How free are we?

“Freedom is a beautiful thing” the sapient Bush never tires of telling us. As a statement, few can argue with it. Whether, in reality, we are free is another issue. My argument is that in Western liberal democracies, our responsibilities, obligations and general anxieties of modern living far outweigh any freedoms we enjoy.

It is true that we can criticise, condemn and even ridicule the powers that be. If we are unhappy with the decisions of our leaders, we can vote them out. We have recourse to the courts, which are free of political influence. This much cannot be said of many countries. However, the freedom to criticise and debate is not of concern to the overwhelming majority of people. Even when it comes to voting, the trend in recent years has been ever declining turnouts. Blair’s ‘dictatorial majority’ is based on one of the lowest voter turnout ever.

When it comes to immediate concerns, our freedom and room for manoeuvre is in fact very limited. We are all slaves to the system. The multinational corporations employ thousands, but they can quite easily make thousands redundant. If we raise a murmur we are lectured about efficiency and flexibility, and even threatened with relocation to countries with cheaper labour markets. Government’s can further circumscribe our decision making powers, for example by raising taxes, forcing us to tighten our belts. To house our families, we take hefty mortgages for 25-30 years of our active lives. We live in constant worry about the vagaries of interest rates, which are influenced by factors wider than the interests of mortgage holders. When we drive, we need to be constantly alert against committing a minor traffic infraction, which could land us a heavy fine and rocketing insurance premiums. There are thousands of rules and regulations we could break.

I am not saying that we don’t need rules and regulations or that freedom in liberal democracies is not real. What I am saying is that living in modern, industrial and urban societies is not easy. For some people at least, the exigencies can be overwhelming. What else can explain the high rates of stress, anxiety and depression?

We are all leaders…

An interesting phenomenon about us British Mirpuris is our keen interest in politics. Not just the important issues, such as the Iraq war or Indo-Pak relations, but the nitty gritty of Mirpuri politics. The political parties in Mirpur are mirrored here. There is a People’s Party and a Muslim Conference. Both are organised nationally, regionally and in cities and towns. There are people associated with them with high flying titles: President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Publicity Officer etc. Even the internal party disputes and loyalties, the Blairites and Brownites of Mirpuri politics, are reflected here.

Politicians from Mirpur are regular visitors to the UK. They are invited as guest speakers to “conferences” and are feted at private parties. There are also a range of newspapers catering for the interest in Mirpuri politics. The Daily Jang, the quality Urdu daily, is dismissed as too Pakistan-centric. It would be interesting to know what impact the recent upsurge in the number of locally published newspapers catering for Mirpuris have had on the circulation figures of the Jang.

I think this interest in the detail of Mirpuri politics is misguided. It prevents us from actively participating in British society. It is also divisive. What we need is a common, united front on issues that directly affect us. If we really care about Mirpur, we can only represent its interests if we are united, not by emulating the murky world of party politics.

IT skills shortage

The IT skills shortage is often bemoaned, though admittedly we heard more about it at the height of the IT boom in the late 1990s. To fill the shortage, hundreds of IT training providers came into existence. Many of these provided training of dubious quality at a significant cost. Some course descriptions are quite attractive, but course delivery leaves a lot to be desired.

I have known of people who, enticed by marketing that lists the top end earning of skilled and experienced IT personnel, have parted with significant amounts of money. It has had no tangible effect on their career development.

Friends reunited…old flames rekindled

According to marriage guidance body Relate, friendsreunited and similar websites have been responsible for the breakdown of many relationships as people leave partners to rekindle school-day romance. I am not sure how widespread this problem is, but I think it is entirely credible. People bored in their current relationships may be tempted to use technology to seek another relationship. Technology has the advantage of letting you test the waters at a distance. What better way to do this than to contact old flames through the web? The sweet, innocent, care-free days of school romance may be too tempting.

However, this rosy picture of school day romance is misguided. It may have been sweet and innocent then, but things have moved on. Adult life is not the same as school life. Old flames do not come in a pristine condition. They come with all the experiences life has thrown at them since the school days. Their personality and outlook on life would, no doubt, have been conditioned by those experiences.

The problem with websites such as friendsreuinted is that they unwittingly provide an easy option for people in struggling relationships who should be talking with counsellors.

Buying a house- a stressful time

I am currently in the process of buying a house and before this I did not fully understand the oft-repeated statement that buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do. But now I understand it too well.

There are all kinds of anxieties and incoherent uncertainties circulating in my head. Have I made the right decision? Is the house in the right location? Have I got a good mortgage and insurance deal? My worst fear, which sets my heart racing and head pounding, is about interest rates rocketing and house prices collapsing. Negative equity. There has been talk in the press of this happening for some time and it is what restrained me, with hindsight to my disadvantage, from entering the housing market sooner. And yet still house prices went up and up. Some of my fears may be irrational, but even my superficial knowledge of economic history tells me that anything that goes up uncontrollably does so unsustainably.

On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of redemptive thoughts. There is plenty of latent demand, which, given a small let up in price rises, would provide a further impetus to the market. It can also be argued that prices have gone up so much over the past two years that any small falls could be absorbed within the rises. Under this scenario, only those who entered the market immediately before the falls would lose out.

I cannot, however, continue having this debate with myself for ever. At 32, I am already quite late in entering the market.

Dependent development

A recent chat with a fellow Mirpuri about the enviable economic position of Mirpur compared to the rest of Pakistan got me thinking. On crossing the Dhan-Ghali bridge that separates Azad Kashmir from Pakistan proper, the only thing as breathtaking as the scenery and the tortuous route are the palatial residences. Some of these would not be out of character in Hollywood. Unlike Hollywood, however, they are not built with home-grown wealth but with pounds remitted from the UK. A large proportion Mirpuris have settled in the UK.

Mirpuris, Pakistanis will tell you, have collectively won the lottery. What strikes me, however, is that the development is entirely dependent on remittances. There is no indigenous industry or economic activity worth the name. The only significant activity that takes place serves the pound economy. Brick works, for example, have thrived because of demand from British Mirpuris who return to build houses. Remittances have played no role in creating local industries to supply Pakistani markets. There is no self reliant, local wealth generating activity. Neither is there any robust infrastructure. The roads are dilapidated, schools decaying and electricity supply unreliable.

Will the district be able to rely on British Mirpuris forever? Most of those who return now were born in Mirpur or spent a large part of their early years there. However, will those born and bred in the UK have the same sense of attachment when they reach retirement? The construction boom shows no sign of abating yet. If anything, talk of raising the Mangla Dam- which will displace thousands of people- has provided a further impetus for the construction industry and land prices. However, in the longer term, it is not unreasonable to assume that links will become more tenuous. After all, many of these magnificent buildings lie empty.

(On the off chance that a Mirpuri is reading this, any comments would be most welcome).

Education is light

Many of my fellow British Pakistanis/ Mirpuris complain about the attitude of the older generation, particularly women. They complain about endemic gossiping, back biting, intrusion into the lives of others and a complete lack of sensitivity for the individuality of others. Mothers-in-law are particularly unpopular. They argue that the caricature of mothers-in-law in Bollywood movies, where they are often seen as overpowering, manipulative and even neurotic, is not entirely off the mark. I have some sympathy for such sentiments.

My theory is that a lack of education is behind all this. Many of these people are completely illiterate. Education opens up new horizons and interests. However, when you cannot read or write any language, or understand the main language of the country you live in, your options are limited. This is further compounded if your language, such as Mirpuri, is an unwritten language. There aren’t many subjects you can talk about.

Friends reunited…lessons in life

In the days before the web, I used to wonder how school friends and classmates, especially those who had moved out of the area, were doing. Now, thanks to technology, I can find out. As expected, life has been kind to some, tough for others and downright cruel for one or two. Most of my former classmates and school are reaping what was sown back in those days. Life is like a field; we reap what we sow. Sometimes tumultuous events, beyond our control, throw our best efforts and plans off course. That is fate.

Some of my classmates have gone on to do great things and excel in their fields. These were the hard workers, those who did their homework and did well in exams. Most were quite, attracted little attention and kept away from playground politics and rivalries.

Then there are those who didn’t do well. Some were on course for good things but life events blew their plans. There are some I know very little about, but see regularly and just wonder “What went wrong?”

A very small number, who regularly missed lessons and even in those days were not unknown to the police, graduated to serious crime, served time for it and now do unskilled work or no work. Some, boisterous, strong and energetic then, have been worn out by drug misuse or an unsettled life. They certainly don’t use the Internet to share experiences on friendsreunited, but I still see them occasionally.

As for those who do not use the Internet and I do not see, I can only wonder. But I wish them well.

People ask me how I have done. Not as good as the best and certainly not as bad as the worst. I graduated with a good 2:1 and have not been out of work since. I have faced redundancy once and the future is very unsettled in my present job, but I am not ungrateful. I have a 3 year old, who starts nursery this month. His field of life is before him; I hope I can help and guide him in ensuring he reaps the harvest of success.

Parking problems

Finding a parking space outside rows of terraced houses is becoming harder and harder as car ownership increases. Many households have more than one car. In most cases that means two cars per household. However, in my community (Mirpuri/ Pakistani), where extended families are quite normal, the situation is different. Many households have several cars.

On my street, a number of households have up to four cars. Our neighbours have three. A family several doors away have four- a black cab, a normal car for the driver of the black cab and a car each for his son and daughter. An elderly Irish couple, who have only one car, are paranoid about parking spaces. People try to avoid, out of courtesy, parking outside the couple’s home. However, occasionally the space is taken by visitors, much to the chagrin of the couple, who take it in turns to keep a look out for an opportunity to reclaim their place.

I am not sure what the solution is to this problem; a problem which, no doubt, is already affecting good neighbourly relations and may well increase. The tough answer may be to increase road tax rates where more than one car is registered at an address. This may not deter car ownership, particularly as many people own a car out of necessity to commute to work, given the sorry state of public transport. Like many other indirect tax rises, people may just take it on the chin.

Clutching at straws

The partisan Iraq Survey Group (ISG), set up by the occupiers and despite stretching every sinew to come with the news its masters wanted to hear, has concluded that Iraq did not possess WMD. The report has, however, thrown crumbs at the pro-war camp (no doubt with the aim of blunting its central conclusion), for example by saying that there was an intention to acquire WMD. This sounds not a little disingenuous. It has enabled Mr Straw to argue that the threat was even greater than previously thought. It is beyond belief that the Foreign Secretary should draw such a conclusion from a report that demolishes the government's case for the war.

The government's main argument for going to war was that Iraq's possession of WMD posed a present and existing threat to peace. The highly embellished evidence was presented in a manner calculated to give the impression of imminence. It is now clear that was not the case. Mr Blair's passionate pleadings about the dangers of WMD and about future generations blaming our inaction now look dishonest. He has lost credibility.

It is true that Saddam was an unpleasant despot. But that was also the case when Rumsfeld was shaking hands with him. The war was fought on the premise that he possessed WMD. Saddam denied possessing them and it seems he was telling the truth.

A Poem: Our World

Everywhere sadness, everyone anxious,
Sprightly appearances, but desolate hearts,
Dagger in the hand, sweet words,
This is the sign of our times...

Compensation or fraud

The compensation culture is often berated in the media. Hospitals, schools, local authorities etc, are all said to be under attack from greedy claimants making unmeritorious claims, aided and abetted by the ‘ambulance chasers’, the ‘no win, no fee’ claims companies and solicitors, who take a large cut from the compensation. Cash paid to claimants is cash deducted from the delivery of services for all. Further resources are wasted in defending the claims, which also diverts the attention of the organisation away from its core business.

I do not have statistics to show how widespread the problem is and the extent of the financial burden it is placing on the public sector. Certainly the impression is that the problem is quite serious. This impression is leading to defensive service delivery. Many schools are reluctant to take pupils on school trips and hospitals may not consider all the medial options. A school recently banned conkers.

Genuine, if unmeritorious, claims are one thing. There is also anecdotal evidence to suggest that many claims are downright fraudulent. People tripping up at home and then finding the nearest pothole to sue the council; exaggerated car accident claims, including for passengers who were not with the driver at the time of the incident.

The issue of how this abuse should be tackled is complex. Any tightening of the rules could, potentially, restrict access to justice for genuine cases. Equal access to justice is a basic tenet of a free and democratic society.

India’s UN ambitions

The new Indian premier, Manmohan Singh, raised the possibility of a permanent seat on the Security Council with various world leaders. It is something that India has been after for many years. As a Pakistani, my natural and traditional response is to oppose such a move. After all, India has been flouting UN resolutions that call for a plebiscite to be held in Kashmir. Its human rights record in Kashmir is appalling.

Yet if I was to take off my Pakistani/ Kashmiri hats and look at it dispassionately, I can empathise with the Indian position. Over a billion people, or a fifth of humanity, live in India. That alone is a strong reason why, according to Indians, their country should have a permanent seat. If the UK and France can have a permanent seat, then why not India?

I think more generally the way the Security Council is structured is outdated. It is certainly not the way things would be done now.

Enjoy, but don’t ask questions

Where have all the intellectuals gone, by Frank Furedi, is a powerful and incisive critique of the dumbing down of culture and creativity. The author lays much of the blame for this on institutions, such as universities, who do not challenge our intellect enough but are preoccupied with producing a workforce to service the economy. Only fusty, old intellectuals engage in learning for learning’s sake.

I agree with much of the critique, but have a slightly different perspective. The dumbing down of culture and learning also serves another purpose, in addition to providing a workforce to serve the economy. Karl Marx spoke of religion as the opiate of the people. I think in our times dumbed down popular culture, imbued by consumerism, is the opiate of the people which keeps us occupied and satisfied while governments engage in all kinds of things in our name.

How else can one explain the success of the neo-conservatives in the US in creating a vague link between Saddam and Al Qaeda? How else can the lack of significant opposition, in the US, to the Iraq adventure be explained? Most of the world was highly sceptical of the embellished evidence that was used as a pretext for the war. Genuine democracy depends on alert, active and critical citizens.

In the UK, there was significant opposition to the war, but my fear is that, more generally, the “channel five-isation” of culture is moving apace.

Technology for technology’s sake?

The sorry tale of government IT project fiascos is well chronicled in the press and parliamentary reports. Rather less is known about the take up of e-government and services by citizens. Now the e-citizen National Project (http://www.e-citizen.gov.uk/) has been set up to work with local authorities to look at ways of promoting e-services to citizens. Local governments are working to some tight deadlines about the availability of e-services, but the issue of take-up has remained rather vague.

Only widespread take-up can justify the billions that are spend on e-government. At the moment, it seems more like a case of the government not wanting to be left behind. The Internet has allowed thousands of informal networks of individuals and groups to be established. It has empowered individuals to share their thoughts and opinions (through web logging for example!) Perhaps government feels threatened by this.

The result has been a labyrinth of public sector websites, offering various information and services but not much information about take-up and usefulness. In my opinion, the Directgov site (http://www.direct.gov.uk/Homepage/fs/en) does very little to rectify this. I think the number of non-departmental site should be culled and further investment should depend on evidence of take-up. No doubt the government’s spending spree has helped rejuvenate the IT industry after the slump of the late 90s and earlier part of this decade. But tax payers’ money should be handled prudently.

Us Mirpuris…here and there

A very self-critical fellow Mirpuri recently wondered whether we are the demi-monde of multi-ethnic Britain. I think that is harsh, but his reasons weren’t all amiss. Compared to others, our children do badly at school, our streets are dirty, there is more unemployment and idleness, and more of our youngsters slide into a life of crime. These are all complaints I have heard from fellow Mirpuris lamenting the state of their community. To be fair, though, these issues and concerns are not unique to Mirpuris but common to all Pakistanis and a number of other communities.

Why do Mirpuris, however, have this reputation of generally being backward? I think it is because of the sheer numbers of our community. We are the largest, and therefore the most visible, Pakistani community in the UK. We also tend to live together, for example in the Alum Rock and Small Heath districts of Birmingham. The first of these is often called Dadyal, the district in Mirpur from which many of its residents originate. We are essentially village people, with a village mentality, thrown, in a relatively short of period, into an urban environment. To cope, we have developed an urban sub-culture that draws heavily on the culture we have left behind.

In Pakistan, our position is quite enviable in the eyes of ordinary people. Many labourers prefer to find casual work in the Mirpur district, where day rates are higher, thanks to the strong pound. This tends to irk the locals, especially those with no links to the UK, because it raises the price they have to pay for services.

I am not sure how the ruling elite see us. We are economically too important to be ignored. To some extent we are treated quite contemptuously by the elite, considered as people who have come into money without shredding the village mentality. Ultimately, however, the elite must be glad that this pliant community is filling the coffers of Pakistani banks.

End of Toryism

The Labour victory in the Hartlepool bye-election would be better known for the massively depleted majority in an ultra-safe seat, were it not for the dismal performance of the Tories. It would be unwise to talk of a major structural shift in British politics, but intellectually at least, the Tories look redundant. Labour now occupies the space formerly occupied by the Tories. New Labour believes in the primacy of the market. In international affairs it has clearly aligned itself with the war mongering neo-cons who rule the US. Blair's fortune is now linked to that of Bush.

While Labour has moved rightwards, the Liberal Democrats have shifted leftwards. They don't shy away from strong opinions about taxation or the role of the state. They were clearly opposed to the war in Iraq, while the Tories acquisced. Blair's credibility has plummeted, yet the Tories have not benefitted. They could have been more vociferous againt the war. They have blown their chance of winning the next election. It is not wise to predict anything in politics, but I will stick my neck and say: the Tories will not win the next general election.

Young Muslims in the UK…

According to a recent report, in 2003 8% or 6095 of the prison population were Muslim (Islamophobia: Issues, Challenges and Action). Muslims comprise less than 3% of the UK population, making the number in prison disproportionate to the total population. Most of these are not terror suspects, but common criminals. The single most important reason is the number of young Muslims involved in drugs offences. This, coupled with low educational attainment, particularly among young men, paints a depressing picture of the state of young Muslims in the UK.

What accounts for this depressing state of affairs? I don’t think it is possible to pinpoint a single reason. Low educational achievement could have something to do with lack of parental involvement and interest in the education of their children. This in turn could be related to the fact that in many cases parents are themselves semi-literate. However, this is only partly true. In many cases, uneducated parents have been determined to ensure their children are able to exploit the ample opportunities for education and training in the UK and have a better life. It is easy to blame the system for failing Muslims, but I disagree. If the system is to blame, why do many young people from the same deprived communities do well academically? It should also be added that there is some variation depending on country of origin. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, most of whom are Muslim, do worse than others.

It might be tempting to say that we have a ready explanation for why many of these youngsters slide into crime. They live in deprived communities and have very little education: an ideal environment for breeding crime. To some extent, yes. Crime does thrive in deprived areas where there are few employment opportunities. At one time, factories and mills provided ready opportunities for unskilled labourers. In many areas, these industries have not been replaced by the high skilled companies of the new economy, thereby leaving a dangerous void. However, not all young people from these communities go into a life crime.

I lay some of the blame for criminal and thuggish behaviour at the door of parents. Many of them just don’t know what their kids are up to. Many think their kids are at college. There may be a cultural issue here as well. Cultural ignorance and naivety may prevent parents knowing what their children do outside the home. Traditional values, which stressed hard work and commitment to the family, are now breaking down.