A Warrior’s Salute to Young Peacemakers

In its brief, brilliant two years of merrymaking, Friends Without Borders attracted attention far and wide. Our projects were covered in every significant newspaper in India and Pakistan, on every major television network, in the major news magazines, on radio, and of course on the web. But, as the project fades into the past, ripples in the media have been fewer and fewer. Sure, we were proud when the Times of India and the Jang Newspaper Group adopted our ideas to form their new Aman ki Asha project; but, as with most ideas lifted by the every-slimy TOI, this sincere form of flattery proceeded without attribution or notice.

But recently FWB received a bit of retrospective acclaim – and from a very unlikely source. To celebrate the 1000th post on the Pakistan Defense blog, which describes itself as the “Web’s Authoritative Source on Pakistani Security & Strategic Affairs”, the site cribbed photos and a bit of explanatory text about our “Love Letter” friendship project. Check it out.

And, after a brief celebration of peace, the blog resumed its bellicose themes. Crazy. But we’ll take it.

Aman ki Asha: Now Why Didn’t We Think of That!

Sometimes an idea just takes a while to germinate. Sometimes the big guys simply need to feel that the brainchild was all theirs before they’ll really run with it. Whatever the reason, it seems that the time has finally come for a serious effort at an Indo-Pak peace initiative based on simple people-to-people interactions and cultural exchange.

The proponents of this undertaking are two of South Asia’s largest media outlets, the Times of India and the Jang Group in Pakistan. In the garbled, half-literate language of the writers at the TOI: “Starting with a series of cross-border cultural interactions, business seminars, music & literary festivals and citizens meet that will give the bonds of humanity a chance to survive outside the battlefields of politics, terrorism and fundamentalism.”

The project is being called “Aman ki Asha”, Hope for Peace. Shiv Sena suck-up Amitabh Bachchan, no less, is promoting the as-yet vaguely defined bridge-building. The one program they have articulated is a concert (or series of concerts) featuring both Indian and Pakistani pop musicians.

If this sounds familiar, it is because it appears to be based on our lovely Friends Without Borders project and its not-quite-successful sequel, Dil se Dil, both the brainchildren of service wizard John Silliphant.

Friends Without Borders, Global Rickshaw Style!

Click on image to view video

One of the many awesome experiences in the process of putting together the ill-fated Dil se Dil Independence Day Friendship Celebration was the chance to work with the brilliant Mumbai filmmakers Shivraj Shantakumar and Aparna Wilder, whose award winning film company Wild Kumar makes music videos and television commercials, and whose side project Global Rickshaw does shorts for the NGO community. We were looking for 90 seconds of fun to introduce Friends Without Borders to the television audience at Dil se Dil.

Click on the image above (or here) to see a low-res, high-spirit film about Friends Without Borders by Global Rickshaw, presented in three, unbelievably adorable parts.

If you missed our earlier film, created by Buddy Mukherji of Black Magic Motion Pictures, click here.

Dil se Dil Postponed. Long Live the Forces of Peace!

Upon receiving a threat of mass violence perceived by the Indian Intelligence Bureau to be specific, credible, and beyond the ability of the government to provide adequate security the Dil se Dil Independence Day Friendship Celebration has been postponed indefinitely. There is no way for it to occur, as planned, on the night of 14-15 August.

Dil se Dil in the Bombay Times

For India and Pakistan, the 60th anniversary of independence draws near. For Indians and Pakistanis, the first-ever joint celebration is also at hand.

As those of you who read this space know, the night of 14-15 August will witness Midnights Grandchildren coming together at an historic friendship concert held on one of the world’s most heavily militarized borders.

The media circus in advance of the event has begun, kicked off with today’s frontpage feature in the Bombay Times.

United Nations Millennium Campaign Joins the “Dil se Dil” Partnership

The Dil se Dill Independence Day Friendship Concert received a wonderful boost this week when the United Nations Millennium Campaign joined Friends Without Borders and Routes 2 Roots as a partner for producing the event.

We are tremendously excited to have the United Nations as a partner, both for the credibility it give to our initiative and because it give us an opportunity to help build public awareness for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Midnight’s Grandchildren

Sixty years and three generations after Independence, Indians and Pakistanis have never jointly celebrated the seminal political event that gave birth to both nations. This year, all that will change.

On the night of August 14th and into the early hours of August 15th, preeminent musicians and celebrity Masters of Ceremonies will come together across the India-Pakistan border to lead the youth of both countries into a new era of friendship and cultural interaction: Dil se Dil: Independence Day Friendship Celebration.

Samjhauta Express Bombing: We Are Fine, Many Are Not

The flow of calls and emails has already begun in the wake of the bombing of the Samjhauta Express, the train which runs between Delhi and Lahore. Everyone should know that we are still stuck in Delhi, awaiting our visas, and will probably not be leaving for Lahore for a few more days. (I guess we have some reason to be thankful for the classic inefficiency of the Pakistan High Commission and Interior Ministry, where our visa applications have been moldering.) We appreciate the expressions of concern for our well-being.

So, it looks like we’ll be walking across the border rather than traveling by train.

Friends Without Borders: Secret Agents (of Peace)

I am pleased to report that the 2007 incarnation of the Friends Without Borders travel squad has assembled and is raring to go. This year’s team includes John Siliphant, Yoo-Mi, Rahul Brown, Mona Panchal, Sachi Maniar, and me.

We are currently in Delhi awaiting word from the High Commission of Pakistan that Islamabad has cleared our visa requests. We hope to be soon on our way to Pakistan to deliver tens of thousands of friendship letters from Indian kids, to get letters to bring back to India, and to enroll schools for ongoing school-to-school relationships.

Friends Without Borders in Asia Magazine

It’s a little awkward to get a byline on a story about one’s own project, but Friends Without Borders was asked by Asia Magazine to submit an article and we obliged. I wote the text and Maria Durana took and processed the photos. The article, which will span six-pages in “centerfold” format, to appear in the magazine’s March edition.

Asia Magazine does not publish online; but you can click on the image above (or here) for a reprint in PDF format.