The Washington Post features the plight of a Pakistani American family today. The tale is a real downer so for all of you who like depressing books by South Asian authors (oh wait, thats all of them) read on:
On Wednesday morning, as most of the country was either reeling from the election or celebrating it, a slim, long-faced youth named Syed Shah sat in his family’s darkened living room in front of a blue hard-shell American Tourister suitcase and contemplated what it means to be a man.
The suitcase was brimming with papers. “Work Permit,” said one manila folder, in handwritten English and Urdu script. Beside it, photocopies of expired diplomatic visas were strewn across the pistachio-green carpet. He must figure out what to do with these documents so his family can keep working legally in the United States.
Why the great burden on this teenager? His father, according to the article, was shot in a robbery while delivering Pizzas. That was one of three jobs his father held. This is sad of course but you have probably heard stories like this before. Here is what is different though about his father’s story though:
He spoke four languages and had been a diplomat with the Pakistani government, living with his family in Iran and Syria before coming here to take a post with the Pakistan Embassy. When the posting ended unexpectedly and the government wanted to move him to another country, he said no.
“He said, ‘My kids are now in school here, and we don’t need to disturb their education,’ ” said Jafar Hussein, a longtime family friend who has been helping sort their affairs. Instead, Musharaf left his job at the embassy and found other work — delivering The Washington Post and the Washington Times in the early morning, working at 7-Eleven, Kmart and later Pizza Hut in the daytime and evenings. He was always scanning the classifieds for better jobs, and he joked about attending college with his kids.
Now the only thing running through my head is “what a waste.” This guy was delivering Pizza when he could have been recruited to help in the War against Islamic Fundamentalism. He spoke four languages and was an expert on Iran an Syria. Obviously I don’t know if he’d even be willing to help the government if he got an offer and of course he wasn’t a citizen yet, but it just strikes me as such a shame that many people have to start at the bottom rung of the employment ladder when coming from abroad even if skilled in something the U.S. might need. The article depresses me further as it ends with something all too familiar to any son.
Now the son must take a crash course on all the father knew — including driving and caring for the family car. “He wouldn’t give the key to me,” Shah recalled. “He said, ‘It’s dangerous — you drive too fast. Where you need to go, I’ll drop you.’ ” But now the Toyota Camry his father used for pizza deliveries belongs to Shah. He pays the car insurance, $200 a month, and he takes the Camry in for repairs, which this week cost the family $700.
