Taxi to the Dark Side
A documentary film which won the 2007 Academy Award for Documentary Features. It focuses on the murder in custody of an Afghan taxi driver by American soldiers. This feature however, has nothing to do with that film or the concept used in its theme. We have our very own “Taxi to the Dark Side”. A taxi that we have ridden to the dark side even when the rest of the world was celebrating financial prosperity. Taxi of youth unemployment. As with everything else that happens here for this case too we are always looking for a scapegoat instead of rectifying the fault.
The root cause is the lack of proper education. Our educational system & content is not up to the International standards. More than half of the 54 percent population which we mark as the literate class is only capable of writing their own name leaving only around 10 percent people who are literate in the real sense. With the day night progress in the IT sector, products & services are delivered in a very much techno oriented manner. More than 70 percent of our population is not even remotely aware of these improvements.
Other contributing factors point the finger at the government. If you are part of so & so’s family tree or know so & so via so & so, you have nothing to worry about unemployment. However, those of us who reject this formula because a) they don’t know anyone & b) they are those lame ones who still believe in merit & justice, are the ones who are going to be interested in this article(as they have nothing else to do). Our former President in one of this interviews stated that we should not worry about the brain drain. As our country does not has enough resources we should let are people go & when the country will be back in gear these people will return to the land of pure. Unfortunately, the mother land never came back in her gear & at the present the chances don’t seem that bright. What Mr. Musharaf overlooked, was the burden this brain drain caused. These doctors, engineers, IT people, MBAs etcetra are educated here, get their training here but the fruit is enjoyed by others. What’s left for Pakistan is the leftover, those who were rejected or didn’t have the right resources.
While interviewing some of the locals we got to know that the majority stops their education after intermediate level only few continue with their bachelors. And they leave their jobs & prefer opening their own shops of grocery, drive rickshaw etc because their jobs don’t pay them more more than the minimal wage. In our view point all these young people should be taught the meaning of the quote “Don’t expect until & unless you deserve”. Though if you look at the circumstances its agreed that most of the blame resides on the government but unfortunately our generation X are no angels. They have diverted their energies in the wrong direction.
Exceptions do exist. Some of these have turned the odds in their favor & showed the world Some of the best examples of enterpernurship. One of these examples is Muhammad Azfar Ahsan (CEO of Nutshell Forum; country’s leading conference management and training resource organization, he had organized more than two hundred national and international conferences, seminars, training workshops and group discussions in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Dubai and Bahrain). People like these should be inspiration enough for the rest of us to follow.
Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has”.
Therefor, its high time that we stop crying about what the majority does & change the south Asian pace with which things happen in our part of the world.
Originally published on August 1, 2009.
