Anam means gift

Αnam where do we begin?

Maybe from the start?

Right. Were you born in Greece?

On the morning of October 6th, 2005 (I just turned 19, so yes, I’m officially a grandma), I was born bright and early, much to my mom’s misery since I was actually supposed to show up on September 20th. And no, my dad wasn’t there for my birth because his employer at the time wouldn’t give him time off.

Because you speak Greek so well, I thought you had spend all your life in Greece.

My dad moved to Greece in 1995 when he was just 18, got permanent residency in 1998, married my mom in 2002, and applied for her documentation. Before she could get cleared and come live with him, she got pregnant with me. Then came more paperwork to get my documents, which just made everything messier ( boring legal stuff). My mom and I ended up staying with my grandparents (dad’s parents), in this gorgeous villa in a small city near the capital of Pakistan. My dad would visit us often, about every 6-8 months. I went to a fancy private school and grew up VERY privileged. 

When did you come to athens?

I came to Greece when I was 8, and I won’t ever forget that day. It was October 19th, 2013 after packing up our entire lives in 4 suitcases and an 18-hour travel day, my mom and I landed in Greece. My dad picked us up from the airport, and took us home, to an apartment that at the time seemed smaller than a shoe box (it was a normal-sized apartment by Greek standards) I was horrified at the lack of a garden. We had souvlaki for dinner and that’s when I fell in love with the place. 

You are an only child. Isn’t this peculiar considering Pakistani standards?

I’m an only child, not for any specific reason, it just turned out that way. But hey, my parents brought the national average down. Also, it turned out that I’m a handful and very expensive, so good for them that I’m an only child! 

You didn’t speak Greek of course. That must have been difficult. I have been in voluntary clubs in my school where we tried to teach refugee children our language. Their effort was magnificent, but it was tough to see them struggle. I understood that our language is horribly difficult for foreigners.

Of course, I didn’t know Greek. I remember feeling so overwhelmed when I first got here. I started in 3rd grade, and moving from a fancy private school to a public Greek one was a huge shock. Everything was so different; the lack of a uniform freaked me out. It was like my whole world flipped upside down. I was lucky though. I had a private tutor who helped me with Greek every day after school. Plus, there was this special teacher at my school, usually for kids with learning disabilities, who’d take me out of class for an hour or two each day to teach me Greek and help me catch up on stuff like history that I’d missed or just couldn’t understand. But it wasn’t easy.

Were there kids in your classes that didn’t speak Greek?

No and that’s why they always tried to exclude me.

What do you mean by this? Did they find you peculiar or were they being mean as well?

Kids can be mean, and I got bullied a lot for the first few years. I was always the lonely, weird kid, no matter how much I tried to fit in. I struggled to make friends, and being an only child just made it worse. Those first two years were incredibly lonely. So thank you and your classmates for taking the time to help out refugee kids, trust me it makes a huge difference.
Slowly but surely, I got familiar with something called racism, kids would make fun of the food my mom would pack me for lunch, so I stopped bringing lunch from home. A boy cut my waist-length hair to my shoulders in 4th grade because apparently it was too curly for his liking (we can laugh about it now). Kids would directly point at me and ask why I was dark skinned, once someone told me to take a shower so I wouldn’t be dark skinned anymore (you have my full permission to laugh) and mind you I am light for a Pakistani, back in Pakistan kids would make fun of me for being too light skinned. Nobody would sit with me or want to become my partner during group projects because I was Pakistani.

Did your parents help you? Did you tell them what was happening at school?

The school took action, and my parents were there to support me every step of the way, I wasn’t neglected, I promise. And also, Whenever I would go out, I would get dirty looks, especially from older people, and so on. All the fun stuff. 

Where have you experienced more racism? Inside or outside of school?

Mostly out of school. Kids and teachers tend to be kinder than other people.

Do you think that has to do with the fact that respect and understanding are values cultivated in school, or do you think you were just lucky?

Yes, I think it has to do with the quality of individuals inside the environment. The closer that environment is to knowledge, the better the people. Also, in school we are all students. I am treated no different than my classmates. But outside of school, people look at me like I am an alien.
Of course, I do have traumatic experiences in school. In junior high my P.E. professor didn’t like the fact I was wearing a hijab. He didn’t allow me to play any sports that year. I had to sit and watch other kids have fun.

If we go by age, do you think younger people are friendlier than older?

Honestly, the stuff outside of school hurt way more, because kids are just underdeveloped mini humans, so you kind of expect it. But when grown adults were talking behind me in supermarkets, calling me a dirty immigrant, and especially seeing how much hate my mom got for still dressing in cultural clothes, that hit different. It was way more disturbing. 

One final question about school life. You speak excellent English. I know because I have seen you address an English-speaking crowd multiple times in the ADF and ENYA forums.
I know you are also a top performing student. When did you start to feel that you were treated the same as your classmates in the educational system?

Everything improved in Junior High once I learned the language and developed a backbone.

Let’s talk about your other homeland, Pakistan. From the moment we met you told me that my perception on Pakistan is false. Can you please tell me what is true and what is not regarding the narrative of Europeans on Pakistan?

Western World treats Pakistan like it is not a country on earth. Like people don’t have rights and everyone is miserable compared to European countries, where everyone is happy. Of course, there are problems, but there is terrible exaggeration.

Malala is from Pakistan, and you are fan of hers. Please tell me what she means for you.

I admire her. She is a source of inspiration not just for Pakistani, but for all women. Only problem with her experience is that the media took the inequality she was experiencing and made generalizations for the whole country.

I want to focus on that. You have told me that this kind of inequality occurs near the borders but doesn’t represent all of Pakistan.

Yes, exactly there are areas where much work needs to be done on social justice, but there are also places where men and women have been equal for many years now. I remind you that Pakistan had the first ever woman prime minister in 1960.

I am surprised that I had never heard of this. About Malala. Is she considered a symbol of justice and equality in Pakistan or is she frowned up for enabling the western media to promote a false narrative about Pakistani society?

Women respect her and admire her. Young girls want to be like her, and I find that inspiring. But there are men who hate her with a passion. Like she has done something to them personally. I don’t understand these people…

She is a global role model for both girls and boys. In my experience there wasn’t a single child party I went to and I didn’t see someone bring in the child version of her book.

I agree. My father bought me her book when I was 9. Thanks to him, she has been my role model for so long.

You have talked to me about how progressive your parents are. You are very lucky. That is why you are such a free spirit and a fascinating person.

Stop nobody is going to believe us haha.