Comments - Pakistanis Remained Highly Resilient in Year 2011 - PakAlumni Worldwide: The Global Social Network 2024-03-29T05:13:09Zhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/comment/feed?attachedTo=1119293%3ABlogPost%3A85530&xn_auth=noIn a recent piece tiled "Paki…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2012-12-02:1119293:Comment:891592012-12-02T02:30:50.196ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>In a recent piece tiled <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-pakistani-state-is-staring-at-a-dark-abyss/1/185216.html">"Pakistan Staring into the Abyss"</a>, Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi captures the highly pessimistic mood of the press coverage and books about Pakistan.…</p>
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<p>In a recent piece tiled <a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-pakistani-state-is-staring-at-a-dark-abyss/1/185216.html">"Pakistan Staring into the Abyss"</a>, Pakistani journalist Najam Sethi captures the highly pessimistic mood of the press coverage and books about Pakistan.</p>
<p><a href="http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-pakistani-state-is-staring-at-a-dark-abyss/1/185216.html" target="_blank">http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/the-pakistani-state-is-staring-at-a-dark-abyss/1/185216.html</a></p>
<p>Historically, purveyors of books and magazines predicting doom and gloom have mostly been wrong but sold lots of copies.</p>
<p>Matt Ridley, the author of <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=YoVpW0zJIgYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rational+optimist+sage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B6a6UKb4BebgigLV84DoAQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=ehrlich&f=false">"The Rational Optimist"</a>, says that the prophets of doom and gloom from Robert Malthus to Paul Ehrlich(both predicted catastrophe of mass starvation) have always found great acceptance as "sages" in their time but proved to be completely wrong because they discount human resilience and ingenuity.</p>
<p><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=YoVpW0zJIgYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rational+optimist+sage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B6a6UKb4BebgigLV84DoAQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=ehrlich&f=false" target="_blank">http://books.google.com/books?id=YoVpW0zJIgYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=rational+optimist+sage&hl=en&sa=X&ei=B6a6UKb4BebgigLV84DoAQ&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=ehrlich&f=false</a></p>
<p>The reasons for wide acceptance of pessimists have to do with how the human brain has evolved through the millennia.</p>
<p>It's been established that once the amygdala starts hunting for bad news, it'll mostly find bad news.</p>
<p>Peter Diamandis explains this phenomenon well in his book <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=lCifxlN8ZIoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=abundance&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Iqe6UNqeM4zmiwKs5YDYAg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=bad%20news&f=false">"Abundance-Why Future is Better Than You Think"</a>.</p>
<p>Here's a excerpt from Diamandis's book:</p>
<p>"These are turbulent times. A quick glance at the headlines is enough to set anybody on edge-with endless media stream that has lately become our lives-it's hard to get away from those headlines. Worse, evolution shaped human brain to be acutely aware of all potential dangers...this dire combination has a profound impact on human perception: It literally shuts off our ability to take in good news."</p>
<p><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=lCifxlN8ZIoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=abundance&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Iqe6UNqeM4zmiwKs5YDYAg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=bad%20news&f=false" target="_blank">http://books.google.com/books?id=lCifxlN8ZIoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=abundance&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Iqe6UNqeM4zmiwKs5YDYAg&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=bad%20news&f=false</a></p>
<p>In Pakistan's case, the good news continues to be the emergence of a large and growing middle class population and a vibrant mass media and civil society which underpin the country's extraordinary resilience.</p>
<p>Pakistan needs such resilience to complete its difficult ongoing transition to democracy which, the history tells us, has never been easy for any nation.</p>
<p>I believe Pakistan is making good progress toward becoming a prosperous urban middle class democracy.</p> Here's an ET story about a Ge…tag:www.pakalumni.com,2012-04-27:1119293:Comment:868382012-04-27T16:43:17.549ZRiaz Haqhttp://www.pakalumni.com/profile/riazul
<p>Here's an <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/370562/german-journalist-speaks-there-is-more-to-pakistan-than-violence-and-floods/">ET story</a> about a German journalists' impressions of Pakistan:</p>
<p><i>After being in the country for more than two weeks, German journalist Joachim Holtz is of the view that reality is far better than perception.</i></p>
<p><i>“This is my second week in Karachi and before coming, I thought I would not survive even a day,” said the senior journalist and…</i></p>
<p>Here's an <a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/370562/german-journalist-speaks-there-is-more-to-pakistan-than-violence-and-floods/">ET story</a> about a German journalists' impressions of Pakistan:</p>
<p><i>After being in the country for more than two weeks, German journalist Joachim Holtz is of the view that reality is far better than perception.</i></p>
<p><i>“This is my second week in Karachi and before coming, I thought I would not survive even a day,” said the senior journalist and foreign correspondent of the German channel, ZDF. He was speaking to the journalist community on ‘Pakistan’s image abroad- a German view’ at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday.</i></p>
<p><i>Back home, the journalist feels that Pakistan has no image at all. “Pakistan is simply the name of an Islamic country in South Asia. There is mostly fear and some respect amongst Germans for the country and mostly, they have a blurry image of strange people living in a far away land.”</i></p>
<p><i>While some Germans were aware that Pakistan has delicious mangoes and the people love cricket, Holtz said that there are many who believe that Pakistan is an extremist, nuclear-armed country. “But they know very little or nothing about the country itself.”</i></p>
<p><i>Changing perceptions</i></p>
<p><i>Citing Pakistani and German newspapers, Holtz said that he only found news about bombings, Raymond Davis, the assassinations of Salmaan Taseer and Shahbaz Bhatti, floods and their destruction. He said a few German papers have covered events such as the Karachi Literature Festival, while one newspaper wrote a feature on sufism in the country.</i></p>
<p><i>Contrary to what he had read, Holtz seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his trip. Apart from visiting the Empress Market in Karachi and the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, he also took a dip in the ocean last week. He went to Murree, Lahore and several cities in Sindh, including Sukkur, Hyderabad and Thatta. “I have never met any unfriendly person while travelling. There is so much hospitality, even the poorest have welcomed me with a cup of tea. I love it here!” exclaimed a delighted Holtz.</i></p>
<p><i>The Sindh information minister, Shazia Marri, took the opportunity to declare the day as “a difficult and sad day”, referring to the Supreme Court’s verdict in the prime minister’s contempt case. She went on to talk about how the media needs to highlight the positive image of the country to curb all the negative sentiments abroad. The German Consul General, Dr Til</i></p>
<p><a href="http://tribune.com.pk/story/370562/german-journalist-speaks-there-is-more-to-pakistan-than-violence-and-floods/" target="_blank">http://tribune.com.pk/story/370562/german-journalist-speaks-there-is-more-to-pakistan-than-violence-and-floods/</a></p>