Interview with a Foreign Person - Assignment Example

This paper is based on an interview with a individual living in the US but who is not native to the U.S. The paper examines what brought him to the US and how he perceives America. The purpose of the paper is to gauge a broader global perspective. Interview with a Foreign Person During my years at university I never had the opportunity to conduct an interview before and I was really excited at the prospect of interviewing someone for this assignment. Although the interview itself was supposed to be for an hour but the fact that I was conducting an interview that would be discussing a variety of touchy topics and that also with a complete stranger was my only worry. My interviewee is a Pakistani national who I had never met before as he was a friend of a friend. I had spoken to him on the phone and at my behest he had agreed to be interviewed by me. He is 24 years of age and was working with a management consultancy for the past 2 years in the US. He had come to the US in August 2000 to attend Undergrad courses at Middlebury College. Majoring in economics he graduated with honours in 2004 and was offered a decent job with a respectable American consultancy firm in their Boston Office. After his exemplary performance in the Boston office he was shifted to their Washington D.C Office in late 2005 where he was working till his resignation this February. He will be returning to Pakistan in the first week of March and has been hired by an International Bank with operations in Pakistan. His name is Imran Quershi and he is a Muslim by birth. Being brought up in the port city of Karachi he moved to the United States in 2000. His family is a well educated, upper-middle class family and both his parents are practicing Surgeons and moderate Muslims like him. As per the census survey in 2000 the number Pakistanis living in the United States were 0.1 % of the US population. ("Pakistanis" are defined as people who marked their ethnic origin as "Pakistani" on the Census survey).On the other hand as a Muslim he belongs to one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States of America. By the year 2010, America's Muslim population is expected to exceed the Jewish population, making Islam the country's second-largest faith after Christianity. The American Muslim community is a mosaic of cultures, its members having come from all of the five major continents; in fact, a recent survey showed that most Muslims are immigrants-77.6% versus 22.4% U.S. born ("Zogby International"). Section 1: Objective Observations Imran's main reason for coming to the United States of America was to pursue further education at an international college in an academic environment while learning to become independent. It was a combined decision made not only by him but by his parents as well. He wouldn't have been able to afford the education had it not been for the generous scholarship and aid provided by Middlebury College. Although college and university education was available in Pakistan but an American or British education was looked upon very positively in the Pakistani business circle. Not only was it looked upon positively but it would open various opportunities and enable him to earn a higher remuneration as compared to his locally educated peers. It was this combination of reasons that led him to the economic superpower of the world i.e. the United States of America. He came to the US as a teenager with an image of America that was built up by a combination of watching Hollywood blockbusters and CNN. His idea of America before he actually came here was a place where he would have freedom to do what he pleases without the religious norms of the Islamic republic of Pakistan. This is what scared him as in Pakistan he didn't have to make a choice to follow his culture and religion whereas in the U.S it would not be his choice to follow it or to digress from it. Like everyone else he also felt that he was heading to the land of opportunity where he would be bestowed a world class education which would benefit not only him but his next generation and his country as well. According to Imran before arriving here he perceived Americans as broad minded individuals who were willing to give anyone and everyone a chance. Today he feels that he was not mistaken but like other generalizations there is always a collective group and exceptions and he had interacted with both. As per Imran the role of culture in American society is beginning to receive serious attention among scholars and researchers. The divisive nature of cultural identity is often exploited in politics. Imran feels that America has always been a country, which has successfully, influenced other countries of the world. Imran feels American culture is very versatile and modern and plays a major role in influencing the youth of the world. Thus Imran likes to say that American culture is now more of a global culture that is followed by every other country of the world. America is seen as a God in the developing world and an example that needs to be followed for any developing country to be accepted as a modern state in the international community. The most important factor that has influenced the world has been the economic factor. The world has tried to imitate American methods of economic planning and capitalism. On the other hand Imran feels that as a result of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (attacks that he strongly condemns) the United States Government has become what can be best described as a global police force. He feels that the US has been dictating its terms to one and all over the years and its reign has somewhat extended a little too much. Be it a country the size of China or a small one like the Vatican City, all have been at the mercy of United States for one reason or the other. All these nations have had to keep the United States happy. The United States surprisingly looks into the day-to-day affairs of various countries, even without their permission or request to do so. As per Imran the US is the world's police officer and as per him there is no shadow of a doubt about this notion of his. If one of these countries somehow mange to bring on the wrath of the US government (for any simple reason) that would result in Uncle Sam getting angry and retaliating one way or another (economically, culturally or with military might) which eventually ruins the peace, calmness and most of all, the lives of the people residing in these countries. That is the reason why Imran feels so many people hate the United States of America. Although at this point Imran points out that he is not one of them. Imran feels that most individuals across the world would agree to this without any debate. He also adds that the US interferes where it is not needed and does not pay heed to those matters where its approval is of quintessential significance. Imran says he is not like the many others who have come to America, enjoyed its resources and then gone back home to blame the US for every problem in their lives. According to Imran he loved the US that he came to as a student but although circumstances have changes he still loves the people if not the Government. Imran feels what he loved most about America was the freedom that it offered a freedom that according to Imran the US Government has taken away from its citizens. Imran blames the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the eventual implementation of the patriot act. Imran also blames "psycho Muslim fundos" as he likes to call the Muslim extremists for the religious discrimination that he felt right after 9/11 although it has subsided according to him but he feels it can never go back to the way it was before 9/11. At this point Imran likes to point out that it was when the patriot act was introduced that he felt the freedom that he had in the United States had come down to the same level that he had in Pakistan. The only difference was that in Pakistan his family was known and respected and in the United States he was just one of the many workers in the US economy thus he had no special privileges that he would have maybe enjoyed in Pakistan. Imran's has had many memorable experiences in the US but he feels his most memorable one was when was recovering from a surgery for a torn ligament. When he came out of surgery his American friend's family insisted that he moved in with them until he recovered. According to Imran his friend Josh's family took care of him like their very own. They made Halal meals for him (Muslim meals that are something like Jewish Kosher meals) and they didn't cook pork in their house for the duration of his stay (Pork/ham is not allowed in Islam). Imran cannot forget their love and care and prays for their wellbeing with all his heart with each of his 5 daily prayers. When asked about his worst experience Imran doesn't hesitate even for a second and blurts out the day he was verbally insulted as a Muslim terrorist at office by a colleague who was jealous of his accomplishments. Apparently this guy even called the police and informed them of his theory as a result of which Imran was paid a visit by Police Officers. When asked to summarise his view on the United States Imran likes to finish the interview with a modified quote from Superman Returns (to my surprise) he says "They can be a great people, they wish to be. A few lack the light to show them the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good will always outshine their capacity for evil" Section 2: Subjective Impressions When going to meet Imran I didn't know what to expect but as far as I am concerned he was better then what I expected from a Pakistani Muslim. The reason for that is probably the fact that I haven't interacted with many Pakistani's to date. As far as Imran's perception of the US is concerned I feel he is right in many ways but I felt that he was overreacting when he felt that the US was a global police force. I feel that whatever the US does is for national security and any country would do the same if they had the available resources. What I did find interesting was that Imran constantly differentiated between the US Government and the US people because he feels the actions of the current government are not representative of the majority of the US population. Meeting Imran definitely cleared some of my misconceptions or rather ignorance about Pakistan and its people. Interviewing him made me feel proud and sad because of his experiences in the US. I did feel slightly uncomfortable when Imran shed tears when discussing the American family that he stayed with after his surgery. I was surprised at how close he felt to that family, like they were his own and I guess he was probably upset about the fact that he would be leaving them as he is moving back to Pakistan. After the meeting I felt really inclined to study about Islam and about Pakistan. To be honest Imran does not come across as a typical Muslim or a typical Pakistani but then I haven't met many typical Muslims or Pakistani's. Bibliography 1. Interview with Mr Imran Qureshi 2. "Zogby International." August 2000. Survey commissioned by the American Muslim Council. Read More