Greg Mortenson - An American Hero of Pakistan

Category: People
Written by: Atif Abdul-Rahman Shaikh (on February 18, 2008 - 07:28 PM)

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I recently finished reading the book, "Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson" and as my mind is trying to grasp the variety of dimensions this book offers, the motif of the book, that it can just take one man to make a difference, that it takes understnading and not enforcement of one's beliefs, that the concept of giving aid using local resources sprouts a possitive evolutionary imporvement, that stereotyping leads to chaos, that voilence begets violence, that education builds bridges, I am but one more fan of the man. And what a man he is, as I read from the book, Greg Moretenson, an American former climber who found his destiny in failure, failed to climb K2 but succeeded in building bridges, breaking stereotypes and as the paperback edition reads, "Promotes Peace". His weapon is education, but not one which he imports with himself from his part of the world, but education which is embedded in the local soils of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Not trying to enforce a school of thought but a school of opportunity. In literal, he is teaching us how to catch a fish!

This book presents various lessons to learn, especially in post 911 affected regions, the US, Afghanistan and ofcourse Pakistan. What the politicians failed to see, he not just played the rhetoric but his actions moved mountains. Places where the great armies of Alexander couldnt conquer, the battle of hearts and minds has been won by Mortenson. The thinking, the experiences and the journey Greg Mortenson or more famously, Dr. Greg took, cover various aspects besides education. Afterall, inorder to break the status quo towards improvement, one has to conquer several forts, he did all.

Greg Mortenson, according to his NGO IKAT, has established 58+ schools in Nortern Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the principles which he states in his book,

"CAI schools would teach the exact same curriculum as any good Pakistani government school. There would be none of the "comparative cultures" classes then so popular in the West, nothing conversvative religous leaders could polnt to tas 'anti-Islamic' in an effort to shut the schools down. But neither would they let the schools preach the fiery brand of fundamentalist Islam taught in many of the country's madrassas."

"I don't want to teach Pakistan's children to think like Americans'. I Just want them to have a balanced nonextremist education. That idea is at the very center of what we do" - Greg Mortenson.

How pertitnent and geniune one's intentions are can be judged by the apporach one takes. And as our rulers maligned intentions to alter our curricula instead of improving it shows their disgust, a foreigner takes the heed to learn the local culture, traditions and even religions to create a preserving, sustainiable and truly enlightening education for the people.

Mortenson quotes a very interesting text from Norberg-Hodge's work,

"I used to assume that the direction of 'progress' wsa somehow inevitable, not to be questioned, I passively accepted a new road through the middle of the park, a steel-and-glass bank where a 200-year old church had stood...and the fact that life seemed to get harder and faster with each day. I do not anymore. In Ladakh, I have learned that there is more than one path into the future and I have had the privelage to witness another, saner, way of life - a pattern of existence based on the co-evolution between human beings and the earth." - Norberg-Hodge

"Norberg- Hodge continues to argue not only that Western developement workers should not blindly impose modern 'improvements' on ancient cultures, but the industrialized countries had lessions to learn from people like Ladakhis about building sustainable societies. "I have seen", she writes, "that community and a close relationships with the land can enrich human life beyond all comparison with material wealth or technological sophistication. I have learned that another way is posisble." - Three Cups of Tea.

I wish our leaders get the chance to gain enlightenment from this, instead of altering people's beliefs and traditions. The hate for the so-called 'West' is more of a hate of an invading school of thought brought none other but our elitist rulers but here is an American organistation centering on a single man who earns more trust and respect for not his institution but the best traditions West has to offer the perochial 'East'.

The book discusses how Mortenson journeyed to different tribes in the region, making contacts, making friends and the important measures one has to take for bridge building. For instance, talking on Waziristan, the book points out:

"Wazir like all Pashtuns, live by the code of Pashtunwali. Badal, revenging blood feuds and defense of zan, zar and zameen, or family, treasure, and land, are central pillars of Pashtunwali. As is nenawatay, hospitality and asylum for guests who arrive seeking help. The trick was to arrive as a guest, rather than as an invader. Mortenson climbed out of the car in his ridiculous custome and set about trying to become their former, since it was too dangerous to search for another place to stay after dark."

The bloody suicide bombing we are seeing now in Pakistan, taddly dismissed by the rulers as narrow minded religious zealots has more to it than what it appears, mistake so grave in the making that one wonders how to pacify the siuation. Instead of bombing civilians and crooks alike, the Pakistani military should have learned lessons from Dr. Greg, according to whom,

"No tribe captured his imagination like the Wazir. Loyal to neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan, they were Pashtuns, and allied with their greater tribe above all else. Since the time of Alexander, foreigners had me fierce resistance every time they sent troops into the area. With eac defeat of a larger, better equipped force that arrived in Waziristan, the region's infamy grew. After losing hundreds of his men to a small guerilla force, Alexander ordered that his troops thereafter skirt the lands of "these devils of the desserts". The Britished fared no better, losing two wars to the Wazir and the greater Pashtun tribe."

During 911 days, when the entire world wanted to portray us Pakistanis as all evil, Greg Mortenson says:

"Green reporters who know nothing about the region stand up on the roof in flak jackets and act like their backdrop of the Margala Hills is some kind of war zone instead of a place to take the kids on weekends. Most of them don't want to get anywhere near the border and are running stories without checking them out. And those that do wan tto go are out of luck. The Taliban just closed Afghanistan to all foriegn reporters".

Later on he says,


"I tried to talk about root causes of the conflict - the lack of educaiton in Pakistan, and the rise of the (extremists) Wahabi madrassas, and how that led to problems like terrrorism," Mortenson says, "But that stuff hardly ever made it into print. They only wanted sound bites about the top Taliban leaders so they could turn them into villains in the run-up to the war".

It is heartening to see how an open mind can bring to this world, especially in breaking the culture of stereotyping. When our rulers are busy creating rifts and divides within our religion by classifiying us as extremists vs moderates, and dividing us on sectarian differences, Three Cups of Tea states,

"I wish Westerners who misunderstand Muslims could have seen Syed Abbas in action that day, they would see that most people who practice the true teachings of Islamm even conservative mullahs like Syed Abbas, believe in peace and justice, not in terror. Just as the Torah and Bible teach concern for those in distress, the Koran insturcts all Muslims to make caring for widows, orphans, and refugees a priority."

At another ocassion, he says,

"I dont want to give the impressoin that all Wahabi are bad, many of their schools and mosques are doing good work to help Pakistan's poor. But some of them seem to exist only to teach militant jihad"

Nearing the end of the book, reaching its climax, the book gives a universal message which is simply a portrayel of local thought emerging from the most extremist labelled areas of the world,

"I request America to look into our hearts," Abbas continued his voice straining with emotion, "and see that thte great majority of us are not terrorists, but good and simple people. Our land is stricken with poverty because we are without education. But today, another candle of knowledge has been lit. In the name of Allah the Almighty, may it light our way out of the darkness, we find ourselves in".

At another ocassion,

"It was an incredible speech, and by the time Syed Abbas had finished he had the entire crowd in tears. I iwsh all the Americans who think 'Muslim' is just another way of saying 'terrorist' coiuld have been there that day. The true core tenants of Islam are justice, tolerance, and charity, and Syed Abbas represented the moderate center of Muslim faith eloquently"

The book being mostly about education, it presents a thesis of how women education can start a self-healing natural process of improvement within a community. I had earlier talked about a similar theme before, here Greg Mortenson simply reassures it:

"After the last note of the anthem had faded, the children sat in a neat circle and began copying their multiplication tables. Most scratched in the dirt with sticks they'd brought for hte purpose. The more fortunate, like Jahan, had slate boards they wrote on with sticks dipped in a mixture of mud and water. "Can you imagine a fourth-grade class in America, alone, without a teacher, sitting there quietly and working on their lessons? Mortenson asks. "I felt like my heart was being torn out. There was a fierceness in their desire to learn, despite how mightly everything was stacked against them, that reminded me of Christa (his departed sister). I knew I had to do something"

Thank you Dr. Greg for your lifetime of efforts for us, You have already won my little Nobel Peace Prize....

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