So first, what year did you arrive in the United States?
I don't think I can put a date to that. I started visiting the US in the 1980s to meet relatives. I definitely came to stay here in 1990. We got the green card in the mid-80s. I did not want to stay in the US for long because I had my own work back home; I had a 200-bed hospital that I was running.
So you settled here in the US in 1990.
Yes.
And how old were you then?
In 1990, I was 50.
Where were you living before you came to the United States?
I was in Karachi.
And where did you spend your first day as a resident of the United States?
In Houston.
What brought you to the United States?
That's a long story. Pakistan has had some political issues, and a party called MQM, or Mohajir Qaumi Movement, has risen. It used to be the All-Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization (APMSO). The Mohajir students were children of refugees who migrated from India after the partition. They protested against being unable to get equal rights and facilities as the original inhabitants.
In 1982, the APSMO became the MQM, a political party from the Students Organization, and they started becoming increasingly violent. In Karachi, where we lived, it was getting a little bit too difficult to live. Almost two or three times a week, there would be hartal (strikes), and the city would be closed. They used to call it “papaya jams strike,” meaning no wheels would move, and all means of communication would stop working; no wheels would move would mean no buses, no cars, no cycles, no taxis, no rickshaws, nothing would move. So, life will come to a standstill in a large city like Karachi, which has over 10 million people. We had three children who were at school. All schools would be closed. In the year 1988, if I remember correctly, the schools were open only for about 80-90 days. And in 1989, it was still less.
In 1988, my wife and I decided to move the children to the US for schooling and education. We got the children to leave school and prepare to travel to San Antonio, TX, where my wife's sister lived. With our departure within the week in 1988, I was sitting with my mother and only brother when we had some emotional discussions about leaving the country, family, etc. At the end of that, we decided that I should stay in Karachi and should not leave. So, we canceled all the tickets, put the children back into school, and unpacked everything. But the strikes were worse the next year, 1989, and schools were open fewer days than the previous year.
So, at that point in time, my brother said, not only should you go, but also take my children. He had a son, a daughter, and grandchildren, and I had three children: a son and two daughters. So, I brought them all to the US in 1990. I arrived in Houston from a meeting in Europe, and the rest of my family traveled directly, led by my wife and nephew.
You mentioned you had spent some time in England before.
I was in England for my Fellowship in surgery, where I practiced and got trained. I was there from 1967 to 1979, almost 12-13 years.
In the 1970s, Pakistan experienced many political changes, making it difficult to decide whether to return home. Not being sure, in 1974, I also joined a group general practice in England. I did that for about two years. But my family and roots were in Pakistan, so I decided to return to Pakistan. My brother's plan was to start a private hospital, and he had been preparing for that for many years. So, I went back and pursued the hospital project in 1978. We started the hospital in 1980.
So when you were deciding to move with your family, what made you choose the United States, as opposed to England or somewhere else?
I had lived in the UK for over ten years. After WWII, I could see that the colonizing country whose sun did not ever set was in decline. Conversely, the USA was rising in power and technology, so the decision was not difficult.
Yeah. So other than those factors, like economic factors, what expectations did you have for America and life in America?
I belong to a business family. No one in my family is a doctor. A few nurses, yes, but no doctor. And I have not encouraged my children to be doctors either. I was more interested in business personally.
Our hospital was also based on a business model. We charged for hotel and ancillary medical facilities like X-ray, Laboratory, physiotherapy, nursing, etc., and medical consultants admitted their patients to us and charged for their services. Because ours was one of the best-reputed hospitals for patient care, many consultants wanted their patients admitted with us. I thought we could do business in the US.
One of the nephews has been in Houston since 1987. He had already started looking into a promising jewelry business. So, we started that and turned it into the same business, wholesaling gold and silver jewelry with diamonds. I did not do any medical practice, as I said earlier because I still had my hospital operating back in Karachi.
Was there any American media or popular culture that you consumed at that time to prepare, any movies or books or things you listened to?
I am an avid radio listener. I used to listen to BBC’s program “A Letter from America by Alistair Cook” for a long time in the UK. Besides that, I would keep myself informed through TV talk shows and magazines like Time and Newsweek.
A very important help was from my own community. I belong to the Ismaili sect of Muslims. We are the followers of Aga Khan. He is the Imam, and we follow His guidance, both temporal and spiritual. With his advice and the community institutions ready to handhold as and when necessary, it was not at all difficult to resettle in Houston.
Besides, we had been coming to the US for holidays almost every year and had started knowing about the US. My wife’s two sisters and three brothers were already in the US. In those days, the airlines would give a traveler’s ticket for almost $200 to $300, and you could go anywhere you liked for a whole month with just one ticket. We had used that traveling facility several times in the past few years before migrating and were conversant with the physical USA. However, I had not studied the history in detail or depth, and I think I should have before coming here.
Did anyone meet you when you arrived?
My nephew was here. He took us from the airport to his home at that time, so there was nothing unusual or spectacular about our arrival and first day in the US.
You mentioned that if you had done a little more research, you might have decided differently about where to move. What makes you have those feelings?
To answer this question, I will need to provide my background. I was born in India and have lived in Pakistan, the United Kingdom, and America. In addition to medicine, I have graduated in law and have studied for a master’s in history.
I was born not very far from where Gandhiji was schooled. Then, I lived in Ahmedabad and visited Gandhi Ashram at Sabarmati. This exposure made me interested in the life of Gandhiji. I’ve read his autobiography, called My Experiments with the Truth. His life has affected me deeply. With my background as a history student, I also started reading about the history of America. Stop more. I read the history, more idealized that there has been a lot of injustice calls to African Americans and new immigrants.
If I had known American history as much as I do today, despite its attraction, I think I would’ve preferred to go to England rather than America. I think the experiment of democracy that started almost 1000 years ago in the Magna Carta has not yet been successfully completed. In this country, the USA, I see that although democracy works much better than in many other countries, it is still flawed regarding justice and equality. We all know what has been done to the indigenous people in this country. Recently, because of the decisions of the court, there has been a lot of interference of money in politics and elections. This is wrong. This brings in a lot of influence from money, mega-corporations, and wealthy people who keep on tinkering with lawmakers and laws for their own benefit. This country has laws like lobbying and gratuity, which are legal, but they are more like bribes in India, Pakistan, or the United Kingdom.
What we keep on reading about the asylum seekers in this country is also astonishing. This country has only two kinds of people, one, the original in evidence, and two, the immigrants. Those in need of asylum in the United States must be allowed after necessary processes to come to the U.S., so that the insecurity and injustice that they are facing in their countries can be addressed.
Besides this, what we see today in the country is disturbing. The stories of Supreme Court justices accepting gratuities and the president of the United States being accused of unethical and immoral activities are depressing. Immigrants from other countries are coming for a better life for themselves and their progeny and a cleaner life, pursuing a good ethos. That hope is presently much diminished.
So what you just described are very systemic issues with the United States and the way our government is structured. And I'm curious if you see those larger issues reflected in the people that you've interacted with, and how that compares to the communities you've been in, in Pakistan or even England.
Well, I think what we need in the country's leaders is simply meritocracy and honesty. I've seen this being practiced in the UK. Even India and Pakistan have inherited this practice, though there are incidences of it not being followed as well as it should be.
You would say that you didn't really see that, as much in Pakistan or India?
In India and Pakistan, the government system pursuing meritocracy and honesty is not as good as it should be. But then, they call a bribe a bribe and do not call it gratuity after the work is done. Here, people seem to want to make everything that is not right to be put in congress and pass it as a law and make it legal. But it is wrong, no matter how anyone loses at it. This is simply corruption made legal by those who can spend money.
How have you been able to find a community of your own here in this country?
As I said earlier, I belong to a particular community called Ismaili. They have very strict ethical principles. We also have a strong tradition of volunteerism. Both these attributes start being developed from childhood. This makes it easier for a new person in any town to get to help off the local community and very quickly be on his own feet.
What would you say is the best aspect of this country that you've been able to witness?
I would say the best aspect of this country is that by and large, they know what is right and what is wrong. Most people are educated. Most people have their needs met very comfortably. Education is free, though health services are not yet what it should be in a developed and industrialized country, but it is improving.
Overall, what advice would you give to a new immigrant coming today, and what ultimately led you to choose to stay here despite the problems you see?
Yes, there are reasons for that. Okay, first you said, what advice? I think they should probably study the social structure here. This includes politics, discrimination and the problems in this country.
I have just stayed here knowing all this. In a few years of living here, when I thought there were a lot of issues of ethics and morality, and also the legal structure where so many laws are made in the name of rights and taking it too far, it was a bit too late to raise the decision. My children were educated here and used to the facilities and the system here. Their language is now English, and I think they would not be able to fit in the systems of back home.
Poverty is in this country also, but back home, it is rife. The country is poor, and the economy will take a long time to be stable and strong. Hence it is preferable to live here in the USA.
All right, those are all of the questions I have. Thank you very much!
* The contributor of this story has asked that their name be withheld.
