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January 11 Pakistan Diaries
| Pakistan Diaries - Episode 2 |
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By Saadia Bukhari
Once you are over the initial euphoria, delirium, and of course, the jet lag, reality sets in. You forgot (yet again) the vow to never come here during wedding season. About seven invites for "important" weddings, right after one another, and a couple on the same day, are sitting on your nightstand. Nobody cares that you had not planned for more than one wedding. "Since they came to your wedding, you have to go to theirs as well - burra lagta hai!!" Uggh. On top of dressing up and spending $$ on salami, you are not even guaranteed food any more! But you go anyway, and come back pleasantly shocked at the amount of money people have acquired in Pakistan. |
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Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Everyone in Pakistan isn't rich but the rich ones are very, very rich. A shop in Lahore sells about 30-40 Rolex watches a month! Another shop sold 11 pens, priced at Rs.7,500,000 ($125,000) each, in a few weeks' time. It is mind boggling to see the amount of money being spent on weddings, dinners, parties, and day-to-day activities. An average dinner at a mid-priced restaurant costs about $10 per head, or about Rs.600. Catering at weddings runs anywhere from $7 to $20 per head or more. With wedding guests ranging from 400-1000, a single meal can run anywhere from $2,700 to $20,000, with a minimum of two events hosted by each family. The increasingly common tradition to serve alcohol at pre-wedding parties (and sometimes behind the tent AT weddings) costs an additional $1000-2000 per wedding.
Where is all this money coming from?
Not all the rich people are corrupt drug lords or feudal/tribal heads. A lot of average people have made an extraordinary amount of money in real estate, especially in the last five to eight years. Salaries have gone up considerably at the executive level, without a commensurate increase in the number of experienced executives. So a few experienced executives are hopping jobs for significant raises and sign-on bonuses in each industry. Construction and land development is another huge business which has turned many a middle-classia into a multi-millionnaire. All in all, the "legal" ways of making money in Pakistan have multiplied - both in terms of opportunity and return. |
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The flip side
The disparity among the rich and poor, and the upper and and middle classes, is growing by the day. While a full tank of gas costs about $40-50 and empties out within 4-5 days, the average monthly wage of a driver is just under $50 per month. When you see a domestic servant asking for a $5 increment per month as though it's a big deal can seriously set you into guilt and depression on the $50 meal you just had delivered. The difference between the opportunities for education and healthy living is also striking...
A chat with Saleem - the 'channa' man
Saleem is a 12 year old who goes to school in the morning and roasts 'channas' (chickpeas) in the afternoon and evening. He sells a cone-ful of channas for Rs.5 (less than a dime). He says he makes anywhere from Rs.1500-3000 ($25-50) per month. Why does he do it? "I'd rather go to school, but my father can't afford to pay our fees and run the house. So I have to do this; it is my contribution." Why study? "My father says 'study so you don't end up like me.'" What does he want to be when he grows up? "The other day I sold channas to a man in a big jeep who told me I should become an Aalim (religious scholar). So I think that's what I'll do." Why not be a doctor or work in an office somewhere? "If I can go to a good school, maybe I can be a doctor. I used to go to an English-medium school, but the kids there made fun of me. Finally I lashed out at them and was suspended. Now I go to a government school. It will be easier for me to be a Maulvi." Does he realize that to be a good religious scholar, he must study as much as a doctor does? Not really. He has finished reading the Quran in Arabic twice, and with a few more readings, he will memorize it. That, to his knowledge, is all he needs to be a religious scholar or Aalim. |
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A growing awareness of social issues
It isn't just I, the proverbial tourist, who is aware of these disparities. I was greatly encouraged to see a heightened sense of the differences between opportunities and returns afforded to different economic classes among my peers working and living in Pakistan. "The only people who are not truly aware of how much they are widening the economic gap are the newly-rich," says a banker, who has never studied or worked anywhere but in Pakistan. "These people lack sophistication and cultural courtesy. There was a time when the rich were the most sophisticated class, and for the most part, an inspiration. The vulgar display of money by the uneducated, newly rich has put me off the idea of being rich. Firing expensive weapons into the air for pomp and show, buying separate cars to pick and drop their kids from school, wearing flashy watches and changing mobile phones every month. What are they doing if not creating resentment among the less fortunate?" |
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What to do?
It isn't that being rich is bad. We are happy for those who have the
money through hardwork and legal means, whether they are
sophisticated or not. But in a sensitive era, where poverty and
economic weakness can lead to really serious issues, we need to
revisit the social practices as individuals. There isn't anything the
government can do, per se, to curb the excessive, show-off
tendencies of people. But can we, as a society, shun the crass and
obnoxious behavior of our newly rich brethren in any way? I don't
necessarily have an answer...do you? |
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