Is The Pen Mightier Than The Sword?

With only one day left before the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, Russia, I noticed a flood of comical Facebook posts about the impending horror that awaits visitors and athletes in the Russian city. Six of the nine hotels that were built specifically to accommodate the Olympics audience and participants are reportedly under construction, while the constructed ones have dismal rooms, absence of drinkable water and stray dogs wandering around inside.

While discussing the snowboarding and skiing events, my husband (who is not a Pakistani) asked me if any Pakistanis made it to the 2014 Olympics. In that moment, I was struck by a sad realization; I know nothing about the Pakistani winter sports teams. Truth is, events of the past decade, tied to Pakistan have left me in indifference. I was very vocal as a teenager, I had an opinion about everything that was wrong about my country and I had an opinion about how all of that could be fixed. As I grew older, much of that zeal died and I stopped caring because it felt as though I, a small grain of sand, could not make a difference. Once I physically left the country, my heart left it too. Time and again I read the depressing news related to Pakistan. The more I read, the more restless I became because I wanted to do something about it. I had no clue what to do so I did nothing.

To answer my husband’s question, I did a quick Internet search and quickly learned that the Pakistani ski team qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics. After hours of reading about the history of winter sports in Pakistan, I took a journey through time. I saw the glory days of a bustling ski resort in the Swat Valley and the remnants of its skeleton. Even though I was aware of the destruction of this resort by the Taliban, looking at the pictures and reading accounts of the locals left me in tears. I remembered how strongly I had felt about Pakistan, how much I loved and cared for this land and how enthusiastically I climbed to the roof of my house to hang strings of mini flags in celebration of the independence day. I had reached that point again, where I asked myself the question, “How can I, a small grain of sand, make a difference?” This time I decided to do something; I decided to write.

Now is a time good as any to test whether the pen is mightier than the sword. I never learned how to wield a sword but I sure do know how to employ a pen. The decision to write gave birth to this blog and the resolve to spread the word, to express an opinion, to reach out to others, to remind everyone where we came from, to remember how beautiful our land is, to demonstrate how resilient we are, and most of all, to resuscitate Pakistan.