KARACHI: A RAY OF HOPE || CLUB100

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_{This is the part 2 of my series on Karachi. For reading part 1 you can click here}

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It all started back in the 80s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The Guerilla Fighters or as they were known as Mujahideens were supplied with Ak-47s by the US government to retaliate the Soviet invasion. It was the first time in the 80s that this sort of gun came into display by any nation. The Russians were heavily equipped with the AK-47 guns. To give the Mujahideens a good fighting chance, they were also provided with the guns of same quality and capabilities. It is reported that during the period of 1986-1990 United States provided approximately $8.6 Billion worth of weaponry to the Afghan Mujahideens.

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Pakistan was used as an interconnection between the Afghanistan and the United States. The weaponry would reach the Karachi Port and from there it was transferred to Peshawar and to the Afghan Mujahideens. The Soviet Union left Afghanistan in 1989, left crumbling and staggering. The downfall of the Soviet Union was brought about by the Afghan Mujahideens. Even though the Soviet Union left Afghanistan, it left behind a toxic culture in Pakistan. The Klashinkov Culture.

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The guns provided to the Afghanistan Mujahideens through the United States were sold openly in the streets of Karachi for as low as $350-400. It got very easy to get your hands on a gun of any type. Be it an assault rifle or a mere pistol. Since that time, Karachi has never been at peace. But before we move onto further details of Karachi and our lives at the moment, I'd like to present in front of you a brief history of what we used to be before this invasion.

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In the 70s, Pakistan used to be one of the favorite tourist spots from all of the world. We used to have all sorts of tourists from all the nations of this world. We would have international competitions held in Pakistan, hockey tournaments, cricket tournaments, international Summits and much more. Specifically, Karachi was the hub of economy.

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The Klashinkov Culture made it's way into Karachi slowly and gradually. With the rise in the weaponry in Karachi, the strength of different political parties skyrocketed overnights. It was as if who held the gun, had the power. The spread of weaponry moulded its way into universities where the Student Unions started getting more and more weapon supply and with that more power. The first University to embrace this culture was Karachi University, from where many prominent Political leaders had their education. Due to the initiation of street crimes a new wave of terrorism took hold of this city. Everyone started fearing each other. Everyone thought that this city is a lost cause. But that wasn't the case.

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The motive of narrating you all a brief history of Karachi and it's association to terror and fear is to make you realize the importance of the stuff I am about to tell you.

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The residents of Karachi live in constant pressure. There might be some people here who'll disagree with me but it's the truth. Atleast for the majority of us. The constant fear of getting looted when we head outside our houses. The constant pressure of not getting a sustainable job. The constant pressure of inflation and much more. With all this baggage on their back you'd expect a person to be done with his life.

That's not the case of the people of Karachi. This is coming from someone who has lived in different cities and different countries. I haven't seen any place which has more brotherhood than Karachi. The people of this city have faced so much, have lost so much, yet still, they are always on the frontline when it comes to helping people.

The most number of Non-profit organizations work in Karachi. There are so many Free Dasterkhawans(free food centers) in Karachi that you can feed yourself and your families at any time of the day. People here are working day and night for the betterment of this city. Yes, the Government has been lacking. Yes terrorism is common in this city, but all of this doesn't let us lower our morales. Infact all these issues ignite a fire in our bodies to do more and more.

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Even though we have faced a lot of setbacks, but still, we bounce back stronger. Everytime, when people all over the world think that it's done, it's over, Karachi can't be saved now, we come back even stronger to prove everyone wrong.

Last year, Karachi faced one of the worst rain in the history of this city. The rain was so bad that there wasn't a single place in the whole city where roads weren't flooded, where people weren't affected and stranded. People couldn't reach back to their homes while coming back from Offices, the police officers were being literally drowned while on duty. It was a complete fiasco. At that time the people of Karachi stood up for themselves. The helping hand of each and every Karachite made it possible for all of us to survive during that time. Through Facebook groups, theough twitter, in person every one was doing whatever he/she was capable of. People started welcoming strangers in their houses, the activists took charge on flooded roads. Everyone had a single motto. To help anyone in need. There were alot of cases rhat emerged during that time. A couple of them are posted below:

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