Daily Archives: January 2, 2013

Remembering Baldia victims

Development and Poverty, Human Rights, Labour, Media, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

LAST week the 13th Akhtar Hameed Khan Development Forum came as a timely reminder of the injustice befalling the workers in a country where it is a crime to be poor. The forum focused on the Baldia fire tragedy, which has almost faded from public memory.

Now an annual Karachi landmark, the forum commemorates the philosophy and work of that iconic development theorist-cum-activist, whose insight into human nature and society was profound. Dr Akhtar Hameed Khan’s message of self-reliance and a participatory approach to development is most relevant today and has been kept alive by the Orangi Pilot Project, Research and Training Institute (OPP-RTI) under the able stewardship of its director Parveen Rahman. Continue reading Remembering Baldia victims →

2013—the year of the snake

Books, Media, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

Here we enter a new year and I wish all my readers a 2013 that is peaceful, happy, healthy and prosperous. I am a bit late but I know my friends will forgive me for being forgetful. Here are greetings for Christmas. I cherish the message of love and amity this occasion always brings for mankind.

How should one greet the new year? Hope? It may bring new tidings and prove to be a turning point in one’s life. Fear? All the dreadful events taking place in our lives can be scary. A step further, many look forward to predictions – especially of the soothsayers’ variety. But I  am not an avid champion  of horoscopes. They mean nothing riddled as they are with ifs and buts that nullify what is stated. Read this prediction, for example.

“The Chinese horoscope shows us that this 2013 year of the black Snake is going to be an exciting year for many. There will of course be both ups and downs, and for some the ups will be quite high and the downs will be quite low. For everyone, there will be good and bad and highlights and lowlights.” Continue reading 2013—the year of the snake →