(This might be a hard read, since it is a direct response to the horrible, tragic passenger plane crash that happened in Karachi on May 22nd, 2020, and is informed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It is sloppy, and messy, and emotional, and angry in ways that are perhaps unwarranted, but I can at least … Continue reading On resilience, again
Category: Politics
Somewhere between Pakistan and America, you’ll find my discomfit heart
A short note spurred by some mixed emotions over the 70th year of my country's independence and the tumult in Charlottesville this past weekend, as well as the rather political music of The Cranberries. I've often struggled with my not-quite diasporic identity and have written about it ad nauseum in the past 7 years of … Continue reading Somewhere between Pakistan and America, you’ll find my discomfit heart
Max Weber should have lied
I've written pretty extensively about my horror, anger, and fear at the American attempts at a Muslim ban and its various iterations. But aside from the practical shortcomings and moral depravity of such an attempt, there was always another layer of outrage towards it: How the hell can they make the visa process any harder … Continue reading Max Weber should have lied
Dormant anger in the postmodern era and a music review
There are days - more realistically, nights - where I'm so overcome by my own sudden, built-up anger that I don't know what to do with myself. It'll come entirely out of left-field, usually while I'm working, maybe triggered by a lyric in a song or something I read. Right now I'm reading about the … Continue reading Dormant anger in the postmodern era and a music review
The old Lie
I imagine the hardest part of living through a war is not being able to see the enemy as anything but just that; an enemy. I imagine the other hardest part of living through a war is realizing you had no stake in it until your way of living was turned into a small pile … Continue reading The old Lie
A post written in poem
as a child i listened to The Cranberries singing anthems i could not grasp for Salvation & for Zombies, as Odes to my Family & to Saving Grace; i am 21 & my heart aches as it connects the dots a five year old in her father's car could not. i cry for the Warchild, … Continue reading A post written in poem
In defense of the fantastic
I will be the first to admit that I read fiction far more than I read non-fiction*. In her fairly successful attempt to make sure her children turned out to be fluent in English, my mother filled every bookshelf I ever had with books either bought firsthand, secondhand, or passed down from her own childhood. … Continue reading In defense of the fantastic
Long note: honest despair
I realize my last few blog posts have been a little more depressing than I usually put out. I try and imbue optimism in everything I write, because there's enough sadness going around without me adding to it. And yet, here I am. I forced myself to take a social media hiatus after some encouragement … Continue reading Long note: honest despair
Resisting
When fending off darkness and jadedness is resistance, you walk as if your joints are sandpaper. There's a constant ache in a part of your body you can't quite pinpoint. Every time you smile, you throw the bags under your eyes into relief. You still smile with your eyes, though. There's tension in the tangling vines that grow … Continue reading Resisting
Short note: Jihad
The world wants Muslims to distance themselves from jihad. To legitimize our claims of being a peaceful religion, to be more authentic in our self-moderation. Something like that, anyway. And yet, how can I distance myself from jihad when I declare jihad every single day? I declare jihad when I decide to smile at someone … Continue reading Short note: Jihad
Neiha Lasharie 