We come in peace

Globetrotting is always such a passionate adventure. Indeed a foreign destination’s physical beauty and landscape are a major attraction. However true adventure begins the moment we leave our country’s boundaries. Every time we interact with the global environment, we act as goodwill ambassadors of our homeland. We carry with us the culture, the values and the idiosyncrasies that come to brand us.   Our most valued brand collateral being the friendly green colored official documents that serve as our identity and prove our connection to a country which has no doubt enjoyed quite a lot of free publicity(although not beneficial) over the last couple of years. The interesting and mystifying fact about these branded documents is the special treatment it has bestowed on everyone owning it. It starts the moment one flashes this green book at the immigration counters. All of a sudden the world’s best cutting edge scanner technology suffers a minor technical defect and we are politely ushered to a side counter for clearance. Sometimes they call it random checking. But we are never the ones to let it get us down. We rise above because we come in peace. So with a quick friendly thank you for carrying out their civic duty, we move along the way. Soon we are in a new place, vulnerable to the perceptions of the locals. The first taxi driver we encounter is quick to guess our origins. Upon a quick redirection to a slightly eastern country, we gear ourselves to answer a question which would be repeated several times during our journey. Is it safe out there? We think the taxi driver has heard a few too many breaking news. But wait! He actually genuinely seems concerned with our country’s safety and plight. We are deeply touched. So we rise above and try to add some color to the otherwise grim picture the media has painted. We are passing through on the wings of peace. The next day we sign up for a tour package. Along the road to a touristy destination, we come together with a group of people from Continental Europe. Brief customary introductions follow. We seem to pick up a not so friendly aura around us. So we fall back from the group, exploring on our own. We are near an entrance of a temple when a Swiss couple approaches us. We can just sense the pride and security the Swiss nationals carry with them. Yup those stiff upper lips. We can only guess what they would want to talk about. The Swiss couple introduce themselves as avid trekkers. They then excitedly tell us of their journey to the Karakoram / Himalayan range in our own homeland. Soon our ambassadorship takes on a whole new dimension. The mountains ranges become more majestic, the rivers become more splendid and the people become more gracious. In those thirty minutes, we take a proud journey through the wonders of our homeland through the eyes of two strangers. Two strangers who rise above and remember Pakistan in a way different than what the world has been forced to perceive. Perhaps this is the very foundation of the wings of peace and bonds of solidarity that holds the global citizens together. The greatest are those who rise above. Their belief in people goes beyond ethnicity and culture. To them boundaries don’t mark a man, color does not define a man and religion does not make a man. We are equals. We, together form mankind first and then individual citizens of a particular country. We come in peace. One for all and all for one.