February 12, 2007
Dear Friends,
Marianne Vermeer with students from one of her business communications
classes.
Last year we introduced you to several people who have made our
lives here better. This time, we want you to meet the future of
Pakistan: the students of Forman Christian College. And not just
any students: our students, who are the best ones, of course!
Robert and Marianne both taught this past semester, making nights
and weekends dominated by grading papers, preparing lectures,
and many discussions about how to help the students cope with
demanding subject matter in their second or third language.
We will admit to some frustration, many mistakes, unrealistic
expectations, and sincere concern about some of our weaker students.
That has been overshadowed by the true joy it has been to see
the students improve over just a four-month period and their sincere
interest in what we have to say. Hearing stories of their families,
their commitment to get an education in spite of difficult circumstances,
and their pride in being a “Formanite” is always a
day-brightener.
When Marianne told her class she wanted to take some pictures
of them to include in a newsletter to send to friends and family,
a student named Salman immediately piped up with “be sure
to tell them we aren't all terrorists in Pakistan.” Hardly.
These young men and women study hard (most of them), consider
education a privilege, and dream of taking responsible positions
in industry, government, the media, and education when they graduate.
Robert (with raised arm) in one of his classes. The other man
standing in the back is the Rev. Babar Rana Iqbal, chaplain
of Forman College.
We taught very different subjects: Robert taught Christian ethics
and an introduction to Christian thought. Marianne taught two
sections of business communications. Even with such different
subject matter, we both found that the students struggled with
writing in English, especially when told they could not copy material
from the Internet. While the students have all studied in English,
the education system here is based on rote memorization. You are
rewarded for copying material word for word from the textbook.
That's how you get a high score on the government exams at the
end of tenth and twelfth grades. Forman, through its new baccalaureate
program, is now asking students to think for themselves, to analyze
information, to write original material, and to argue a point
based on their own ideas and knowledge. All of this is new and
uncharted territory for them. Ethical dilemmas truly overwhelmed
some of them; students would ask "but, sir, what is the right
answer?" Robert would hold up his arms and send them back
to think and read some more, unnerving more than one poor young
soul.
The vast majority of the students are in class faithfully every
day, on time, standing to greet you when you arrive. Then there
are the few who want special consideration for a missed class
or assignment. Pakistani students win the prize for clever—and
not so clever—excuses manufactured to justify these special
favors. They seem to have an unusually large number of grandmothers,
all of whom are terminally ill. The number of dying uncles, cousins
getting married, and sudden blood disorders is astounding. Robert's
favorite story involves Irfan, a student in his Christian ethics
class. Irfan missed class and happened to see Robert later. Robert
asked him why he wasn't in class. "Oh, sir, I am very sorry
I missed class. I had a sore throat and the flu." Robert,
gullible and sympathetic, said he hoped he felt better soon. A
week later, Irfan was walking across campus; Robert walked along,
put his arm around him and asked: "Irfan, how are you feeling,
buddy? Have you recovered from that flu?" To which, Irfan
replied ,"Oh, sir, that was a big lie."
Most of the students fall in the "great kids" category,
including Irfan. They ask to carry your briefcase, bring you cakes
for Christmas, and go out of their way to show you honor and respect.
One of our favorites is a young man named Arish. He is from Taxila
and lives in a hostel on the grounds of a local Christian hospital.
When Marianne and the boys wanted to visit Taxila in November,
Arish arranged for a car and took the weekend off to show us around.
Once in Taxila, Marianne came down with some nasty virus that
completely decked her. Arish cheerfully took the boys and made
it a memorable day for them. This past week Arish has been caring
for a Forman faculty member who is a patient in the same hospital
where he lives in a hospital dormitory. Arish has brought her
meals, delivered messages, and checked on her daily. Wouldn't
any parent be button-busting proud of a son like that? We're not
related but we sure are proud of him!
And there are more like Arish and Irfan! This newsletter would
be much too long if we told you about them all. So we'll close
and attach some pictures so you can see the handsome young men
and beautiful young women who are the hope of Pakistan's future.
We hope that their stories will someday dominate the news rather
than the stories of those who preach a message of hate and destruction
from Pakistan.
And we'll tell Salman you've all heard his message—he'll
be pleased.
Marianne and Robert
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
111 |
