KARACHI: In the narrow alleys of a poor neighborhood of the Pakistani city of Karachi, known for drugs, gang wars and low literacy rates, children are learning about peace, love and interfaith tolerance from string puppets.
As the curtains open on stage, a narrator tells the story of “Sindbad the Sailor,” a hero of Middle Eastern origin and his journeys around the world in which he meets people of different faiths, languages and religions — who often do not have much tolerance for one another.
“A man is dying and you guys are talking about castes,” the protagonist puppet rebuked a fellow puppet who did not want to save a drowning marionette because it belonged to a lower caste.
“You should be ashamed calling yourself human beings. Humans save humanity not caste,” Sindbad says.
Writer Nouman Mehmood said the story came to mind when his group was conducting an education awareness campaign in some poor neighborhoods in the city.
They noticed religious and ethnic antagonism in those neighborhoods and decided to create a show to spread a message of peace, tolerance and harmony.
Pakistan, an overwhelmingly Muslim country of more than 200 million people, has seen repeated attacks on churches, Hindu temples and sufi shrines in recent years by hard-line religious groups and Islamist militants.
Conservative religious schools or madrasas are regularly blamed for radicalization but they are often the only education available to millions of poor children, making alternative messages especially important.
“The basic thing is acceptance. You should have enough room to accept others regardless of whether he is a Christian, without considering he is a Hindu, without considering he is a Sikh,” Mehmood said.
Organized by Thespianz Theatre, the show plans to travel to other poor Karachi neighborhoods and provinces after its run in the tough Karachi neighborhood of Lyari.
“There is a message that we should not interfere with others’ religions. We should help each other,” said eighth grade student Adul Rahim Arshad after watching the show.
“If one deceives us, we should not deceive him back. Instead we should help him.”
Puppeteers lead message of tolerance in Pakistan
Puppeteers lead message of tolerance in Pakistan
- Aim to counter religious and ethnic antagonism in poor neighborhoods
- The show plans to travel to other neighborhoods of Karachi
International Cricket Council in talks to revive India-Pakistan T20 World Cup clash
- Pakistan face two-point loss and net run-rate hit if they forfeit Feb. 15 match
- ICC seeks dialogue after Pakistan boycott clash citing government directive
NEW DELHI, India: The International Cricket Council is in talks with the Pakistan Cricket Board to resolve the boycott of its T20 World Cup match against India on February 15, AFP learnt Saturday.
Any clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan is one of the most lucrative in cricket, worth millions of dollars in broadcast, sponsor and advertising revenue.
But the fixture was thrown into doubt after Pakistan’s government ordered the team not to play the match in Colombo.
The Pakistan Cricket Board reached out to the ICC after a formal communication from the cricket’s world body, a source close to the developments told AFP.
The ICC was seeking a resolution through dialogue and not confrontation, the source added.
The 20-team tournament has been overshadowed by an acrimonious political build-up after Bangladesh, who refused to play in India citing security concerns, were replaced by Scotland.
As a protest, Pakistan refused to face co-hosts India in their Group A fixture.
Pakistan, who edged out Netherlands in the tournament opener on Saturday, will lose two points if they forfeit the match and also suffer a significant blow to their net run rate.
India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said this week that his team would travel to Colombo for the clash.
Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade, and meet only in global or regional tournaments.
