On Friday 11th October 2013, a 15 year old girl could potentially be the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Not only is this a a brave young girl with more gumption than most children her age, she is also a Pakistani.
Logic dictates that being a Pakistani, a nation of beggars not choosers on the international front, the people would be rooting for this candidate. They would pray with the same religious urgency they exhibited for inzee bhai to make the distance between the wickets after whacking another solid one. Or the way that every aunty and her sassu maa came together to beg God for Mr. Khan to live to see another day. Or the way they pray for the Indian team to self combust during a Pak-India match. However, instead of majority support, we have a nation of people spinning fairy tales that would put the Grimm brothers to shame.
The reason for this is simply the fact that we have trust issues. Once bitten, twice shy has been on a repetitive loop lately, and like the forlorn, our ability to love has dissipated. Malala being considered as a candidate is so unfathomable to most, that they all escape into that safe haven in their minds where cynicism runs amok, never bothering to consider that this is just a 15 year old child. Thus the positive attention must be another US propaganda ploy hence Malala is a closeted American, probably descending from the Roosevelts themselves, carefully placed in Waziristan for the perfect opportunity.
Don't get me wrong. I agree that that Edhi is the one true national hero and that no one deserves the peace prize more that he does. But he is not getting it. The reasons behind that can only be generalized assumptions at this point and how ever evil they may be, the bottom line is that this will not be his year. We can sit here moping and beating our chests till we're blue in the face, and no one on the international stage will bat an eye lash. The only sure shot way to grab their attention is to yell Osama is Obama and lets face it, no one has the guts to use that one anymore. So grab a hold of that patriotism and rally behind our one last hope for redemption. Cheer on the girl that wants to support women's rights. If for nothing else, then do it for the fact that the world might finally be able to form a distinction between the people of Pakistan and the Taliban of Pakistan.
Logic dictates that being a Pakistani, a nation of beggars not choosers on the international front, the people would be rooting for this candidate. They would pray with the same religious urgency they exhibited for inzee bhai to make the distance between the wickets after whacking another solid one. Or the way that every aunty and her sassu maa came together to beg God for Mr. Khan to live to see another day. Or the way they pray for the Indian team to self combust during a Pak-India match. However, instead of majority support, we have a nation of people spinning fairy tales that would put the Grimm brothers to shame.
The reason for this is simply the fact that we have trust issues. Once bitten, twice shy has been on a repetitive loop lately, and like the forlorn, our ability to love has dissipated. Malala being considered as a candidate is so unfathomable to most, that they all escape into that safe haven in their minds where cynicism runs amok, never bothering to consider that this is just a 15 year old child. Thus the positive attention must be another US propaganda ploy hence Malala is a closeted American, probably descending from the Roosevelts themselves, carefully placed in Waziristan for the perfect opportunity.
Don't get me wrong. I agree that that Edhi is the one true national hero and that no one deserves the peace prize more that he does. But he is not getting it. The reasons behind that can only be generalized assumptions at this point and how ever evil they may be, the bottom line is that this will not be his year. We can sit here moping and beating our chests till we're blue in the face, and no one on the international stage will bat an eye lash. The only sure shot way to grab their attention is to yell Osama is Obama and lets face it, no one has the guts to use that one anymore. So grab a hold of that patriotism and rally behind our one last hope for redemption. Cheer on the girl that wants to support women's rights. If for nothing else, then do it for the fact that the world might finally be able to form a distinction between the people of Pakistan and the Taliban of Pakistan.
