23rd Annual Convention of Sindhi Association of North America (SANA)
Reaffirms its Resolve to
Pursue Sindhi Rights and Support Peoples' Movement for Freedom, Justice and
Democracy
Report Prepared by
Khalid Hashmani
The Sindhi Association of North America (SANA)
concluded its 3-day annual convention in Orlando, Florida, USA and re-affirmed
its resolve to pursue rights of Sindhis in Pakistan and support the ongoing
Peoples' Movement for Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in Pakistan. The
convention was held from June 29 to July 2, 2007 at the Grosvenor Walt Disney
World Resort. More than 200 Sindhi families attended the event. They came from
many US states, Canada, UK, and Sindh. This year's convention held a particular
significance as it was held in the midst of the Movement for Peoples' Rights
that many people believe is a defining movement in the life of Pakistan. In
addition to hearing three political leaders of various political parties, the
convention was addressed by legendary American Indian leader Russell Means who
urged Sindhis to strengthen their resolve and struggle and never to stop
fighting for their rights and for their unique identity. Other convention
sessions included Women's View, Youth Program, Education Programs in Sindh, SANA
vision and Responsibilities of Individual Members, SANA General Body Meeting,
Annual SANA Medical Seminar, Rivers For Life, and Sindhi Music Program.
FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2007
The activities on Friday, June 30, 2007 mainly included informal chit
chat sessions held in small groups, Convention Registration, and a combined
meeting of SANA Executive Council and SANA Advisory Council members.
WOMEN'S VIEW SESSION - SATURDAY, June 30, 2007 - 11:00
AM to 12 NOON
The day began with the morning session on WOMEN'S VIEW organized by
women and mostly attended by women. The informal theme of the session was set as
soon as the members started introducing themselves. One immediate point that
received unanimous support and enthusiasm was that unlike previous years, the
women would focus on talking about themselves as individuals instead of
introducing themselves simply as wives of their male husbands. The discussions
quickly moved to ways for strengthening networking among the SANA women members,
SANA youth and SANA kids. The key take-away that emerged from the meeting was
that the first generation in North America will soon have to pass on baton to
the second generation. This is a big challege as the second generation has not
received the same amount of immersion and knowledge about Sindhiat as the first
generation. It is about time to think, plan and implement programs that will
encourage Sindhi kids and youth to know more about each other and their
heritage. This would also encourage young people to develop friendships and
introduce potential life partners. The second theme that also received a lot of
attention was the lack of interest on the part of women to become active in the
community matters and SANA affairs. The fact that other than the same 2-3 women
members are in the forefront is not very encouraging. The attendees were urged
to take up responsibilities in SANA Executive Council and/or SANA Advisory
Committee. Attendees thanked Adi SURRIYA PANHWAR and adi ZEB AGHA for their
active roles in SANA affairs and assured that many more SANA women members will
assume active roles.
SANA VISION, RESPONSIBILITIES AND FAME SCHOLARSHIP
REPORT - SATURDAY, June 30, 2007 - 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Ada ZAFAR AGHA presented a detailed report on the activities of the
Dr. Feroz Ahmed Memorial Educational (FAME) scholarships for the academic year
2006-2007. He informed that SANA awarded 37 scholarships to the needy and
meritorious Sindhi students who are pursuing their education in various colleges
and universities in Sindh and other places in Pakistan. The selection Committee
received 168 applications. Out of 168 applications, more than 100 applications
did meet the selection criteria. The following are Scholarship details:
3 - Postgraduate Scholarships in Social Sciences and Humanities - each $500.
2 - Postgraduate Scholarships in Sindh and Sindhi language Studies - each $500.
25 - Undergraduate Studies in Sciences - each $250.
1 - Undergraduate Scholarships in Sindh and Sindhi Language - each $250.
2- Undergraduate in Pharmacy - each 250.
4 - Scholarships to Students of Nursing Colleges - each $250.
The "SANA VISION AND TAKING UP RESPONSIBILITIES" session was facilitated by ada
MOHAMMAD ALI MAHAR as Dr. Maqbool Halepoto could not attend the convention due
to unavoidable circumstances. The following ideas and observations were
mentioned in the session:
We lack concrete programs and operate on non-specific and abstract objectives.
Encourage new and younger people to become EC members by telling old guard EC
members to gracefully retire and make room for newer members.
There should be a limit on maximum numbers of terms a member can be on EC.
SANA should focus on improving educational opportunities in Sindh.
SANA must focus on strengthening "networking" of North American Sindhis.
SANA should help in "political education" of Sindhis by publishing a booklet
that explain basics of democracy, role of assemblies, importance of vote, etc.
SANA must focus on the original mission and the eight- (8) objectives stated in
the SANA charter with primary focus on advocacy actives on behalf of Sindhis.
SANA should increase membership and each member should commit to introduce 10
new members.
Invest SANA Reserve fund for Permanent Office to maximize return.
Help Sindhi students individually and collectively who intend to pursue
education in North America.
EDUCATION IN SINDH - SATURDAY, June 30, 2007 - 3:30 -
4:30 PM
Dr. Professor MUBARAK SHAH (Chair at University of Central Florida)
on the joint activities that have occurred between the University of Central
Florida, Mehran University and ZABIST. The programs have included providing
advice to Ph.D. students, organizing short courses and conferences, and help in
conducting research. He said one of the impedance to aggressively pursuing
educational opportunities for Sindhis has been traditional reluctance among
Sindhis to go to far way places to pursue educational and employment
opportunities. This and lack of affirmative action programs are holding back
Sindhi students from achieving the success that they are capable of.
Dr. Professor GHULAM QADIR KAZI (Chancellor of Isra University in Sindh) talked
about the university and expansion programs that will create additional
educational opportunities for Sindhi students. He said that Isra University was
opened in 1997 and after 10 years it is now self-sustained. He announced that
they are staring a new program and will open a school in each Taulka of Sindh.
The detailed information about this program is attached at the end of the
Convention Report. The schools will teach modern subjects including technology
in addition to Quran and Arabic. He informed that the investigations and
research that they have conducted shows that it would take about US 10,000 to
start a school in a rented premises. The school will soon become self-sufficient
as it will charge market-based fees with 10% set aside for free education to
poor students. He proudly announced that SANA has committed to help. Dr. AIJAZ
TURK will head a funds raising campaign with a goal to raise $ 150,000. Dr. Qazi
also talked about another program focused on investing in the real estate of
Sindh. He said their analysis has shown substantial return from real estate in
Sindh, which is better than other investment options, and asked North American
Sindhis to contact him for more details.
Ada SALEEM URSANI made an impressive presentation on the Educational foundation
that he and other members of the family opened in 2003 in the memory of his
mother. He said that the foundation is running a modern school in Qasimabad. The
school is equipped with modern educational facilities including computer lab and
has gained the reputation as one of best schools in the area. He appealed to
attendees that a mere $ 5 per month in donation would go long way to help the
school to continue to extend education to the children whose parents cannot
afford fees. A very impressive documentary titled "Documentary Report on Village
Miranpur Bheel Community" was shown as a part of this presentation. The
documentary showed how residents of the village with population of about 2,500
pursued opening of a school in their village with the help of civil society
organizations. Dr. MANZOOR MEMON, who started Sindhi Doctors Association in UK
several decades ago joined Mr. Saleem Ursani in appealing attendees to play
their part in spreading the light of education throughout Sindh.
GENERAL BODY MEETING - SATURDAY, JUNE 30, 2007 - 4:30
to 6:00 PM
Ada KOHSHER AHMED (General Secretary of SANA) thanked attendees, Aziz
Narejo (President of SANA), and A. R. Soomro (Chair of the Convention Organizing
Committee). He said this year's convention was the first that was organized
remotely without any local organizers. He spoke at length about problems faced
by Sindhis including lack of employment and Kalabagh dam. He talked about the
present crisis and how General Musharraf victimized Chief Justice. He praised
Mr. Imran Khan (one of the leading politicians in Pakistan) for taking a strong
stand against MQM for its part in the May 12 Karachi massacre. In talking about
the activities of SANA, he cited monthly teleconferences of SANA Executive
Council and lauded the work of various SANA committees. He mentioned SANA
initiatives and participation in various rallies in support of the Peoples
Movement for Justice, Rights, and Democracy. He also mentioned about the events
that were organized by various SANA Chapters including Shah Abdul Latif Day in
Toronto, Canada.
Ada TALAT TALPUR, Treasurer of SANA, talked about the association finances. He
referred to the financial statements for 2006 that was published before March 31
of this year as stipulated in SANA bylaws. He urged every one to pay their fees
on a timely basis and support SANA programs generously with donations. He said
so far about 35 members have paid their membership fee since 1 January. In an
answer to a question, he promised to provide an exact number of members who were
in the "active (fees paid)" status. He said that about 100 members had prepaid
their Convention Registration paying $6,456. As of now, SANA has 44 life
members. He welcomed Mr. Khalid as the first Life Member in 2007. He said that
so far about $ 3,048.83 were received in donations and expressed disappointed
that only 65% of the amount that was pledged at the last year's convention was
actually received. He said so far in 2007, the expenses are about $ 17, 058.78
including $ 12,000 prepaid in various deposits to the Convention hotel.
Ada AZIZ NAREJO (President of SANA) appealed to every one to contact Dr. Aijaz
Turk and pledge their donations in support of the Isra Taulka schools in Sindh.
He said one of the key reasons for the lack of educational and employment
opportunities in Sindh is because much of the decision-making power is retained
by the central government. He said shortage of water has had a devastating
impact on Sindh's agriculture and that has worsened poverty in rural Sindh. He
then said few words about the enforced disappearance of Safdar Sarki, a
prominent American-Sindhi and SANA member. Mr. Narejo mentioned that wife of
Safdar Sarki was specially invited to the convention and was asking for every
one's support in putting pressure on the Government of Pakistan and its
non-law-abiding agencies to release him. He said that it is important for the
first generation of American-Sindhis to take steps to ensure that the light of
Sindhiat continues to shine in North America by the second generation. This is a
special and difficult responsibility as our second generation depends on us to
learn about Sindhi heritage and culture. He praised the contribution of Ms.
Fariha Raiz in coordinating the family networking. He said we want to encourage
young people to join SANA Executive Council and start preparing to play a lead
role in the affairs of SANA.
The above speeches were followed by RESOLUTIONS session, where the proposed
resolutions were tabled, debated, amended by a majority vote, and voted. In all
15 resolutions were passed, many of them unanimously. A report containing text
of each passed resolution and the vote counts was circulated separately.
The session to debate proposed by-law amendments could not take place due to
difficulty in ascertaining the total exact number of active members for the
purposes of quorum and the required percentage votes requirements stipulated in
the SANA constitution.
The Question-Answer session followed the Resolutions segment but the moderator
cut short the session at 6 PM sharp, even though the next scheduled program did
not began until about 10 PM.
MUSIC TALENT PROGRAM -- SATURDAY, June 30, 2007 ? 10 PM
to 12 PM
The following remark from Dr. Nazia Junejo's e-mail wonderfully
summarizes the success of this session:
"The MUSICAL PROGRAM by the so called amateurs was delightful and entertaining.
The way these 'home grown' singers performed, I am afraid they would be
professionals soon and hence we would need to pay them toattend the
conventions!"
YOUTH PROGRAM -- SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 - 10 AM to 12
NOON
The scriber of this report could not attend this session due to
another program and hopes that Irfan Jon Junejo, Sahrish Agha and Agha Zafar,
who coordinated the program, would share their report of the event. However the
following comments from Dr. Nazia Junejo's e-mail on this session are reproduced
below:
"One of newer addition to the convention was Youth TALENT SHOW. I think it was
nicer being separate from the usual youth show. The children instead took the
main stage and entertained us with their music, dance, art work, etc. This again
was a good start. Hopefully with participation of more youngsters and with their
own organizational skills, this will become an important seller of the
convention tickets.
MEDICAL SEMINAR -- SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 - 10 AM to 12
NOON
This year's medical seminar proved to be a hit program with a very
large attendance, interesting presentations, and lively discussions. Dr. SATTAR
SHAIKH moderated session in a very interactive fashion, often interjecting with
appropriate short comments and stories. The session was attended by more than
100 persons. In addition to the main speakers, a panel consisting of Dr. Rafat
Ansari, Dr. Aijaz Turk, Dr. Ashfaque Turk, and Dr. Valeed Shaikh and other
medical experts present, answered health-related questions.
The topic of Dr. NAZIA JUNEJO was "Diabetic Nephropathy" that focused on the
broad category of Chronic Kidney Diseases, also called CKD. According to her
presentation, one in nine Americans suffer some form of the kidney disease. One
of the important function of kidney is to release hormones to blood that help
regulate blood pressure, make red blood cells, and promote strong bones. Failure
to treat kidney diseases in a timely fashion generally leads to heart problems.
Dr. MAZHAR KHAWJA (Assistant Professor, Wayne State University) gave a lively
presentation on how to overcome fears and threats, set goals and achieve
positive outcomes. The techniques he recommended included acquiring knowledge
the area where the goals are to be pursued, measuring progress periodically, and
taking one step at a time. In addition, he recommended simplifying and not
complicating; accepting imperfections; and staying focused. He also talked about
how to conquer fear of people and fear of failure. His concluding advice was
that when you feel mentally tired, relax by engaging in physical activities and
when you feel physically tired, achieve relaxation by doing mental activities.
Dr. SHAMA TAREEN (Assistant Professor, Michigan State University) spoke on
"Epidemiology", known commonly as "Depression". She said that "depression" is a
very common disease and it is thrice more common among women than men. It is not
a "weakness of character" but rather a medical problem. She said that the
chronic depression could lead to suicidal tendencies if not treated properly and
recommended that family and friends should create a "network of hope" for a
person suffering from Epidemiology. She provided a synopsis of her work in
depression caused among women after giving birth.
In a lively Question-and-Answer session, questions about high suicidal rate
among Sindhi youth in Sindh and lack of proper recognition of "depression" as a
disease in Pakistan came up. The lack of educational, health and employment
opportunities in rural areas and small towns of Sindh was determined to be the
root cause of the high suicidal rates in Sindh.
Several younger people also participated in the discussion, particularly in the
context of "communication gap" between the first and generations "desi" American
families. There was consensus among several medical experts present in the
session was that the desi-American parents should realize that it would be
unfair to impose their point of view on their children. The send generation kids
have a whole outside to deal with and live in, where the parental values are not
necessarily sufficient to survive. The experts advised that desi-American
parents should adjust their expectations and encourage open communications with
their kids. If the children feel that their parents do not understand them, they
will stop communicating with their parents.
The question of the quality and cost of medical care in the United States also
came up. References were made to Michael Moore's recent documentary "Sicko" and
merits and demerits of having a national medical system to ensure that every one
in the USA has the medical coverage. Dr. Khawja and others suggested that
organizations such as SANA could organize a tour or arrange video recordings
where Sindhi mental heath could help in creating awareness about mental health
issues and finding local solutions for such diseases.
SESSION ON PRE-HISTORY SINDH -- SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 -
2 PM to 3:30 PM
In this session, prominent archaeologist Dr. Professor Paolo Biagi
made an impressive presentation on his archaeological work that he has carried
out since 1986. The title of his presentation was "The Prehistory of Sindh: New
Data from the Last Ten Years of Research". Dr. Paolo Biagi is Associate
Professor of Paleoethnology at the University of Venice, Italy. He has written
200 articles, mostly about the transition from hunting to farming in prehistory.
He received a Ph.D. in prehistoric archaeology from the University of London in
1981. He has excavated in Italy, Sindh (Pakistan), Kuwait and Oman.
Dr. Paolo has carried out excavation work in three places in Sindh that include
Sukkur/Rohri area (1986-1992 in cooperation with the Shah Abdul Latif
University, Kairpur), Zunger (15 miles south of Hyderabad), and coastal areas
and Karachi. His work is related to the Mesolithic sites in Upper and Lower
Sindh and is of is fundamental importance to the study of the Early Holocene.
Mesolithic also called Middle Stone Age refers to last ~10000 years of the
Earth's history which has been a relatively warm period in between ice ages. It
is a period in human development between the end of the Paleolithic period and
the beginning of the Neolithic period. The change during this duration involved
the gradual domestication of plants and animals and the formation of settled
communities at various times and places. Mesolithic cultures represent a wide
variety of hunting, fishing, and food gathering techniques.
The characteristics of the stone assemblages indicate different chronological
periods of habitation and the use of natural resources by the inhabitants of
those times. The specific tools that have found from Lower Sindh and Upper Sindh
sites indicate that many of the sites were settled exclusively for hunting
purposes.
Most important discoveries were made on the Mulri Hills, just south of the
Karachi University campus. These hills, which cover an area of about 7 square
miles, are now highly urbanized. This is why all the prehistoric discovered
between the end of sixties and beginning of the seventies have been totally
destroyed. Of the great importance is the occurrence of topologically
distinctive (thick) curved, baked points retouched from bladelets or bladelet-like
flaketes.
The Rohri Hills extend in a north-south direction between the course of the
Indus and cities of Sukkur and Rohri the north. In the south, they extend to the
westernmost fringes of the Thar Desert.
It is important to note that a huge Acheulian site, very rich in bifacial tools,
was destroyed in January-February 2001. No one conducted any rescue excavation.
A few artifacts were collected by Professor G. M. Veesar of Shah Abdul Latif
University, Khairpur and are now in it's Archeology museum.
Apart from prehistoric sites, few historic settlements were also destroyed or
damaged during the last twenty years. Among these are Seeraj and a Buddhist
Stupa at Shah Shagar Ganj. These sites are not far from Aror, destroyed earlier.
His observations include use of the same "flint" for making tools, whichwas
transported from Rohri Hills to Moen-Jo-Daro, coastal areas of Sindh, and right
up to Harpa.
The "Joint Rohri Hills Project" ended in 2002 after so many important
discoveries. But it could not put stop to systematic destruction. Repetitive
appeals by Dr. Biagi, joined by Italian General Consul in Karachi, and the
Italian government to the Governor of Sindh and the commissioners of Sukkur and
Shah Abdul Latif University have not resulted in any action to stop the decay of
these archaeological treasurers.
In an answer to a question, he said unlike the Harpa site, whose site conditions
are excellent, the problems of water logging and salinity prevent deep
excavations of the Moen-Jo-Daro site. In spite of this difficulty, based on his
observations and knowledge, he believes that people that lived in Harpa and
Moen-Jo-Daro areas were part of the same civilization with explainable
variations.
SAVE INDUS RIVER SESSION- SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 - 3:30
to 4:30 PM
Three impressive presentations were made from experts who had
specially traveled from Sindh to attend the SANA Convention and brief on the
WATER issue that is having devastating impact on Sindh's agriculture and
livelihood of the millions people.
Ada MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL , who has for years run an Internet-based international
magazine focused on the opportunities and challenges of Sindhis, spoke on the
"Role of media in publicizing the issue of human-made shortage of water in Indus
River". He said since 1957, particularly during the regimes of Ayub Khan and
Zia-ul-Haq, media had been very much controlled and governments were successful
in keeping a lid on the news about building new canals and other techniques
deployed to divert water upstream. He praised Sindhi newspapers, which have
played a very diligent role in the later years to keep people of Sindh well
informed about the Water Shortage issue and its causes. He said that the Indus
Delta is the sixth largest in the world but was being destroyed because of
insufficient water flows into it. He said that one of the major reasons for
pushing large dams is that many leaders of present regime have little
understanding about cause-and-effect aspects of dams and rivers. He sited one
example, where General Musharraf receiving report on the intrusion of seawater
upstream in the Badin area, said that this would not have occurred if the Kala
Bagh dam had been built. He commented that how can you find right solutions when
people in high positions are saying exactly opposite to what is truth. He
further added that Urdu media has generally kept silent about the water shortage
issue but Urdu-speaking journalists working in English newspapers in Karachi
have highlighted this issue more vigrously. He appealed that overseas Sindhi
organizations such as SANA, WSC, and WSI should jointly pursue the "Save Indus
River" campaign and set an aggressive tone so that the present regime and any
future regimes in Pakistan will not talk of any projects such as Kala Bagh dam.
Ada ZULFIQAR HALEPOTO made a very persuasive presentation by making effective
use of slides. Mr. Halepoto is associated with Sindh Democrat Front (SDF) and
has expertise in water and environmental issues. His articles on these topics
and as well on the subject of conflict resolution are published in many
Pakistani and Sindhi newspapers. He has published several policy type analysis
articles on various topics including one that analyzed lack of performance by
British Petroleum (BP) in fulfilling their commitments to the local people in
Badin, where BP operates oil and gas fields. Mr. Halepoto said that the issue of
water in Pakistan is a complex issue with both "technical" and "political"
dimensions. He said that rights of lower riparian are internationally
recognized. He said Sindh should be proud because no one can match the hard work
and research done by its sons and daughters. He said having failed on the
political front, General Musharraf few years ago tasked Mr. N. G. Abbasi to
study and make recommendation on the Kala Bagh Dam. His advisors and had hoped
that a Sindhi will find convincing reasons to justify the Kala Bagh dam. Mr.
Abbasi carried out a world class study that showed that there isn?t sufficient
water flow in Indus River to justify any large dams. He proved this case using
the facts and figures that are published by WAPDA and other government agencies
that support the dreadful dams on River Indus. He said that water is the
fundamental right of people recognized in the United Nations Human Rights
charter. He said a lot of Civil Society and NGO organizations have cooperated
and helped people to understand the water issue and how it affects lives of
common Sindhis. He thanked SANA and WSI and individuals like Altaf Memon, Aziz
Narejo, and Khalid Hashmani in helping to present Sindh?s point of view and
publicizing it as a Human Rights issue at forums such as World Bank and relevant
UN bodies. He emphasized that the threat of the construction of the Kala Bagh
Dam is real due to Punjab?s fears that India has many projects upstream on
Jehlum and Chenab rivers and the water flow in those rivers would be adversely
impacted by those projects. Punjab would very much like to repeat the trickery
that did after the Indus River Treaty was signed with India. They wasted the
money they received as compensation on non-effective projects and found ways to
offset their liability of lower water by constructing huge canals upstream at
the cost of Sindh. This time they want to construct the Kala Bagh Dam and
associated two canals to hold Indus water upstream with devastating economic
impact on Sindh. We must be resolved never to allow any large dams for Sindh
will become totally depended on Punjab for its survival.
Engineer NASEER MEMON's presentation contained tables of facts and figures
showing how water shortage and other wrongful government policies have adversely
affected Sindh. Mr. Memon is working as the provincial (Sindh) leader one of the
major Pakistani NGO organization, which has won a large contract under the
current US Aid education program to improve educational facilities and
opportunities in Pakistan. Right at the outset of his powerful presentation, he
called on SANA and other overseas Sindh organization not to hesitate in helping
to internationalize the issue of Water as it is the life line for survival of
Sindhi identity, language, and culture. He highlighted statistics on how lack of
water in Indus River has affected Sindh's agriculture, employment, and
livelihood of people living in rural areas. He said that Indus River System is
one of the largest of its kind in the world. It has 44 main canals and Indus
travels 3,000 kilometers. He said that irony is that the three rivers that were
agreed to be given for exclusive use of India under the Indus Water Treaty
amounted to 20% of total water of all rivers flowing in Pakistan, where as India
was only taking 9% from those rivers. This shows that the Government of Pakistan
was not a good negotiator as they gave up more than twice to India than what was
their due share. Dr. Memon added that the agreement was negotiated in the
one-unit era without any consultation with Sindh. Pakistan used $ 475 million
that was given to it in compensation to construct two large dams, several small
and large canals, all in Punjab and no project was constructed in Sindh from
those funds. He informed that contrary to what pro-dam propagandists say the
Kala Bagh Dam involves holding of 18.5 MAF (6.1 for the dam reservoir, and two
canals each of 6.1 MAF), a considerable portion considering the current water
flow in Indus River. He explained at length the damage that has already been
caused to the Indus Delta.
He said in 1950s there were 17 major active creeks and now only one remains
active in Indus Delta. Where as about 85 MAF of water flowed in the delta then,
now less than 10 MAF is released. According to World Wild Fund (WWF), Indus
Delta was once sixth largest delta in the world. It had 263,000 hectares of
mangrove forest in 1997, which is reduced to mere 80,000 hectares in 2002 and
only 15% of that is in healthy state. Dr. Memon also gave a briefing on the
situation with respect to the damage and destruction that is being brought about
the faulty design of the LBOD drainage project that was funded by the World Bank
and designed by WAPDA with help of some international consultants. The impact is
so bad that even the World Bank's own Inspection Panel has agreed that the
project did not follow the pre-requisites in terms of the environmental
assessment studies, design reviews, and adequate consultation with local
communities.
The audiences were so pleased with the quality of presentations that they gave
standing ovation to three speakers from Sindh.
POLITICAL GUEST SPEAKERS SESSION - SUNDAY, July 1, 2007
- 4:30 to 6:00 PM
Mr. Aziz Narejo, President welcomed the three guest political
speakers and made a forceful case for supporting Peoples' Movement for Justice,
Rights, and Democracy in Pakistan. He said SANA supports this campaign and will
continue to do so until the democracy is returned and the military returns to
barracks. He advocated that the Chief Justice should be awarded noble Prize and
the generals should be tried for treason under Article 6 of the Pakistan
constitution. He said that military has built a corporate empire and created a
mafia force in Karachi and destabilized political parties to justify their
intervention. He said that this is not the time for any political party to make
a deal with General Musharraf. He strongly demanded that the provinces be given
full autonomy in accordance with the 1940 Resolution.
Mrs. BUSHRA AITZAZ, wife of PPP leader Aitzaz Ahsan gave brief but to-the-point
speech. She said as her husband has pressing needs to remain in Pakistan and to
assist Chief Justice, she was representing him. She said people admire Chief
Justice for standing up to the military establishment and refusing to buckle
under the black mail from unelected and non-representative government. She said
"unity of people" is the key for achieving democracy, justice, and rights. She
said there should be no deal and there will be no deal with the military
dictator.
Mr. AHSAN IQBAL (Information Secretary of PML-N) briefed on the current
situation and said that Peoples' Movement once again owes much to Sindh for its
swift support of the Chief Justice. He said that the quick resignations of
several judges and welcoming the Chief Justice to Sindh in large numbers in
Hyderabad energized the Peoples' Movement. He said Pakistan was not created to
provide a model of military governance to the world. Pakistan is passing through
a defining moment and the stage is set for deciding whether Pakistan will be a
country where people will be the masters or military supported dictators will
continue to rule. The battle for two visions is now being played in the streets
of Pakistan. He said he admits that political parties have not performed well
but there was no excuse what so ever for taking over by military as there were
failures on the part of any political party that justified such actions. These
justifications are nothing but smoke screen and the military takeovers occurred
simply because the Army heads feared that they will loose their jobs. He urged
the North American Sindhis to write to President Bush and their congress
representatives to support the struggle of Pakistani people for democracy. He
said lawyers and journalists have passed their test and now politicians have to
pass a similiar test. He urged all political parties to work together and make
joint decisions at the ARD meeting being held in London on July 7. He said if we
stand in unity, General Musharraf will not survive for more than 60 days. He
concluded his address by saying that he brings a message of good wishes from
Nawaz Sharif for SANA members.
The President of PPP-P and ARD Chairman MAKHDOOM AMIN FAHIM Makhdoom delighted
audiences by mostly speaking in Sindhi. Sometime he spoke in Urdu and English.
He traced the history of military interventions and their adverse impact on
Pakistan. He said such interventions have stopped the growth of all democratic
and judicial institutions. He said that 1973 constitution reflects the
sentiments of the people of Pakistan. While admitting the political mistakes of
PPP in early years and praising Z. A. Bhutto's actions against such mistakes, he
was confronted by a lady member of audience. The lady member challenged Makhdoom
sahib and said that Z. A. Bhutto went out of way to ensure that he was elected
unopposed and gave the example of her father who were coerced into withdrawing
his candidacy. Mr. Makhdoom continued and said that misdeeds of Zia ul Haq still
haunt Pakistan and the country has not fully recovered from it. He said that
situation is such that Pakistanis are overwhelmingly rejecting military rule and
there is a good chance that we will get rid of the military's intervention in
the political affairs of the country. He clarified that the government agents
have spread the rumors that PPP is making a deal with General Musharraf and said
that PPP's deal is only with Pakistan's people. He said PPP recognizes the need
for greater provincial autonomy and will come up with a solution together with
other political parties on the platform of ARD.
BANQUET and DINER SPEAKER - SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 - 8:00
PM to 10:00 PM
Mr. Aziz Narejo introduced prominent American Indian Leader and
Hollywood actor Russell Means, as the keynote speaker. He said that Dr. Russell
Means is the best known living American Indian leader. Dr. Means was among the
Indian activists including his father "Hank Means," who occupied San Francisco's
Alcatraz Island in 1964 lasting 19 months. He became first national director of
the American Indian Movement in 1970 and has been active in the American Indian
Movement (AIM) since then. Dr. Means was one of the leaders of AIM's takeover of
Mount Rushton, Bureau of Indian Affairs and led occupation of Wounded Knee. He
played the title role in the film: "The Last of the Mohicans" released in 1992.
He has starred in several movies since then. He is an author, an artist, a music
writer and a life-long indigenous rights/constitutional rights activist. He has
traveled and lectured extensively throughout the world while working for over 12
years with the United Nations. Dr. Means and his wife Pearl are currently
building "Treaty Total Immersion School" on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Dr. RUSSELL MEANS started his address with greetings in an American Indian
language. The greeting was a prayer of friendship to the hosts of the evening
(Sindhi people). He said that he still follows the great American Indian
traditions in his daily life. He complaint that it is ironic that American
Indians cannot say their prayers in traditional way in America. They have to
first get permit for performing their prayer in traditional way. He said the
last name of Christopher Columbus was Colon and the word colonization comes from
his last name. In fact, he did not discover America, but rather we discovered
him as he was lost. He remarked that American Indian were the first slaves in
Northern Hemisphere, when Christopher Colon, who was a slave trader, took
several American Indians and presented to the Queen of Spain as slaves. He
criticized the US government as aggressive since they have been involved every
year in bombing some country. He said that he has studied the situation of
Sindhis and can see that like American Indian, Sindhis too are becoming refugees
in their own land. He said that the concept of individual liberty through
representative government comes from the 6th nation of Iroquois, who mainly live
in the New York State and yet white man calls our culture as primitive.. Also
American Indians introduced the concept of zero (0) to the world. He said that
American Indians build their halls from stone using sophisticated engineering
techniques and yet they were conquered because like Sindhis they too believed in
tolerance and peace. He shocked many attendees when he that 97.3% of American
Indians were decimated by the time Europeans completed their conquest of
America. He said "now we live in what are actually concentration camps but they
call them Reservations". In concluding his address he said that he and his wife
now dedicate much of their time to the preservation of American Indian culture.
They have started a "total immersion" school that teaches children to learn and
live the American Indian way of life.
Before the dinner started, Dr. Russell Means and Dr. Paolo Biagi were presented
traditional Sindhi Ajrak and cap as a token of their gratitude for sharing their
point of views at the 23rd SANA Convention. It was also announced that the next
year's SANA convention would be held in Dallas, Texas. The dinner was delicious
with several dishes and every one enjoyed the well-prepared and well-deserved
dinner.
SINDHI MUSIC PROGRAM - SUNDAY, July 1, 2007 - 10:00 PM
to 2:00 AM
The following remark from Dr. Nazia Junejo's e-mail wonderfully
summarizes the success of this session:
"Kajal Chandiramani from India was superb! She sang many oldies of Runa Laila,
Mai Bhagi and some newer songs of Abida Parveen amongst others. She sang so
beautifully that even a couple of Hindi songs slipped by with huge applause. The
small children and never ending 'discussions' amongst some adult groups did
interrupt the FLOW of music somewhat. This does speak about our nature as a
community - just some food for thought."
Links related to Convention 2007
Convention Videos, Speeches and
Photographs visit:
http://www.ghpark.blogspot.com/
ISRA ROADMAP FOR IMPROVING EDUCATION IN SINDH
NAZIM'S SURVEY IN NAWABSHAH 738 SCHOOLS REMAIN NON UNCTIONAL
Speech made by SANA
president at the guest speakers' session on July 1, 2007
Diary of Dr Manzur Aijaz about SANA's sessions of the
last day of 23rd Annual Convention.
Greater provincial autonomy demanded (The News)