Abu Dhabi: “When you set aside politics, we are one people with a common culture and ethos!” This was the common sentiment shared by Indian and Pakistani women and their family members at an event titled ‘Beyond Borders’ that celebrated the friendship between the two communities in the capital on Saturday evening.
Some of them already had many friends across the border and had touching tales to share about friendships beyond borders. Others who never had an opportunity to make friends on the other side of the border were delighted to fulfil that wish at the event, which was exclusively covered by Gulf News.
The organisers said it was follow-up act of an initiative during last Ramadan. “We distributed home-cooked food at some mosques in the capital for iftar. Most of us behind the initiative were non-Muslims,” said Jonia Mathew, an Indian, who is the founder of Style Diva, a women’s organisation that conducts both community and commercial events in the capital.
“These initiatives are our contribution to an environment of peace and harmony in the society,” said Mathew, who is also a former president of the Indian Ladies Association (ILA) in Abu Dhabi.
Competitions were designed to create opportunities for forging friendship between two communities. Husbands who accompanied their wives to the event also participated in the contests and won some prizes.
A team participating in a quiz contest on Bollywood and Lollywood had members from both communities. “This camaraderie touched my heart,” said Saman Urooj Zeeshan, 32, a Pakistani dermatologist. “Differences between us are just political. Pakistanis cannot avoid watching Bollywood, she said.
Echoing the same feelings, Freya Jaffar, a British woman of Pakistani origin, said: “When you remove politics, you don’t see each other as Indians or Pakistanis — but as mothers, working women, friends etc. You realise we all have the same struggles and issues in life,” said Jaffar who is the founder of the popular Facebook group ‘Abu Dhabi Q&A.’
Zeeshan, who did not have any Indian friends during her nine-year long life in Abu Dhabi, went back with many new friends.
She said she was happy that her Indian teammates in the quiz knew many things about Lollywood whose progressing trends are not widely known. When she sang a Bollywood song, her Indian counterpart Urmila Santosh chose one that was originally sung by a Pakistani singer.
”This … Rahat Fateh Ali Khan’s one of the most famous songs in the Bollywood film ‘Paap’ resonated with our theme ‘Beyond borders,” said Santosh, 35, from Mumbai.
While enjoying both songs, Trupti Gokani, 39, from Mumbai, who runs a henna centre in Abu Dhabi, felt: “I think we should never give up on the cause [of friendship]. After all Indians and Pakistanis are really one at heart. It is sad to see the divide between us,” she said.
Pakistani sisters Maryam Ashraf, 15, and Farheen Ashraf, 22, both students who were born and brought up in Abu Dhabi, said they had more Indian friends than Pakistanis. “I would say they are honest and loyal,” Farheen said. Maryam said as she is studying at an Indian curriculum school, she was always comfortable in Indian friends’ company. Still they wanted to make more Indian friends. “And we got many from the event,” they said.
