Not Sure What to Expect

As we prepare for our trip to Pakistan, I am thinking about all the times I have encouraged students not to be afraid of the unknown. Now as I find myself going to a country that is framed as a terrorist country by US media, I must admit that I have some fears of the unknown. I am confident that 99.9% of the Pakistani people are peace-loving, good people. However, we also know that there are those who would like to do American citizens harm and this does make me a little nervous. My goal is to go to Pakistan with an open mind in order to make new friends and learn as much as I can from the people we meet. I want to know and experience what I can of Pakistani culture, art, food, people, music, schools, architecture, etc. I also want to show Pakistani people that Americans are peace-loving, good people who reject violence in all forms including drone attacks, road-side bombs, economic exploitation, misogyny in all forms, religious intolerance, etc. I believe that peace is achieved through cultural exchange between people and that is what we are working on for this adventure. Wish us luk as we go make new friends.

Brian

"Epic Miniatures"

I'll let Saira Wasim's paintings speak for themselves:

"I am loving it!", gouache, graphite, air brush and silver leaf on wasli paper, 31 x 24", 2010

"Identity?", gouache, graphite, and plastic stars on wasli paper, 19 x 12", 2010

"Demockery", Gouache, gold and tea washes on wasli paper, 27 x 26cm, 2008

Saira Wasim is from Lahore, Pakistan, and currently living in the United States. You can find more of her work here: http://www.sairawasim.com/index.html

Letters to a Future Generation from North Carolina and Cairo

From Amber McNamara, our 6-year-old niece:

From a young man in Cairo after the Egyptian Revolution:

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Life is the most precious give we all have. I spent years trying to enjoy it, every moment every second. How beautiful life is. But then life teaches you well that you cannot enjoy it alone. You need to share it with a loving family, a caring friend, or a beautiful partner it doesn't matter how many people are close to you as long as you have someone who shares this same feeling with you, which is love. As I became older I discovered that love is about sacrifice. A mother experiences so much pain to give birth to her child, than she wouldn't mind to sacrifice her life for him in the name of love. A real friend would share everything he has, time, money, food and may even sacrifice his life for his best friend. Every human being, at some point, would sacrifice himself for his beloved ones.But is there a greater love than sacrificing ourselves for the upcoming generations? Giving our lives to who will replace us in the future life? For this dream we didn't stay calm, we decided to say NO to whoever cares not for us or for you. Whether it would be a corrupted government, a dictatorial president or even their allies we decided to face them all, bring them to justice and replace them with who would really love this country and share this love with its people. As an Egyptian I am proud that I have lived those moments, I have seen young people fighting and dying for us, and especially for you. From this historical moment, life became more beautiful than before, for the first time in my life I knew the true meaning of love. Love is sharing. And love is sacrifice...
In your future, I hope that this true meaning of love will reach everyone's heart. God bless you all.
Ismail Youssef, Cairo, Egypt 


Thank you to all of you who have written letters for the installation. For those of you would still like to do so, please email them to me as soon as possible! They do not have to be long. They just have to start with "Dear Future Generation" (or some form of that) and end with your name, city, and country. 

Aisha Khalid

I just found this contemporary Pakistani artist, Aisha Khalid. In this piece, she has created a massive shawl by pushing gold-plated pins through four layers of fabric.

Aisha Khalid, Kashmiri Shawl, 2011, pashmina scarf and gold-plated steel pins. Source: Huffington Post, 2/26/12

Khalid explains this work in an interview with Guy Mannes-Abbott at the Sharjah Art Museum in the United Arab Emirates. Here are some excerpts:

"This piece is about what's happening in Kashmir because whenever I travel to the West I was always take for my friends, Kashmiri scarf or shawl, something like that. If I ask someone, what shall I bring for you, they always say Kashmiri shawl or something....So, it's all over the world but people don't think about where this beauty and this luxury is coming from, and how the people are suffering. No-one is thinking about that and it's a very bad situation in Kashmir--Indian Occupied Kashmir....So I was just thinking that one side of this shawl is black with gold, you see and you feel like it's a beautiful embroidered fabric...you see the other side is red and with the sharp edges of pins."

She worked on this piece with a team for 16 hours every day for forty days. All 360,000 pins were gold plated by hand (which requires tying each nail). They are not secured to the fabric other than by the pressure of them being pushed through the scarf.


For the entire interview:
http://notesfromafruitstore.net/2011/04/21/notes-from-a-biennial-appendix-ii-in-conversation-with-aisha-khalid/#more-5715

Apology

Today the news continues to comment not only on the egregious acts of the U.S. soldiers who burned Holy Qurans in Afghanistan, but also on President Obama's decision to apologize. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House and a current Republican presidential runner, called the U.S. apology an "outrage". Juan Cole, a professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Michigan, tweeted in response, "Gingrich Endangers US troops by Slamming Obama for Apology over Qur'an Burning".

Protesters in Pakistan, angry over the burning of Korans in Afghanistan, from the article "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word",  International Herald Tribune, Mark McDonald, February 26, 2012

As hard as I try, I cannot fathom how people miss the connection between acts of aggression and acts of retaliation and how it feeds an endless cycle of violence. It makes me wonder if they are actually missing it or if they just do not care. This incident reminds me of an email that Rasheed sent on January 19th:

Dear Friends,

Hope you all are fine and will be doing well to serve the humanity. Here in Pakistan we are passing from a very difficult time because every day here a close friend or a colleague is brutally killed by unknown killers. Yesterday a very close friend of mine Mr. Mukarram Khan Atif who was a reporter of the Dewa(Candle) Radio Washington was killed by the militants. His sole crime was that he was working in a professional manner and was not favoring any group. Our lives are also in great threat. I do not know that which one of my email will be the last one of my life. But be sure that I have understood and many of my friends have been persuaded to believe that you people are peace loving people totally different from the policy makers, politicians, and armed forces. We are also hate the wars but here we can do nothing because here we are killed but you people can do a lot because your state is the custodian of your rights and owns the responsibility to safeguard your lives and propoerties. Convey my best wishes to all of your friends and relatives and request them on my behalf to work for peace and pressurize your policy makers, politicians, and the armed forces to bring an end to these unjustified wars and brutal acts (Example is US/NATO Army urinating on the dead bodies in Afghanistan). 

Best wishes,

Rasheed Mohmand, Executive Director of Tribal Reforms and Development Organization, Peshawar

To our friends abroad, 

I can speak for Brian and many other Americans when I say that we stand 100% against the destruction of human life and all forms of violence including the act of disrespecting another person's religion, race, or culture. We are teachers, restaurant owners, musicians, farmers, auto workers, scientists, carpenters, businesswomen, journalists, mothers, and fathers. We have wanted this war to end the day it started. Please send our apologies and condolences to all of the families who have been affected by this violence. Let them know that we will try our best to make our voices audible.

Respectfully,

Heather 


I'll end this entry with the fact that, at the end of 2011, there were an estimated 2.6 million Muslim Americans living in the United States. At least 370,000 were of Pakistani descent.

"I want to be someone who engages..."

I love Brian's quote in the article that was published yesterday in the Rochester Business Journal. Thank you to Ms. Smriti Jacob for writing this phenomenal work of art. She captured the nuances of our cross-cultural experiences perfectly--everything from our initial fears of traveling to our post-experience reflections. She described each of the four referenced cultures as conversations rather than caricatures. If you click on the images, the text should become large enough to read.

Nine Days and Counting!

Several days ago, we were thrilled to open an email from Mr. Anthony M Jones, the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Karachi: "We just received the good news that you both received your Pakistani visas. The Public Affairs Section in Karachi would love to program cultural engagements with students and other groups as part of your visit to Karachi, Pakistan....Your participation would be a great service to our country at a time when we need to be building a positive message between the people of the United States and Pakistan."


Are we nervous to go to Pakistan? In the beginning, yes, but that has changed dramatically through conversations with our hosts and friends. Like many Americans, I am guilty of having images and stories about terrorism contaminate my imagination and my ability to make reasonable judgements. Like Taimur, a Pakistani exchange student at Nazareth College, said, you would never want to come to Rochester if you only watched the news. 

We will be in KARACHI. It's in the south on the coast of the Arabian Sea. 

I apologize in advance for all of the cultural mistakes that I am about to make and for anything that I say or write that, in retrospect, will inevitably sound ignorant. I think this is part of the process.


Today's Update:
At this point in time, I have sewn over 150 pouches. This was a large number until I found out that our Pakistani collaborators have sewn over 400.  My to-do list includes things like stopping the mail, deciding what to bring for gifts, and (the most daunting task) figuring out what I should wear. Brian sent an email to every faculty and staff member at Nazareth College and now the letters are coming in faster than my ability to respond to each person. We would still like more, however, so please write one if possible. It doesn't have to be long or complex. It just has to start with "Dear Future Generation" and end with your name, city, and country.


Also, if you are interested in seeing some incredible art made by a contemporary Pakistani-American artist, go to this link and click on the video: 


http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/shahzia-sikander

Funding, Flowers, and Future Generations

On Valentine's Day, Brian and I went out for a great dinner at Tapas. Amongst many other things, we talked about the fact that we will need to find sustainable funding in order to continue these art-based cultural exchanges. It is amazing to think that, since 2001, the war in Iraq has cost $1,302,953,143,821 and it is growing by the second. The number exceeds my imagination. In contrast, it is nearly impossible for artists to find any funding at all (thank you to Nazareth College and to the University of Rochester for making this cultural exchange possible). I have started a folder of grant applications organized by deadline. Thus far, after a significant amount of research, the total is six. We will apply for every one, along with thousands of other artists. I often ask myself what would happen if we transferred .001% of the funds from the war budget to artists who were interested in promoting international peace. Like the number I mentioned above (which has increased by over $1,000,000 since I started writing this paragraph), I cannot conceive of what would happen if we split the budget half and half. If anyone has questions about whether or not international art collaborations are affective, read the following message that Brian and I received from Rasheed upon coming back to the house after our Valentine's Day dinner:


HAPPY VALANTINE DAY
Dear Sisters and Brothers Good Wishes.

Today, the valentine day  is celebrated throughout the world where the well wishers share the aspirations of love, affection and paternity to each other. 

Though we are living in a region where on daily bases the human beings are tortured and persecuted but in spite of all this, I on behalf of all the tribal people living in FATA present the sweet gifts of love, affection and brotherhood. Our people are presented through media, as the most barbarians and warring ones but in fact our people do not believe and discriminate on the bases of religion, race color and caste. We are more loving and respect humanity.

I suggest to all of you to show these loving gifts to all of your family members particularly to your children and tell them that we the tribal people show respect and brotherhood. We have taught our children and other fellow citizens that extend full respect, honor and love to those peace loving people who have nothing to do with wars, genocide, terrorisms and other hateful things. We and you all should come closer to each other to promote peace, love and affection and make this world a better place of living to love each other.

Rasheed Mohmand Advocate


Thank you to EVERYONE who has sent us a letter to a future generation. By doing so, you are making a significant contribution to the success of this exchange. The installation does not function without these letters, so we greatly appreciate your participation!  
For those of you who are still interested in becoming involved, all you need to do is write a letter that starts "Dear Future Generation" and ends with your name, city, and country. Email the letter to hlayton@mail.rochester.edu. Thank you again and stay tuned for images of the installation as it progresses!

Two Letters across Five Generations

Yesterday, I received two "Letters to a Future Generation" from my mom and dad. They both started with their past before going forward, which reminded me that peace is the result of a long-term investment and not a short speech. I am so appreciative for every letter that every person is writing, starting with these:

-------------------------------------------------------

                                               

February 8, 2012

Dear Future Generations,

My daughter will be doing an art installation in Pakistan and has asked friends and family to write a letter to future generations.  I sit here and wonder what I have learned in the past sixty three years that I can pass on to you that is meaningful.

First, I know I have been so fortunate to have parents who passed down to me their stories, life lessons, and most importantly, their constant love and respect.  My mother’s mother came to America from England as a single woman with the Salvation Army in the late 1800’s to help set up a post in northern New York State.  Her mission with the Salvation Army was to help feed, clothe and find shelter for people who were in need.  In the early 1900’s she became active in the women’s right’s movement to get equal voting privileges for women and the temperance movement.  She was a firm believer in following her beliefs and acting on those beliefs in a very tangible way.  My grandmother passed on her strong convictions to my mother who became a nurse and for many years treated not only the patients at Albany Medical Center but also neighbors and family who needed her care. She had strong convictions about what was right and wrong and strong beliefs that people of all races, sexes, sizes and religions should be treated with respect.  With unequivocal terms, she expected her family to live up to those expectations.

My father was also very special in my life.  He was a musician, a politician, a storyteller, and a great listener.  He would look into my eyes when we talked and sort through the everyday issues I was facing and with humor and wisdom lead me to the conclusion that my problems were just not that big and that life was good.  He gave me a love for music and a love for the beauty in nature and the inspiration to find that which is beautiful and good in life.  When I look into a sky filled with stars on a cold winter night or a sunset on a summer night I think of him and his appreciation of nature and all that is kind and beautiful.

So, what can I tell the future generation?  I think this is my most important thing to tell.   Be good to your children.  Tell your children the family stories that help them to build  strong character.  Take time to teach them the rules on how to live their lives so that they can respect themselves and respect other people.  Teach them to be honest.  Teach them that they are not the center of the universe.  Teach them that they may be having a difficult time in life at the moment but they have much to be thankful for, if it is only the love you have for them.  Teach them to appreciate music and nature and help them to understand the importance of being good to themselves and taking time to enjoy life. 

I hope you and your family fare well.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Layton – Heather, Rachel and Corey’s Mom, Mother-In-Law to Brian and Patrick, Grandmom to Amber, Tyler, and Cody, and Teacher and Learning Consultant; New Jersey; United States

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

LeRoy H. Layton

New Jersey

USA

A LETTER TO A NEW GENERATION

(One person can make a difference… together we can change the World)

My Experience – I was born and raised in the north-eastern part of the United States.  I know well only one person from Pakistan.  We worked together at the New York Office of a European Multinational Company.  We shared the same objective, to simplify processes and procedures and reduce the procurement costs at the company.  We worked well together and had many enjoyable moments during this challenging assignment.  The success of our mission was attributed in a great part by our ability to ignore our individual weaknesses and to pull from our strengths, our diverse culture, background and experiences.  The end result of our work on a common goal was far superior then if both of us worked separately on the project. We were both rewarded well for our achievements and bonded together as good and trusting friends     

My Message - I am confident that the current generation of young citizens in this shrinking World will develop more acquaintances from different countries, races, and religions, and will collaborate more on common positive goals and achieve them in a peaceful manner.  If we can work together, drawing from each others strengths, the results will be positive and rewarding for everyone.

Global Needs – All people deserve an opportunity to work in a productive job, have shelter, healthy food, clear water and clean air, and practice their religion in the absence of discrimination or violence.  My generation and earlier did a lot to resolve these issues and did a good job, but may have done more.  I have high hopes that the next generation, and those following, will do an even better job.  They must.

Your Challenge - I pray that the next generation will identify positive common global goals that will enhance the lives of all citizens of the World.  Your challenge is to prioritize and accomplish the goals in a timely, equitable and peaceful manner… and make new friends on the way. 

Mom, Dad, their children and grandchildren on Christmas, 2011

Hope for a "Happy Christmis"

On Christmas evening, after the kids were sleeping (or at least faking it), I turned on my computer to find this email from Rasheed Ahmad, one of the members of the group who visited Pakistan with the International Visitor Leadership Program last May. These four paragraphs were a welcomed confirmation of all of the beliefs that have brought us to this trip: 

Dear Friend Good Wishes and Sweet Memories.

It makes me happy to see and observe an event of pleasure and peace which is celebrated by friend of mine and other fellow human beings. I am talking about this HAPPYCHRISTMIS day which is being celebrated throughout the world with full enthusiasm.

We all the human beings are the decedents of the same father(Adam)  and all are the followers of the divine religions’ which give a lesson of love, peace and sympathy but unfortunately we have forgotten these lessons and discriminating fellow human beings on the basis of race, religion, color and creed.

My friends,  tough we have some difficult time here in Pakistan and specially in our own region Mohmand Agency where in the last month, the NATO helicopters hit the Pakistani check post and martyred 24 army personals. This event has badly affected the area as well as threatened the growing peace in the area. That place is just fifteen (15) miles away from my home therefore the sense of insecurity is always there.

 But my friends though we are in trouble for the last one decade when the brutal incident took place on 9/11 where more than three thousands innocent people were killed but on my visit to the United States (7^th May to 28^th 2011) made me glorious to know that the American people don’t hate the fellow human beings rather they work for peace, harmony and development in the world. During that time we all the members of our group had decided that we will never forget this good treatment of our hosts (US people) and will have a permanent relationship with them to promote peace and harmony for the whole humanity.

  In continuation of this intention, I always write to all of my new friends with courage to have good relationship with them and to be a sincere friend of them.

 Once again I convey special greetings on this happy occasion of

HAPPYCHRISTMIS DAY.

The following is an excerpt from another one of Rasheed's letters:

January 19th, 2012 

Whenever i receive such kind of loving letter from my american friends all of my friends, family members, and colleagues in my NGO collectively read these letters and admire your love for humanity  and peace.  When all of these friends who had a negative perception towards the americans read your letter in which you had written that those responsible for wars and genocide against humanity like bush should be tried in the court. all of them had  a sudden change and their perception towards the american turned very positive. all of them believe that  we should have a good relationships instead of hatred and killing the the common americans who have nothing to do with wars.

 I hope that this friendship network will be growing with every passing day but we both should have to involve and participate more and more friends, relatives and fellow citizens to have the chance to study and observe each other because we all hate wars, and the menaces of terrorism  and love peace and stability.
 Rasheed Ahmad Mohmand 
Executive Director Tribal Reforms and Development Organization(TRDO

While we will unfortunately not see Rasheed on our trip (we will be in the south in Karachi and he is on the northern border in Peshawar), we have already started planning a year-long, collaborative project called Home Drone that will continue upon our return to the United States. 

Letters to a Future Generation

Yesterday, I started to ask people if they would be willing to write letters addressed to a new generation. These letters, hopefully collected from many countries around the world, will become part of a site-specific, interactive art piece that I will install when we arrive in Pakistan. When the installation starts, viewers will only see a large number of tan, bland, fabric pouches hanging in a public space. As we insert the letters, however, the pouches will be turned inside out, revealing the uniquely patterned and individually adorned linings. The idea is that, as we begin to think about future generations, the entire space will turn from all bland to full of color. Viewers will be able to read these letters throughout the duration of the exhibition and I will also post some of the letters here.

There is so much accumulated fear between the United States and Pakistan at this moment. By installing these "Letters to a New Generation" in this context, I am also hoping that it will provide an opportunity for us to all take a step back and, by the act of reading the letters, learn about each other as individuals across the borders of race, religion, nationality, age, gender, and culture.

To date, we have 0 letters collected, 4 pouches sewn, and 27 days until takeoff.

Fabric on the floor of my studio, ready to be cut 

The pouches will start as all tan, but once reversed show their interior linings