Serious question: should grandfathers allow their grandchildren to win ?

 

Science science science

I'm reliving my school days through Kavita. I help her revise for her Common Assessment Tasks (CATs) : there are two sets per term, four in an academic year. And, there are two term examinations too. It's a lot of testing! 

I have helped her to study , set studying targets, keep her on schedule and then test her, too. This is helping her get near perfect marks. 

The way I help her think about it is to relive our love of board games especially Settlers of Catan where strategy helps you win points. So, why throw away points to the school? 

Kavita is smart kid and, with enough attention, nudging and time, she can get perfect marks. 

Also, any subject can come alive and, girls should have an equal love for maths and science and not be intimidated by them. No reason for maths to be scary. 

YouTube and Google are amazing sources when it comes to finding more about a topic in a text book or, to find exercises. 

I have learned this stage in life , 40s I guess, that I really love learning. I love seeing things through Kavita's eyes. 

As you all know, she's brilliant and if I haven't shared her conversation with Prof Pervez Hoodhbhoy during the 2025 Summer Camp on The Black Hole YouTube page, here is it: Consciousness and Robot Explained by a 12-year Old . (I've watched it 4 dozen times and smiled each time). 

Here's some cool cool science stuff. The dark energy and dark matter stuff is mind blowing. 

By the way, did you know Hashem Al-Ghaili is a Yemeni molecular biologist? His Facebook page is really cool from where most of these come from: 

White female privilege in extractive tourism and Pakistani desire to be close to whiteness at the expense of self respect

I foolishly joined a Dutch - Pakistani tour operator/company for a visit to Attock going through the Seven Sisters tunnels. I was screamed at and had fingers wagged at me by the Dutch woman because I was slower than others due to a twisted foot. This happened twice during the day and was never resolved. The woman never apologised and blamed me for being slow. To date this group is blaming me for being slow by 11 minutes when I expressed indignation. No other Pakistanis came to my rescue , not even words of solidarity during or after the day. When I complained and pointed problematic behaviour, it was silence. Instead the Pakistanis fawned over the white Dutch woman, how much she loved Pakistan, stating how she had traveled more than any Pakistani, how she sacrificed to be here, etc. I got my refund but am sharing this experience. Moreover the Dutch woman was taking photos of locals without consent. She was taking photos with security personnel who shamelessly agreed to, something she could never do in Europe. She shoved off local passengers in the train to make space for the group and, when stopped, said “they are nice people”. Foreigners, UN international staff, in the group took photos of working class folks serving food without consent. There was no real history provided of the tunnels or railway station. I have experienced enough white woman phenomenon /tears/fragility/racism/imperialism/superiority/saviour complex too many times to count but to experience it again in extractive tourism is something. I am more disgusted with Pakistanis who chose to fawn over her and, ignore the problematic behaviour.

a rough beast slouches towards Islamabad

Every so often, a rough beast slouches towards Islamabad to be reborn over and over again, seemingly undeterred by the containers and check posts , yearning for its rebirth at D-Chowk and usually dies somewhere near Faizabad.

See: Roads blocked mobile internet services suspended ahead of TLP protest in Islamabad in Dawn:

"The TLP has announced plans for a massive anti-Israel demonstration outside the US emb­as­sy in the federal capital today. In anticipation of the protest, the Islamabad administration had started placing shipping containers at Faizabad Interchange — the historic site of several TLP sit-ins."

I would love to commission a painting that depicts this phenomenon and, call it "Islamabad's Rough Beast". I'm also filing this Blog Post under Anecdotes.

And, here's the Second Coming by Yeats: 

Turning and turning in the widening gyre   

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere   

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The best lack all conviction, while the worst   

Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;

Surely the Second Coming is at hand.   

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out   

When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert   

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,   

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,   

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it   

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.   

The darkness drops again; but now I know   

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,   

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,   

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Kavita's classmate complained

Kavita's classmate complained that Pakistani school children didn't get a holiday because of the Pak - Saudi Agreement because apparently all the kids in Saudi Arabia got a school holiday to commemorate the landmark pact. I'm really glad kids aware of geopolitics.

Robert Redford's jawline

I first heard about Robert Redford's beauty by my friend Uzma (a Pakistani Swede) first undergrad year. We were talking about movies and she started praising Robert Redford's jawline. I joked about how wrinkly he was but she was adamant on how handsome Robert Redford was. This was the year The Horse Whisperer was out. Since then, I had seen many films with RR , including Sting. I just remembered this conversation with Uzma now that Robert Redford has passed. Many actors and artists who have been part of cinematic history , born in the 1920s and 1930s have been passing. Cinema is more than a 100 years old now and, has changed completely and, to be a true lover of movies means having a sense of when/where it began and how far its come along with all its glorious history, tragedies, genres, and legends. 

Exactly 15 years ago to the day

Exactly 15 years ago to the day , I was flying from Monrovia from Accra. Once I checked in, I sat in the  large waiting lounge at Kotoka Airport, one which I had passed through far too many times to remember, since I started working in Monrovia in 2003. A very rude man had the audacity to ask to "borrow my laptop" and, needless to say, I sent him packing with one of my icy death stares. 

I continued on my laptop but soon I was distracted by the same rude man talking loudly about people being selfish and not lending them their laptops. I think I moved away and, later he same rude man tapped me on the shoulder to ask me where I was flying and in case I was going to Monrovia, that the flight was delayed. I don't know what came over me and, and I took pity on him to thank him for the info. We got to talking and , I made polite small talk even though I honestly hate small talk. Until we reached Monrovia, he told me his whole life story including how he smoked a whole pack of cigarettes when he first flew to Monrovia when he was only 17 years old. 

15 years later , that very rude man still annoys me but sometimes I annoy him even more. He is a pretty nice guy but a terrible planner, very bad at keeping records, wastes too much money and, snores too loudly. He covers his stupid decisions with sexism and blames me.   He likes very soppy silly movies. 

We have good times together, throwing parties in our apartment and travelling. There's been more robberies than we can count, generators breaking down. And, getting sued by liars and banks. 

We usually have the most fun together when our daughter and us play competitive board games and then blames us two for ganging up against him. 

Looking forward to more ganging up against the very rude man. 😉

Conversations with and about domestic workers

A conversation I had this morning: "The caretakers in our village have 6 sons and, as early as they were 10 - 12 years old, they were earning money for the family. One boy was working in a restaurant and would be paid in food. Another boy was feeding the neighbours' animals and would bring in 10,000 per month. Another boy working in another business and making another 8,000 per month."

A few days ago, the new mali, Muhammad Atta, told me his son died after a prolonged infection with a leg which was hurt in an accident. I asked him how many more children he has. He has 5 other kids.

The mali before this , Genghis, had a job with the Metro bus that would start at 3 pm. He would come in once a week on Mondays in the mornings from 9 to 12 PM and leave in time to pick up his son from school and, then proceed to his job. 

The housekeeper or 'kaam wali' , Razia, has had to move houses at least 3 times in less than 2 years because the houses are demolished by the authorities or some other problem comes up. In at least one instance, her family had to move because the Armed Forces are going to take over the year and, have been paid off by those who own property there. She had to move as her landlord had been paid off and, the house was going to be demolished. In this house, she was paying only 5,000/month. This was near D-12. She moved to a single room with her family (1 husband, 3 children) but there was no running water. She moved as her husband's 'jaane walay' from back home in the village agreed to rent a house together for 15,000 per month. Hardly a a couple weeks later, the 'jaane walay' went back to the village (the husband didn't want to stay , the wife had managed to get a job as a domestic worker) leaving them in the lurch. Now they are looking for another option. 

Razia apparently was working with a good family in Chak Shahzad who gifted tablets to her children. The family had even given 100,000 to her husband to set up a shop but he messed up the business. She is the one who was able to purchase a motorcycle and mobile phone for her husband through her consistent earnings working as a domestic worker. She has often shared how violent her husband is. Her husband, Imran, is a barber and his income is inconsistent. He sets up shop on roadsides or under trees. The one thing he does do is take care of the kids. They are with him while she is working. 

Razia is pretty adamant her children should be schooled in the city. She is very proud she managed to get her daughters in school. Why doesn't she and her family think of going back to the village where they have their own land? No schooling options. Her husband's family is going to sell some land and, Imran will make a pakka house with his share. 

There are two other workers in our house employed through a company. Like everyone else, they have links back home in rural spaces. They make more money but are vulnerable to medical crises just like everyone else.

Dancing Girl of Moenjodaro

 I was really really excited to see the Dancing Girl of Moenjodaro. 

My first reaction was that she's so tiny! She is 10.8cm. This was in the Harappan Gallery, which has has 3,500 artifacts from the Harappan or Indus Valley Civilisation. 

See this interesting history about the division of artefacts between India and Pakistan: 

When one of the major sites of the Harappan civilization, Mohenjo Daro, was excavated in the 1920s, archaeologists deposited its important finds first in the Lahore Museum, and then these were moved to Delhi by Mortimer Wheeler in anticipation of the construction of a Central Imperial Museum there. At the time of the Partition, the issue of ownership of these objects arose and eventually the two countries agreed to share all the collections equally, although this was sometimes interpreted in literal sense, with several necklaces and girdles taken apart with half the beads sent to Pakistan and half retained in India. In the words of Nayanjot Lahiri, ‘the integrity of these objects were compromised in the name of equitable division’.  Of the two most celebrated sculpted figures found in Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan asked for and received the steatite figure of a bearded male, dubbed the 'Priest King', while the National Museum of India retained the bronze statuette of the 'Dancing Girl', a nude bejeweled female.  Considering that the major sites like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa belonged to Pakistan post-Partition, the collections in this gallery also grew out of the discoveries of the excavations made after the Indian independence in 1947 such as Daimabad, Rakhigarhi, and Dholavira.

National Museum of India 

The secular conversations in Pakistan that ask us to reject a narrow and weird Islamic Arabic national narrative ask us to remember Gandhara, Indus Valley Civilisation , Buddhism, Hinduism and so on. The Dancing Girl often pops up as a metaphor for what was here long before any Empire , modern religion or Pakistan came along. 

Interestingly, Pakistan has asked for the the Dancing Girl to be returned: Sindh seeks return of Moenjodaro’s Dancing Girl from India. Why? Do we have any good museums? Do we have thriving Archaelogical , Cultural or Historical societies? Are our ancient monuments preserved? Do we appropriately educate children of the history of this land ? All I see is evidence of anti Hindu, anti Indian brainwashing at a very young age to justify Communalism, Partition and the ethnic cleansing that ensued. 

India too is having its moment of right wing Hindu nationalism but that does not justify hyper nationalism on either side. 

I just remembered reading this idiotic column by Rafia Zakaria which ENRAGED me when I read it. She suggests that Tipu Sultan's Tiger should be given to Pakistan because " it is time that the tiger came to Pakistan, which, being the Muslim successor state after colonial India, should have a right to it." She can't invoke the UNESCO Convention here but invokes Pakistan's identity as a Muslim state. You can read it here: The fate of Tipu’s Tiger. 

But what about Lal Qila the mightiest symbol of Islamic India? How about the Taj? How about Tipu Sultan's seat of government? Why don't we bring everything back to Pakistan brick by brick, Ms. Zakaria? 

This modern obsession with claiming, owning, distorting and mutilating history is sick. 

Back to the Dancing Girl, another reason I was excited to see her was recalling some recent articles I read that suggest the Indus Valley Civilisation was egalitarian. There's a hopeful idealistic glow to knowing that human society isn't programmed to be unjust and unequal. 

And the Dancing Girl of Moenjardo will forever be dancing in our collective imaginations. 

I made a video too: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WcT1WO26hzM. 

Political discussions in Class 6

I love hearing about the daily happenings in Kavita's school. 

There is a girl who used to go to the top of the class and mimic the class teacher whenever she isn't around. One time the teacher caught her and started arguing over the inaccuracy of the mimicry. 

I thought this girl has a cool personality but she also said she would throw a person on a wheelchair down the stairs and started laughing! Other girls started laughing too. 

So much for comedy - this kid is merely an attention-seeker with little to no sensitivity. 

Another kid asked Kavita if she is on Israel or Palestine's side. 

The thow-the-wheelchair-down-the-stairs girl spurts "Imran Khan" all the time! As if it's an exclamation! 

Stay tuned for more anecdotes. 

Diseases of the mobile phones : blocking and taxes.

Unbeknownst to me, you have to pay taxes on a mobile telephone purchased out of country. My phone's GSM services stopped working and naturally, one's ability to function also fails as one depends on the mobile contraption so much. 

Since I can’t explain it so well, I shall quote myself. 

I wrote this on the family WhatsApp chat: 

My phone’s acting up. Says Cellular Services not available. Tried restarting. Tried taking SIM in and out. Put Airplane mode on and off. Put my SIM in Kavita's phone. Worked. Put Kavita's SIM in my phone. Did not work. Took the phone to a mobile shop. Turns out mobile phones bought outside need to pay taxes. My phone got blocked. I will have to go to the PTA Office to find out how much taxes I have to pay. 

Valiant Haresh wouldn’t believe it: 

Does not make sense. PTA cannot block your phone. I think you need to investigate further. Why does it work on Kavita's phone? 

Haresh couldn't understand why Kavita's phone wasn't also blocked. But it was used in Pakistan in 2017 before PTA started this policy. I think it's to prevent smuggling of phones and also generate taxes. 

PTA's office is on the other side of Islamabad and thankfully, this website came to the rescue: https://propakistani.pk/.  It explains how/why PTA blocks phones and how to i) register the mobile phone ii) find out about the tax iii) and apply to pay the tax. The have a useful page: Learn How to Unblock a PTA Blocked Phone. 

I didn't have to go to the PTA office in person. 

So, I had to visit this PTA page: https://dirbs.pta.gov.pk. I registered my phone temporarily and got a break for 2 months. But, one can’t postpone death and taxes forever. 

After 2 months my phone was blocked again. But getting it unblocked was a headache because the PTA website is a mess. I tried to obtain a notice with the taxes I had to pay. The page wouldn't load. The same Login/Password I had used to register my phone in the first place didn't work. I called the Helpline who told me to register a complaint online. 

I'm not a very patient complainer. So, after complaining and exaggerating, I agreed to try their advice. 

This is the humble complaint I made: 

Dear Sir Madame, I am having great difficulty logging in to request registration of my device. I have reset the password SEVERAL times but no luck. What do I do. I have been trying since Friday to get into your website and-or contact you. Your mobile IMEI (863892053919227) is Temporary Registered (paired with mobile number applied during registration) for Overseas PakistanisForeign Nationals. BuySell this mobile device is not allowed till the time it is registered subject to payment

of FBR custom duties. Please check both IMEIs in case of dualdigital sim device. This IMEI is of T-Mobile REVVL V device. Your mobile IMEI 863892053919227 is Temporary Registered and paired with mobile number 03175101661 .Till 2024-03-26. Application Tracking ID is MTY5OTc5NzQ. 

CAN I extend the registration period or what is the custom duties Thank you. Regards Farzana

In the end, I received a tax notice of about 11,000 PKR which I promptly paid at the Bank. My phone's Cellular Services were restored almost immediately. 

I don’t know what else to ad to tis story of Blocked Phones and Taxes. What great lesson did I learn? Don't evade taxes. 

LEC and infrastructure and Neo liberal peace and democracy in Liberia

You know I've written so much about our experiences with electricity in Liberia. Service improves in the rainy season because the hydro dams are full. But "load shedding" is the norm in the dry season. Overall things have improved but power theft, mismanagement rule the day. Here are my recent observations in the midst of our burnt transformer and having no light since Sunday 7 PM which I shared on Facebook : 

19 September:

The transformer got burnt on Sunday and we don't have LEC power since then. Questions: how often are  maintenance and routine checks conducted? What is the quality of hardware/infrastructure  that LEC has? Why does it regularly catch fire? 

My friend's Facebook comment:

Call 4500 and tell them what is ongoing. The team is different than the usual. LEC is in trusted hands now...

21 September:

I called this # and someone answered on the hotline. They said issues are resolved in 5 working days. We still had to double check with management. A bigger transformer was installed yesterday but has to be " energised. " Waiting for that. Not bad!

22 September:  

So the transformer was replaced but still not on and they can't get the "materials" from the warehouse. No clue when. The 4500 line is good but they connect one with engineers when you ask when is light going to come back on. Chasing engineers should not be handled by customers. I spoke to a manager who said these transformers should last for 25 years but last only for a few months!!! Too much load! The snail pace of infrastructure/social services delivery after 20 years of Neo liberal democratic peace!

My friend's Facebook comment:

I believe the problem within your community is power theft. Because when many people stealing current it is difficult to regulate the current to the required users and thus making the transformer to last less longer. You will have to endure it. As long as they have replaced the transformer it will come on. Don't know when but you should be patient. In most communities that power theft is high transformers usually don't last long. We had that situation in our community and luckily we were part of the EU Power Project area and subsequently got connect entirely (even shacks were given current). Due to that we barely face problem with such issue unless LEC is having a major problem. It can be resolved if LEC provides all consumers within your community with meters and require them to pay bills for usage. Ours was paid for by EU all we have to do is to pay for our usage.

Me:

The same bribery issue. The hotline connects us to other persons in the LEC who demand bribes. Theft by public is an outcome of little to no improvement. LEC has never been managed well. It's part of post war system of no accountability of highest public officials insidious corruption small "budgetary support" from colonisers small empty development projects meant for money channeled back out to private firms International expert salaries etc big Neo liberal resource extraction without Development and change. I am glad you are seeing some positive service but the pace is snail slow.

PS. We are without LEC for almost a week. We have purchased at least $ 150 of fuel for back up generator in a week while we spend about US $ 100 or  US $ 120 in a month in the rainy season for about 400+ units. 

Sights and sounds of Waterside

I’ve passed this shop a few times on Newport Street and noticed artisans working. I was quite excited to see such a place. Today I stepped in on my way to Waterside. The handbags are beautiful. I mentioned a similar shop on Front Street from years ago until they told me they are the same! The landlord wanted the shop back so they had to vacate. They were away in Guinea until they re-located here. 

The tall chap is Ibrahim. All these artisans are from Guinea, as are countless taxi / keke drivers, shop keepers, and tailors. 

The bags range from US $ 50 to US $ 120.00.

Although it's not been raining, it was a cloudy overcast day. Waterside is dense and louder than usual because of all the mini loud speakers every seller has. 

$ 250 LD

Love this shot 

The clothes which wind up in Africa ...

I can't find an article on 'clothes dumping' in Liberia but it is in epic proportions in Ghana. 

 See: 100 tonnes of clothing from the west discarded every day in Accra. 

The EU has laws which ensure that producers are responsible for waste which is what dumping of fast fashion represents although only France applies that to textiles. Is this problem acute in Africa because clothes are not being made locally? In Liberia, there aren’t any textile factories and markets like Waterside fill this and almost every consumer needs. 

What is the correlation between local production and import of cheap fast fashion? 

Kavita looks serious but she got a couple of tops, a pair of leather slippers, a Snoopy pair of shorts and erasable pens.  

Hand made leather slippers in a sea of imported plastic ones. Kavita got a pair for US $ 10.00

Beautiful country cloth 

Guess what this is? Nigerian guava. No jokes on how much bigger they are than 

the local ones. Sold single for 150 LD which is almost a US $1.

View of Waterside from the Bridge on the Randall Street intersection 

Keke ride