THOUGH—TEMPORARY—:A—NEW—WORLD—EXISTS—HERE
Sebastian—Rodrigues—|—Sun—Mar—26—11:16:42—UCT—2006
By:—Sara—Hasan
SUNDAY,—MARCH—26,—2006
KARACHI—-—Where—can—you—find—a—group—of—Indians—singing—a—birthday—song—for—a—Pakistani—girl,—while—Palestinian—students—voice—their—desire—for—peace,—and—a—Sindhi—girl—talks—about—the—impact—of—lack—of—water—on—her—father's—sugarcane—and—wheat—farms?
Where—can—you—see—an—Australian—student—interacting—with—Pakistani—locals,—while—a—Sri—Lankan—youth—group—proclaims—its—need—for—better—education—and—employment—opportunities?
Where—can—you—meet—face—to—face—with—the—Kashmiri—separatist—leader—Yasin—Malik,—chief—of—the—Jammu—and—Kashmir—Liberation—Front?
Unrealistic—as—it—may—sound,—all—this—has—been—made—possible—by—the—World—Social—Forum,—where—a—lot—of—young—people—are—taking—part——either—as—volunteers,—participants,—meetings—organizers,—or—activists.
WSF—has—brought—young—people—of—diverse—backgrounds—together,—young—people—who—will—be—the—leaders,—writers,—historians,—farmers,—policy—devisors—and—politicians—of—tomorrow.—Their—opinions—and—mindsets—matter—greatly,—because—although—what—is—done—is—past,—young—people—are—now—seeking—to—make—the—coming—generation—aware—of—grassroots—problems—that—many—urban—leaders—are—either—unaware—of—or—immune—to.
"WSF—is—something—unusual.—I—heard—about—the—one—held—in—Brazil,—which—was—held—on—the—roads,—but—I—suppose—our—venue—is—good—enough—and—I—personally—have—been—working—for—it—since—April—last,"—said—Khalida—Brohi,—a—student—from—Islamabad.
She—and—others—are—implementing—true—globalisation—by—interacting—with—young—people—from—across—the—world.
"I've—been—here—since—8.30,—and—I—met—a—group—of—Palestinian—students—and—it—was—embarrassing—to—see—them—just—wandering—about—from—one—corner—to—another—to—get—a—stall—for—themselves,"—said—a—Pakistani—student.
"I'm—doing—a—research—paper—on—the—Indo-Pak—peace—movement—and—youth—involvement,—and—I—thought—there—were—significant—gaps—between—the—mindsets—of—youth—and—their—parents—but—I'm—amazed—to—find—out—that—the—parents—are—quite—broad-minded,"—said—Marise,—a—cultural—anthropology—student—from—the—Netherlands.
"I—came—with—an—opinion—that—I—was—a—complete—stranger—but—the—people—here—are—so—friendly,"—said—Sky—Croeser,—an—Australian—student—of—political—sciences—who—has—recently—spent—three—months—in—India.
But—while—some—consider—the—forum—to—be—an—ideal—one—for—their—concerns,—others—feel—there—is—a—certain—degree—of—disorganisation.
"WSF—is—good—but—it—could—have—been—awesome.—There—is—a—lack—of—organisation—and—I—believe—many—people,—especially—local—students,—are—fairly—unaware—about—it,"—remarked—Tooba,—a—student—in—Karachi.
karachi—–—wsf—2006—–—wsf –—www.agp.org—–—www.all4all.org