A Different Kind of Journey

Not often can we make life changing journeys. This is the story of a unique travel of ten girls from Pakistan to a land which seemed out of their reach – their very own neighbour India. A true adventure sprinkled with plenty of magic. The journey began in Islamabad, first in their hearts, of a peace mission to India. It began under the able guidance of Hajra Ahmed, the principal of the Khaldunia school in Islamabad who along with history and literature teacher Jamaluddin and Tahira – a enthusiastic volunteer dared to dream of a mission of peace. Ten girl students and their teachers, in every sense, decided to put caution aside and make the journey to a city within the hot bed of religious tension in India - Lucknow. Their trip was to be made around the same time as another trip across the border – of President Musharraf to meet with Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Any guesses as to which was more successful?

Across the border, a team of eager activist volunteers from `Asha', an activist group in India had worked months to make this possible. Arundhati, Praneeta, Mahesh, Kusum, Bobby, Ashish, Neelam and Parmita were anxiously making all arrangements to be the best possible hosts and show the girls the time of their lives. After all they wanted to make it home away from home. It all started with the "Sachi-Muchi" magazine – a small gesture towards friendship which carried the hopes of children from India to the children in Pakistan. "Sachi-muchi" is brought out by a team of volunteers of "Asha" in India. It is not merely a magazine but a campaign dedicated to peace between India and Pakistan. The idea is that activists and friends from across both the borders will go to schools and initiate a discussion on common social issues facing the children. It is astonishing what a seemingly small initiative can do to build human bonds. As one of the girls put it "My main aim will be to make the Indians realize that the people of Pakistan (excluding politicians) do not have enmity for the Indians. They lived together for centuries in peace and harmony before partition and now the boundary should not stop them from having good, friendly relations. Both countries should continue their struggle towards developing good relations through peaceful methods. This trip is a stage in the process. It is said that if people are willing, they can bring about a revolution. One should assume that interaction between people of both countries can play a major role in improving relations. If politicians have been unsuccessful, the people can be successful!"

And so they boarded the aptly named "Dosti" bus from Wagha at the border and made their way to the Indian capital of New Delhi on the
10th July 2001. The first few friends were made with a curious group of youngsters from the Mothers International School hostel in Delhi. Soon they were whisked away by Mahesh and Kusum on the Gomti express to the capital city Lucknow close to which the Babri Masjid was demolished not long ago plunging India into a state of communal tension. This was going to be different though.. At Lucknow they met with the most unexpected welcome. It was close to midnight but the platform was swarming with well wishers and media folks. In all their enthusiasm, the media persons interviewed girls from Lucknow thinking they were from Pakistan! It was hard to tell them apart!


Each girl had a host family who would care for her during her stay. The response of the people of Lucknow to the girls was overwhelming. The homes they were staying in were the focus of the entire neighborhood, with all the surrounding households wanting to meet the girls and spend time with them. Auto-rickshaw drivers in Lucknow wanted to be part of the Asha team that made this possible. Asha became a household name among the people of Lucknow. Some UP Ministers quickly came forward to add their names to the guest lists so they could be seen as proponents of peace.

The plan was to visit 10 schools in Lucknow and Kanpur, where the students had taken great pains to convey their welcome and message of love. The children put up plenty of plays and poems for their guests almost always ending with "Hum Honge Kaamyab" (We shall overcome). The visit of these Pakistani children was instrumental in breaking the silence. Many had completely different perceptions about people of Pakistan. An opportunity to interact with children not so different from them broke many barriers of prejudice and mistrust. There were no hidden agendas just simple curiosity and plenty of trust and fun. The media response was also tremendous. By the end of their week in the city the girls and the organizers of the trip were experienced in giving the media the proverbial slip! But of course they did enjoy some of the media attention, with individual interviews and group photographs being hot favorites.

An important part of their activities were the hours they squeezed in to shop! With all the media coverage, shopkeepers at any market they visited recognized them immediately and in typical Lucknowi style gave them huge discounts saying that they were guests of the city, and thus their own guests. Gifts galore pored in from so many unknown people that the girls had to buy excess baggage to carry them back to Pakistan. Their request to be taken to see the blockbuster movie "Lagaan" was also accommodated. The reception which they got in the cinema theatre, was really overwhelming. Family members of Cinema theatre employees, gave each girl a traditional welcome with`Aarti', 'tika' on each forehead and a garland around her neck! Then the tickets - 40 tickets for a block buster movie - despite of the fact that the cinema hall was booked out for 8 days in advance, were arranged! When announcement of their presence in the theater was made, the entire theater audience adjusted their own seating to accommodate friends from Pakistan. There are innumerable episodes which underline the spontaneous love and concern we can have for another human being, but when our politicians and policy makers doctor the sentiments, then things become different.

It is indeed ironical that those that we elect into power share such a different vision from the people. The Agra summit between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Musharraf which happened at the same time did not leave such lingering nostalgia. It did not appear to achieve much. Perhaps meeting of the people achieves more towards peace? And finally, sitting together, trying to make sense of the wars, lost lives, mangled histories, money that could have help so much else where and the agonizing questions which no leader dares to answer .... "but can someone tell me why are we killing each other? What are we fighting about? Why so much hate – so many lies - so much fear – so much suspicion?" Who is to blame?

Can we not celebrate our commonalities, enjoy our differences and give peace a chance? We have a lot to learn from our children. Who knows – we may even have a good time in the process! As Arundhati Dhuru, one of the key organizers says "From the response of the people it is very clear that everyone wants peace. If enough voices from both sides are raised for peace we don't see why the wall of hatred, animosity, suspicion and unfamiliarity between the two countries cannot be brought down (like the wall of Berlin)".