My views & their views

When I told the class about my “other” selection, they liked the idea, encouraged me, some gave me tips, & few girls wanted to join me… Even my parents ! They laughed and thought it’s silly, but they liked it =)

However some people had extreme views about Pakistani’s...Some girls I know think they’re creepy, dangerous, and believe those stories: that some kidnap people, rape girls, & do other creepy things :O I don't believe such stereotypical stories... I lived most of my life in Madinat Zayed, an area where many Pakistani workers have gathering, & I've never seen or heard about any kidnapping acts..
Yet, my parents NEVER let me go in a Pakistani taxi by myself ! :S although they don’t have a problem taking taxis themselves...



I remember once, missing the school bus & going back home in a taxi...That day my parents got really Mad,I remember my mom saying:
"God Knows what might have happened to you" !!

Personally, I think they’re peaceful people, yet impulsive when they drive…They’re funny when they talk with the broken Arabic accent, helpful when a stranger asks them, & they care about each others…As I often see them chatting through their taxis’ side windows, while waiting for the green traffic light…

The Beginning

It all started with "Peoples of the World “ course and Dr. Nezar Andary Ethnography Project: Discovering "the Other"...And the first OTHER that came into my mind is the Pakistanis I see everyday …

I see Pakistanis Everyday...In mornings when I pass by Al-Najda Street…In Fridays when they gather in Al-Hussainia next to our house…
And I see them Every where, in every corner of Abu Dhabi...I'll glance a Pakistani walking on the street...sitting on the road...or taking a nap on the grass...

Who are they? Why they're sitting/walking/laying doing nothing? Why there’s so Many of them & Why they came here in the first place?...Questions have crossed my mind & I never bothered to answer them…
Through this ethnography project I’ll discover “the Others”…The Pakistanis who have always been near from the eye…yet far from the heart…