EID / Floods / Pakistan Go Green

Pakistan Go Green (facebook page) reached 15,000 fans today, which turns out to be Eid ul Fitr in Pakistan..What better could be expected as an Eid Gift to The Green Team by Pakistan lovers from all over the world?

A hearty THANKS to all who initiated it, pushed it forward, joined and took it to the hearts of thousands of people.

Today, if we just stop for a while and look back into a brief one year old history, it seems as it was a great ride of passion, enthusiasm and inspiration.

A NOTE FROM THE HISTORY : “DID IT START A CENTURY AGO?

If one remembers the Indo-Pak Independence Movement in early 1900s, it were the poets / litterati of Muslims who first started to bring up the core political issues to the masses silently.
Is it a coincidence that exactly after 100 years, in 2009, some sincere, honest and hardworking citizens have taken up the cause of reviving the spirit of Patriotism and love of their fellowbeings - Pakistan Go Green?”

On Jan 7, 2010, when I wrote these lines as a note on Pakistan Go Green’s facebook page , none of us at Pakistan GG had the slightest idea what the new year 2010 had in store for us.
And NOW, as we mark EID Day, there seems no dearth of  violence, suicide bombings, target killings, land grabbing and above all, we witnessed the biggest disaster in our history – a Super Flood, which affected nearly one-fifth population of Pakistan.


 Although, this year, Eid is being spent amidst pain of lost loved ones, homes and other belongings yet each affected individual, be it a man, woman, or children, all are surviving by looking forward to better days.  And they have every reason to do so ...In such a major catastrophe, how can one be able to survive without THINKING POSITIVELY.
A Pakistani blogger Faisal Kapadia, who had been to Interior Sindh for flood relief activities, writes : “I have also seen the resilience of an old man in Shikarpur, doubled over with pain but still in love with this country, claiming that as long as Pakistanis are there for one another - we need nothing else.”  http://blog.dawn.com/2010/09/08/sparing-the-eid-spirit/


Pakistan Go- Green 


Pakistan Go Green - A mission of reviving hope and love towards our nation, was a small venture of only a few individuals led by Farhan Masood …and after more than a year of its creation, (July 2009) it is still serving as a glowing candle warming hearts and enlightening minds.
It has been a unique campaign in the sense that it was first of its kind on the social media in the entire world.
Kudos to those, who had vision to bring forth the notion of “One Nation- One Identity –Pakistan” at a time, when our identity was being questioned and debated even in the national media. This was the time just a year ago, when being “Negative” and “Critical” was a common trend. Pakistan Go Green boldly came forward and promoted the ideas of “BE POSITIVE” & “BE GREEN”.
PGG turned 85,000+ display pics of people with GREEN colour, not only because it is the main colour of Pakistani flag, but also a colour depicting life, freshness, optimism, and as a sign of a “Go Ahead”.


The “BE POSITIVE” idea, served as a motivating factor when many of us realised the gravity of the situation of flood affected areas even before Independence Day 14th August, 2010. It was not difficult to grasp, that the time for Action was NOW or NEVER.
By seeing this and many more incidents of assistance, gratitude & thankfulness, one can only feel the pleasure of being able to do something for our countrymen.
Also, one can easily make out that now we are entering the stage of RE-BUILDING PAKISTAN and this time, it is bound to be deep-rooted in the society, Insha Allah.


The only thing we must be careful now is not to indulge or support any NEGATIVE or demotivating propaganda, unnecessary favouritism, based on ethnicity, class, status, or personal preferences.


What NEXT ?
We must remember, that revolutions do not come just by one big personality, it is the result of the tireless efforts and sacrifices of millions of people. One of our major mistakes has been that we forgot or even deleted the names of some great heroes from our history books. Therefore, we have no idea, how a country-wide Independence movement reached each and every home. We never heard about our unsung heroes, who personally went to everyone and convinced them to fight for their cause.
Thankfully, now, we have media and especially social media, which can play a vital role in re-awakening of people.
Pakistan Go Green tried to lit a candle and now many candles are being lighted … but as the darkness and hopelessness runs very deep inside our souls, more organized work needs to be done on a larger scale..


The next but not-so-easy stage is “COORDINATION” and “SELF-SUPPORT”. We have to refer back to our history again, when numerous local movements joined together under one umbrella named All India Muslim League, having one agenda which led them to achieve their goal.
Are we ready for this next stage ? -----
Think. Act. Inspire.