Penn Pakistan Society Newsletter

[Penn Pakistan Society]

View in a web browser Penn Pakistan Society Newsletter       Edition 5 March 14th, 2016   Hey Quakers! Did you miss us? Of course you did! The PPS board hopes you had a relaxing, stress-free break, and that you are back with a newfound enthusiasm to learn, attend all your classes, finish homework on time and conquer Penn (LOL, good luck with that). And now, back to your weekly fix of all things Pakistan.  News from the land of the Pure 1. Lahore Biennale Foundation: Bringing Public Art to Pakistan “The art market in Pakistan may be flourishing with artists being picked up for international art shows, fairs and the Venice Biennale, but one can not deny the fact that the everyman in Pakistan still does not have access to art the way people do internationally.  More than just being a private possession, art throughout time has been used to stir social debate and raise questions that allow the viewer to think about the society around them. In Pakistan, due to a dearth of museums, art has been restricted to the higher echelons of society and the artist community itself. But a change is in the offing..." Read More 2. Poor State of Health The article (linked above) talks about public-sector spending on health, which is the mainstay for meeting the health requirements of the poor, is a dismal 0.7pc of GDP. But when one adds private-sector spending, the figure jumps to 2.8pc of GDP; this is four times what is spent on the poor. This shows that whatever allocation of resources to the health sector there is in the country, most of it is through private healthcare providers that serve the interests of those with more money. 3. Shahbaz Taseer Returns Home After 5 Years Shahbaz Taseer is the son of the Salman Taseer, the late governor who was believed by many to have committed blasphemy and assassinated by Mumtaz Qadri (mentioned last week). He was abducted from Lahore five years ago, only seven months after his father was assassinated (26 August 2011 to be exact). He was recovered from Kuchlak, Balochistan on 8 March, about a week after Qadri was executed. Needless to say, bizarre conspiracy theories are already floating around on the internet. Regardless of that, we are pleased to hear this news and hope that Shahbaz Taseer has a great life from here onwards. Some details of his time in captivity, which featured more than one militant organization and demands for ransom, can be found in the article linked above. 4. My Father's Killer's Funeral As a follow up to last weeks news, this is an op-ed by Aatish Taseer published in the New York Times. Aatish is another son of Salman Taseer and in this op-ed, Aatish reflects on why, despite the execution of his father’s killer, the battle against intolerance is far from over (hint: an estimated 100, 000 people attended Qadri’s funeral. Terrifying.) In light of the protest surrounding Qadri's death, we are reminded of Faiz's words: Ye daagh daagh ujaalaa, ye shab-gaziida sahar Vo intizaar thaa jis-kaa, ye vo sahar to nahiin Ye vo sahar to nahiin jis-kii aarzu lekar Chale the yaar ke mil-ja’egi kahiin na kahin   Najaat-e-diida-o-dil ki gharii nahiin aa’ii Chale-chalo ke vo manzil abhii nahiin aa’ii   (Translation) This stained tainted light, this night bitten dawn, That we were waiting for, this is not that morning. This is not that morning, in whose yearning, We had set out full of hope that we will surely find,   The moment of salvation for our sights and hearts has not yet arrived. Keep marching, for that destination has not yet arrived. 5. John Newman’s Love Me Again with Desi Girls & Sitar On a lighter note, Nescafé Basement is a Pakistani music television series which features live studio-recorded music performances by young underground artists. We suggest you listen to this fresh take on Love Me Again. If that’s not your cup of tea, we can’t be friends… BUT you may want to check out some of the other songs that have been covered in previous seasons and went viral on social media: Crazy by Gnarls Barkley, What Do You Want From Me by Adam Lambert and Babia by Sajjad Ali   That's all we've got for you guys this week. Stay tuned for more news. Make sure to check out the World T20 Pakistan vs India Match on Saturday, March 19th and welcome back to Penn!  Copyright @ 2016 Penn Pakistan Society, All rights reserved. You received this message because you are subscribed to the UPenn PPS Listserv, hosted on Google Group 'Penn Pakistan Society Listserv'. Our mailing address is: upennpakis...@gmail.com You can unsubscribe from the newsletter and/or all PPS updates below. Not subscribed to our Listserv? Sign up here!   Mailing address: Penn Pakistan Society, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, United States Unsubscribe from future emails.