Why Pakistan Is A Hopeless Country 为什么巴基斯坦看不到希望

Day before yesterday, I went to a local branch of Standard Chartered Bank with my colleagues. They went there to exchange some US dollars into Pakistani Rupees.

前天，我跟同事去渣打银行换一些钱。

There I met a staff, a young girl or lady sitting at some position like consultant for elite customers. No doubt she is among the elite Pakistani as she is wearing a deep-V sari and working at a multinational banking corporation. As we discussed about cell phone, she mentioned that she’s going to get a new iPhone from her brother over Australia flashing happiness in her eye. As she asked the price of Nokia N97 in China, we told her that it’s about 550 USD, she calculated a while and said its around 2000 Rupees (approx 180 CNY) cheaper than it is sold in Pakistan but regarding the customer services she could have in Pakistan, She would still buy N97 here as N97 from China would not be able to have any warranty. Because, she added, cell phones sold in China and Pakistan are not in good quality.

在那儿我见到一个年轻漂亮的女职员，大概类似于国内的理财专员一样。很明显这位穿着低胸莎丽，坐在外资银行办公室里的女士肯定是巴基斯坦的白领了。等待换钱的过程中我们聊起了手机，她充满喜悦的告诉我们她在澳大利亚的哥哥马上要给她带一部iPhone回来。其间她问起来中国的N97多少钱，我告诉她大约550美元，她拿着计算器算了一会儿，告诉我大概能比在老巴便宜2000卢比（大约180人民币），但是这种价差的话她还是愿意在老巴买，因为可以得到保修服务。她说因为中国和巴基斯坦卖的手机的质量都不是很好。

I told her that N97 sold in China is no doubt of top quality and she doesn’t need to worry about it. To my surprise, she doesn’t agree with me at all. In her opinion, it is the countries such like US, Aus or European countries that sell top quality cell phones. Although conceded all of them are made in China, she indicated that for Chinese products, it is those which are being sold at developed countries that have better quality. THEN SHE SAID, "Because China and Pakistan are brothers, I understand that we do compromise quality for price. So they are not in good quality."

我跟她说国内的Nokia质量都非常好，她并不需要担心质量问题。令我很意外的，她认为只有诸如美国、澳大利亚或者西欧这样的地方才有最好质量的手机卖。就算这世上大部分的Nokia都是中国生产的，也只有在发达国家卖的Nokia质量好。为了让我更好的理解她的观点，她补充了一下：“因为中国和巴基斯坦是兄弟国家，我当然知道了，我们可以为了价钱而在质量上妥协一下。”

What a poor people from a poor country!

可怜国家的可怜的人啊！

Earlier this year, when a Group Captain who was posted to Pakistani Embassy in US three years before was about to visit China, my Chief Representative was asking him whether he prepared any shopping list as every Pakistani officer prepared some before visit to China. The officer replied with denial indicating he just returned from US and he couldn’t foresee any thing in China worth an ex-Pakistani-diplomat-to-US buying. Ten days later, this same officer returned with two fully loaded luggages with one of them is a new luggage bought in China. He was stunned by how downtown New York is paled compared with Lujiazui in Shanghai as well.

今年早些时候，一个曾经被派驻到巴基斯坦驻美国使馆的上校准备访问中国，我的总代表问他是否准备了什么购物清单，因为所有老巴的军官去中国之前都会拉个长长的单子。这位上校告诉我的总代表他没准备，他觉得他刚刚从美国回来没两年，中国不会有什么东西值得他来买的。十天之后，这位上校拉着两个满满当当的箱子回来了，其中一个还是在中国为了装下买的东西而新买呃。与此同时，他到处跟人说纽约城相比于上海的陆家嘴，是多么的黯然失色。

Pakistan used to be a great country. It has the second largest city, Karachi on account of both area and population, on the earth, only second to Bombay of India. When my grandparents arrived at Karachi in 1950s for a stopover en route to Mid East to be the very first batch of diplomat of newly founded Republic, they were stunned by an advanced airport in Karachi, no need to mention the neon, billboard, American and European sedans running on wide paved road, all of which are similar to what they saw in America before. Do you know Pakistan International Airlines is the first airlines in Asia to operate a jet aircraft, Boeing 707? Do you know Karachi used to be one of the most modernized cities in the WORLD as well as one of the financial, shipping and trade center in Asia? Do you know there was almost no body saving beard or goatee about two decades ago? For me, I used to feel difficult to understand how a rich, open and pro-democratic country degrades to such a corrupt, conservative, semi-religionary, pro-extremist but arrogant country. Although I still didn’t find a clear answer, I become clear why people in this country no longer have any faith, why they lost enterprise, why they are satisfied.

巴基斯坦曾经是一个伟大的国家。无论是参照人口还是城市面积，其南部海港城市卡拉奇至今仍然是这地球上仅次于印度孟买的第二大城市。当我的爷爷奶奶在建国后作为第一批外交官前往中东履职而经停卡拉奇的时候，他们为一个现代化的机场、城市的霓虹灯、路边的广告牌、柏油路上美国和欧洲的小汽车所叹为观止，所有这些都和他们曾经在美国看到的相差无几。你知道巴基斯坦国际航空公司是全亚洲第一家运营波音707的航空公司吗？你知道卡拉奇曾经是这世界上最繁华的城市之一吗？她也曾是全亚洲的金融、航运以及贸易中心。你知道仅仅在20年前，巴基斯坦还几乎没有人留胡子吗？对我来说，我曾经很难理解为什么这样一个富裕、开放而且支持民主的国家会蜕化成一个腐败、保守、半宗教、充斥极端主义却还自我感觉良好的国家。尽管我仍然没找到答案，但我渐渐意识到为什么这个国家的人民不再有任何信念，不再有任何进取心，为什么他们都很安于现状。

They think they are living well, they think super countries are their friends and brothers, and people from those "brother countries" are living same life as they are! Pakistan closed its eyes on world; its elites closed their eyes on world.

他们认为他们过得很好，他们认为超级大国们都是他们的朋友和兄弟。这些兄弟国家的人民，也其实和他们过着一样的生活。这个国家闭上了看世界的眼睛，她的精英阶层也闭上了眼睛不去看世界。

Elite people from Pakistan think China is the very same country to Pakistan. But how can they understand if a multinational company is not going to try its best to please Chinese customer, it’s going to be in trouble in business whereas in Pakistan, Toyota and Honda are selling CIVIC and COROLLA in new shape but engines from 1990s? Can anyone imagine a new car in China not being equipped with a maintenance free battery which is not a mandatory feature for any Pakistan made Toyota or Honda? China is currently the third biggest economy body in the world and is surpassing Japan shortly. Opening the latest issue of Economist and turning to second to last page, China is the unique country that has all key indexes positive while Pakistan is in its toughest situation, losing over 23 billion US dollars in trade, having inflation over 15%.

巴基斯坦的精英们都认为中国是和他们一样的国家。但是他们怎么能理解如果一个跨国公司不用尽浑身解数来讨好中国消费者，他们的生意就会陷入困境？而在巴基斯坦，丰田和本田尽管卖着最新式外形的花冠和思域，但是里面却是90年代的发动机，而有人能想象在当今的中国，新买的家用车里却没有装配免维护电瓶吗？而巴基斯坦生产的所有丰田和本田，装配的都是需要定期加水的普通电瓶。中国是现在世界上第三大经济体，而且即将超越日本跃居第二。翻开最新一期的经济学人倒数第二页，中国在所有关键经济数据上都是积极向好的，而巴基斯坦却在最差的境地，年贸易逆差超过230亿美元，通货膨胀超过15%。

China is no longer the country that had only a small terminal building and without any standing in Beijing Capital Airport. It has the second largest terminal in the world and its passenger transportation volume is only fourth in the world with a possibility of surpass Chicago O’Hare and London Heathrow to become only second to Atlanta by the end of this year while Karachi International Airport is still very same airport of forty years ago. Air China is no longer the same CAAC with shabby Russian aircrafts but is running a fleet including 245 new Airbus and Boeing jets with its fleet age 7.7 years and is one of the most important members of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance on the earth. Simply today, there are 44 flights coming from Shanghai to Beijing while another 44 returned to Shanghai from Beijing. But there are still B737-200 flying in sky of Pakistan, PIA’s fleet age is 13 years, and only 14 flights available between Islamabad, capital of country, and Karachi, financial center of country.

中国已经不是那个首都机场只有一个矮小航站楼并且一个廊桥都没有的国家了。首都机场现在拥有全球第二大单体航站楼，旅客中转量位居世界第四，并且很有可能在年底前超越芝加哥奥黑尔以及伦敦希思罗成为仅次于亚特兰大的全球第二大机场，但卡拉奇机场则仍同40年前没有什么区别。中国国际航空公司已经不是曾经那个只有破旧苏联飞机的中国民航了，作为全球最大航空联盟星空联盟的关键一员，国航运行着245架全新的空客和波音飞机，平均机龄7.7年。仅仅在今天，就有44个航班从上海飞抵北京，同时44个航班从北京飞往上海。但与此同时，巴基斯坦的天空上仍飞行着B737-200，巴基斯坦国际航空的平均机龄有13年之久，每天往返于首都伊斯兰堡和经济中心卡拉奇的航班也只有14班。

Anyone else still believe Pakistan and China are brothers?

还有人仍然认为巴基斯坦和中国真的是兄弟吗？

Pakistanis used to be a group of hero. They were diligent and strong-mind people. They established a country of their own in tough time. They survived. They suffered many setbacks on their way to democracy, they overcame.

巴基斯坦人民曾经是英雄的民族。他们曾经是勤奋而且意志坚定人民。在艰难的时期建立了自己的国家，并且支撑了下来。在追求民主的道路上曾经遇到过挫折，但是他们克服了。

They had faith.

因为他们曾经拥有信念。

But they don’t have it now.

但是现在他们不再拥有它了。

In Chinese, faith and religion are usually written in the same fashion of faith. However, faith is faith when religion isn’t.

在中文里，信念和宗教信仰经常被写成信仰。但是，信仰是一种信念，而宗教信仰则不是。

More and more men in Pakistan are saving beard and goatee. More and more women in Pakistan are wearing burqa. More and more Pakistani are turning to Allah instead of diligence when suffering. As they believe they are brother to China, United States, Japan and Unite Kingdom, they will always be helped by their brothers. And because enjoying assistance is always much easier than enduring hardship, they totally abandoned faith.

越来越多的巴基斯坦男人开始留胡子。越来越多的巴基斯坦女人穿上了罩袍。在遭遇困境的时候，越来越多的巴基斯坦人放弃了勤奋而选择求助安拉。他们坚信他们是中国、美国、日本还有英国的兄弟，而这些国家将永远帮助他们的巴基斯坦兄弟。因为享受国际援助永远比卧薪尝胆舒服，他们彻底放弃了信念。

Only Pakistani can become The Savior to Pakistani themselves. Not Uncle Sam, nor Japanese, nor British lord, nor Chinese brother. Although they don’t need to abandon religion, they need to retrieve their faith, the faith of hardworking and the faith that they can make it their own, without mercy from brothers, without bless from Allah.

但只有巴基斯坦人才能成为自己的救世主。不是山姆大叔，不是日本人，不是英国主子，也不是中国兄弟。他们并不需要放弃信仰，但他们需要唤起信念——对于勤奋努力的信念，对于他们能够靠自己的努力，无需兄弟协助，无需安拉怜悯就能梦想成真的信念。

The sooner they realize this, the earlier they can become the pearl of Islamic world again.

他们越早认识到这一点，他们可以越早重新成为伊斯兰世界的明珠。