 'rivers of honey and milk flows!!!

And yes some of the refugees are responsible for messing up the country before escape.

Sincerely,

FARID