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What lay on the other side of the border eluded many of us.
It was the first time we were going to cross onto the other
side; the first time witness whether a superficial
segregation of barbed wire and iron gate had actually
segregated us as people. It was the first time we were going
to set foot in Pakistan!
Broad roads, green trees, and a ride in a zipping car is
what followed. It was the first day at the conference and we
were already late. Talk about first impressions!
Representatives from 20 different organizations had gathered
from all states and regions of Pakistan to understand how
they could work together as a team to better the educational
system for their children. ASER (Annual Status of Education
Report) was the tool we came with to help them achieve this
goal.
There was a fair amount of apprehension. Who were these
people who had volunteered to conduct ASER? Would they agree
with what we would share? And most importantly would they be
as enthusiastic as we are about the work? I think it was the
first round of introductions and the lunch break that
settled our nerves and set to motion a wonderful
camaraderie. There were groups which had come from far ends
of Pakistan to be a part of this effort. Tough terrains like
Baluchistan, Peshawar had sent representatives: men & women
alike.
The friendships grew stronger during the next few days. A
lot of time was spent discussing and debating the nuts and
bolts of ASER. We shared each other’s strengths and
weaknesses in the hope that this platform would enable us to
get past the latter and imbibe the former.
ASER prides itself with a bottom up approach; so the
sessions discussing theoretical details were put to practice
with a day of fieldwork. The team of 50 all spilt up in
groups of 6 and visited various villages.
It was in the ‘pind’ that I got the sense of being the
‘other’ for the first time. So far it was all about how
similar we were in the way we spoke, looked, ate and
behaved. But in the village all that got somehow sidetracked
and what took its place were our identities. Who we were,
where we came from, what religion we followed and why we
were there. General queries, but unnerving when you know you
cannot claim kinship on any of those grounds.
It is in these situations that you realize what powerful
forces children can be. All queries and apprehension were
set to rest when they were put to focus. We had not gone to
their homes with solution to eradicate poverty or solve
local problems. We had gone to see, share and assess how
well their children were learning, or whether they were
learning at all. We spoke about ASER, our aim, how we meant
to use this tool to better the lives and future of our
children. And when you really think of it, it translates as:
Our children, Our future.
We left the villages with many fond memories. There were
friends who had promised to teach the one another; a boy who
worked at a shoe factory wondered aloud whether he would
earn more if he educated himself; men & women, once
satisfied with our intentions, asked us to come home so that
they could serve us food. It became a cause they identified
with. A fire had been rekindled. Of that we were sure.
The next day went by in a haze. There were suggestions and
observations from the field that were discussed. What would
the next step be? How would we manage such a survey? Who
would take what responsibility? By when would this start? By
when would we be ready? – were some of the many questions
raised and answered.
Before we knew it, it was time to cross to the other side;
except the ‘other’ had changed drastically in meaning. We
were at the Pakistani side viewing the Indian side – now the
other side. It makes you wonder whether the ‘other’ is a
social construct, because here we were at the ‘other’ side
and feeling no different. Had a superficial segregation of
barbed wire and Iron Gate actually segregated us as people?
I would like to believe, no.
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