"Not so happy Christmas"

Christmas was a big part of growing up in Karachi for me. I went to a Catholic school, which was located in Saddar, home to many of Karachi's Christians. It was perfectly normal to me to be planning and practicing for the year-end Christmas Concert in school (the biggest event of the school year), to be surrounded by Christmas decorations and signs for Christmas sales as I strolled through Bohri Bazar after school let out (or not - sometimes you just have to have that chat and if it means bunking a class or two, so be it). It was perfectly normal to me to have Christian students in my classes. Interestingly, all of them were Goan Christians, who are much more anglicized and more affluent than the other major group of Christians who are usually Punjabi. I'm sure this accounts for some of the hardships that Punjabi Christians report, such as the story I read recently in DAWN. But it can't explain everything, and the fact is that Pakistani Christians are severely discriminated against, in social, cultural, legal, and economic terms.

In "Not so happy Christmas for some," DAWN reporter Sheher Bano Khan tells the story of Bashiran and Shafeeq Masih, who live in Model Colony with their five children. Model Colony is close to Defense, Karachi's most elite neighborhood. Many of the domestic staff that are employed by Defense-walas live in Model Colony, including many Punjabi Christians who are typically employed as sweepers/house cleaners.

"There's no joy for us this Christmas. We don't feel safe," bemoans Bashiran whose husband has gone missing for two days now... Her husband who worked at a nearby factory on a daily-wage basis was somehow falsely accused of theft by a resident of Defense whose house was looted a few days ago by a gang of five. "Whenever there's theft in this area, we Christians are the first to be taken to the police station for interrogation. I don't understand why Shafeeq's name was taken. On December 20, he came home and said that he had a fight with a man and the next thing he knows, he's accused of theft by the same man. Shafeeq hasn't come home since then," says Bashiran.

When asked if she has sought the help of the police, she says:

"Police? Oh no! I think it's best for Shafeeq to stay wherever he is till everything dies down. I'm not going to the police because they don't take Christians seriously."

Bashiran helps paint the picture of Christian life in Pakistan today.

"You want to know how we spend Christmas? How can a family of seven living off Rs4,000 celebrate Christmas? And now with Shafeeq gone, there's no Christmas for us," says a shaken Bashiran Masih.

"Just look at this area. Do you think it's fit for humans? To get one bucket of water my two daughters have to queue for two hours. The sewerage system is so bad that whenever it rains the entire colony gets flooded. You know it doesn't matter because who's living here? Christians and they don't matter!"

A bit further down Shafeeq Masih�s house Bajwa Chowk is festooned with decorative Christmas trappings. Brightly coloured clothes attiring overtly made up faces of shoppers devoted to last minute Christmas buy show no signs of feeling run down by the ramshackled Model Colony. "They are used to this life, but I'm not going to let my daughters be raised in this colony feeling little more than the grime I scrub daily off those huge houses. My eldest daughter worked at a factory for some time. She stopped going because the manager thought it was easier and less risky to make a pass at a Christian girl than a Muslim. Each time she steps out of the house I fear for my 18-year-old. I know there's no one to turn to, no protection and no justice. At least not for us."

There is hope that Shafeeq Masih might come home one day; hope that prior to elections [scheduled for next December] the Model Colony might have a better sewerage system and her daughters might have access to clean drinking water. But should Bashiran expect social integration for her daughters? "You know the term they use for us in this society. It's at Christmas time when we feel most left out. The few Muslims living in this area don't even wish to eat the things sent to them on Christmas by us. Tell me, is that the way to make us feel part of society? We live in ghettoes and work as cleaners. Christmas is just another day which makes me feel that I'm not a part of," Bashiran nods her head in the direction of her door, "that world."

That world is getting worse and worse, for more and more of us. A few days ago, a minister in the Pakistani government hinted that there might be "good news" for Pakistani Christians on Christmas day, but it's unclear what he meant. Perhaps there will be some cosmetic changes to the blasphemy laws, laws which are absurd, draconian, and used only to target religious minorities. But frankly, even cosmetic changes would be welcome at this juncture.

Happy Christmas to all Pakistani Christians, with the hope for a better future soon.

Update: PM Shaukat Aziz attended Christmas Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Monday. I believe this makes him the first Pakistani PM to attend Christmas Mass.