With And Without English

I hated everything. I hated the people for their different beliefs, languages and attitudes. I used to think why all the people were not Arabs and why all of them did not speak Arabic.

By Citizen Correspondent Zalmay Basharyar

Date Posted: 12/31/06

Reader Rating:

We had been taught only two languages in madrasahs. Arabic and hatred. Our teachers had told us that Arabic was the language of the Heaven, English was the language of dogs and the rest were the languages of Hell. And my young mind accepted it. During the eight years of study in different madrassas, I learned Arabic with a good vocabulary. Arabic is a rich and beautiful language. I like it. But the problem was that, according to the teachings, I did hate all other languages including Pashto, my mother tongue, and English.

When I left the madrasah in 1995 and went to the outer world, it was totally different. I hated everything. I hated the people for their different beliefs, languages and attitudes. I used to think why all the people were not Arabs and why all of them did not speak Arabic. (Though Arabic was not my mother tongue but it was a religious feeling not nationalist) I was so extreme that I wanted to blow myself and kill all the people.

This was until 1996 when I met a new, educated and sober friend and after a few meetings he impressed me with his humanistic way of thinking. He told me that a human being must love and respect other human beings and all human beings have equal rights to live and think. He told me that if someone can speak one language he is single personality and if someone can speak tow or three languages he/she have tow or three personalities.

Besides this, he provided me some books to study and they gave a U turn to my life. I began to read books in my mother tongue and liked it because it was so easy and understandable. I bought a lot of books and read and knew that I knew nothing. So I decided to study and learn my own language. With all that books and study I got the ability to write and read it fluently. In the same time, I was in search of some job. When I did not find anything to do there I went to Lahore, a city far away from our area, where Urdu language is spoken and there I faced bad experiences because I did not know the Urdu.