Fatima Hashmi writes:
When it comes to how populations face adverse circumstances,
they have
different capacities. Some resist better than others. This ability to face
adversity and emerge strengthened is what we call resilience today,
which is underpinned by human agency,
focusing on the actions of individuals and communities.
In turbulent environments like that of my hometown Quetta, part of my PhD
research aim was to investigate how the Hazara community responds to the different
forms of stigmatisation, residing in two areas of Hazara Town and Marriabad.
These two areas are in fact cordoned off by security check posts, walls and
boundaries, a measure introduced by the Government for the ‘safety’ of the
Hazara community.
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| A view of Marriabad |
During my fieldwork, most of the
young participants mentioned how the ‘Sketch Club’ had been their saviour when the
conditions in Quetta were turbulent to such an extent that the targeted killings
of the Hazara community were either one or two in a day or in a week or in a
month. The impact was so severe that one participant describes the moment of
peace as:
‘We would be waiting and wondering how come
this week there was no one killed. We used to wait. If you were to ask any
Hazara what is the moment of peace in our lives, they would say that the period
between the two incidents of target killings is a moment of peace for us’.
I was intrigued to find out more about
the Sketch Club, which I quickly discovered is run by my primary and secondary
school art teacher, Sir Fazil.
Background
of the Sketch Club
Syed Fazil Hussain, most commonly
known in Quetta as Fazil Mousavi or Sir Fazil amongst his current and former
students, founded the informal setup of the Sketch Club in 2009. The purpose of
the club was to give back to the society by transferring his skills and
knowledge to the youth of the Hazara community, which he most beautifully
expressed through the verse of Sahir Ludhianvi:
‘duniyā ne
tajrabāt o havādis kī shakl meñ
jo kuchh
mujhe diyā hai vo lauTā rahā huuñ main’
[What the
world, in the form of experiences and accidents bestowed upon me, I am
returning]
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| Sir Fazil on a typical Friday session |
However, the vision of such an
institution did not come without hurdles. It took many years to find the
perfect space where students are inspired by the stunning views of the
mountains on the roof top of a building. This is where they paint in broad
daylight.
Currently, there are around 20
students enrolled and the classes run from Monday to Friday between the hours
of 14:00 and 16:30. Fridays are dedicated to theory sessions through which the
students learn how to critique different paintings, build their confidence and
also indulge in literature such as Krishan Chander (dubbed as the storyteller
of the oppressed), Ghulam Abbas (a famous writer in classical literature of
the sub-continent), Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi (known as Pakistan's Renaissance Man).
Moving away from fiction, the students also read essays of Ashfaq Ahmed (award
winning writer from Pakistan in the field of literature and broadcasting). However,
Fazil Mousavi is very mindful of the students’ background, cultural values and
social norms. Keeping in mind all the elements, he only chooses the fictions
that the students are able to comprehend. Through such teaching techniques, Fazil
Mousavi notes that ‘the students are also
members of the society and in my class, they get the opportunity to
speak and they speak openly, with freedom’.
Almost all of the professional colleges in Pakistan are
aware of this informal setup in Quetta because the former students of the
Sketch Club who end up in the professional colleges across Pakistan have an
edge compared to the other students because of their confidence and the ability
to critique.
Currently, there are 14 artists (painters, designers, architects)
working professionally, who have studied at the Sketch Club and 40
students are under education in professional colleges. This year alone, 16
students of the Sketch Club entered professional colleges, a figure more than
from all over Balochistan Province. A few of the former students of the
Sketch Club are internationally renowned artists.
The Sketch Club has received a lot of attention through their
international exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles. The reason
behind gaining this attention was in fact when the staff and students were
preparing for an exhibition at Musa College in Quetta and a few days before the
event there was a targeted killing where four Hazara community members were
forced out of a bus and brutally killed (the most recent attack was on April 12,
2019). What the Sketch Club did in response highlights the resilience of the
community towards the atrocities and persecutions. They did not let fear stop
them from showcasing the exhibition. Instead, the reaction was such that it
helped raise the diminished morale of the community and the turnout was
spectacular. The Sketch Club’s pen has indeed proven to be mightier than a
sword, as Sir Fazil notes that:
My students have the power and the ability to
convert their feelings and emotions onto the canvas. The best
option we have is to begin the process of catharsis within ourselves and the
best way for catharsis is to paint, to do poetry, write essays, fictions and
novels. This allows for the process of catharsis to continue, the work we do
also becomes part of our history and we get to release the pain and
suffering we are feeling. This is the best form of resilience.
This formed the basis for
inviting Sir Fazil to participate in the upcoming Oxford Human Rights Festival
2020, celebrating its 18th
successive year with a focus on RESILIENCE.
The AIM
is to raise awareness of human rights issues through the arts, including
informative films, performances, talks, workshops, and exhibitions.
FOUNDED in 2003 the Festival, was initiated by Brookes University
postgraduate students on the MA in Development and Emergency Practice (DEP),
which is supported by the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice
(CENDEP) within the School of Architecture.
The 2020 Glass Tank exhibition
The Festival’s exhibition will be in The Glass Tank
at Brookes University, Headington Campus from 14t March to 3 April and will have art and craft representing resilience from across the
globe. One of the exhibits will include the work of Sir Fazil and his students
from the Sketch Club.
FUNDING
On behalf of OxHRF, I am fundraising for Sir
Fazil’s travel, accommodation and other necessary requirements for the
exhibition. We also welcome sponsorships and collaborations. You can make a donation here: http://gf.me/u/w453rj.
Please share this link with your family, friends and
extended network.
CONTACT
