There have been times when I have wondered why my parents came to Pakistan in 1947 when they could have settled in the UK or any Western country. When I see the widespread corruption and lawlessness in Pakistan, I wish I'd gone away to the U.S. after graduation, like most of my class fellows. I've faced discrimination whenever I applied for jobs, merely because I'm from Karachi and don't speak the language of the majority. I feel bad when I see so much wealth accumulated illegally by our politicians, agriculturists and businessmen.
But then, I see what's happening in so-called "enlightened" countries in the West, where Muslims and other minorities are routinely killed. Just the other day, a white man in the U.S. killed eight women, six of whom were Asian. Muslims face discrimination getting jobs in the U.K. A distant relative of mine had to legally change his first name to James before he got a job. He told me there are hundreds of self-employed Muslims like him doing menial jobs just because they are not Christians or Jews. At such times I consider myself lucky that my parents settled in Pakistan, even though life has been tough and I've had to struggle hard to survive.
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