Hege Storhaug, HRS
Hvor mange norske statsborgere som går på skoler i Pakistan, vet ikke norske myndigheter. Det er antakelig godt over 2 000, ut fra HRS sine vurderinger i 2004, og undersøkelsen i 2009, ”De glemte barna”, der det kommer frem at nesten 4 000 barn i grunnskolealder ikke er på skolebenken i Norge. Det man med sikkerhet kan slå fast er at den største barne- og ungdomsgruppen som befinner seg i foreldrenes hjemland har pakistansk bakgrunn. Dette ut fra hva ambassader rapporterte til HRS i 2004. En av våre bekymringer har vært hvilke verdier barna utsettes for, eksempelvis knyttet til toleranse av andres livssyn. Dette kan leses om i ”Ute av syne, ute av sinn”, kap 1.3 Undervisningsplaner og lærebøker i Pakistan
Vår bekymring bekreftes nå i bredt monn i en unik amerikansk studie. At USA står bak undersøkelsen, er ikke underlig, all den tid Pakistans verdimessige fremtid er en avgjørende faktor for å oppnå stabilitet i regionen, og for å demme opp for ekstremisme generelt i verden. Som talsmann for rapporten sier det: “Denne studien – det første i sitt slag – dokumenterer hvordan offentlige skoler og privatdrevede madrassaer I Pakistan ikke underviser i toleranse med forverrer religiøse ulikheter… En utdannelsesreform som innebærer religiøs toleranse er avgjørende for at et samfunn kan utvikle respekt for menneskerettigheter, inkludert religiøs frihet for alle innbyggerne. Å undervise i diskriminering øker sannsynligheten for at voldelig religiøs ekstremisme i Pakistan vil fortsette å øke, det vil svekke religiøs frihet, nasjonal og regional stabilitet, og global sikkerhet.”
Titled “Connecting the Dots: Education and Religious Discrimination in Pakistan,” the study involved the examination of social studies, Islamic studies, and Urdu textbooks and pedagogical methods in Pakistan’s public school system and its madrassa system, and the interviewing of teachers and students about their views on religious minorities. The goal of the year-long study was to explore linkages between the portrayal of religious minorities in public schools and madrassas, biases that exist against these minorities, and subsequent acts of discrimination or extremist violence. The study found that –• Public school textbooks used by all children often had a strong Islamic orientation, and Pakistan’s religious minorities were referenced derogatorily or omitted altogether;• Hindus were depicted in especially negative terms, and references to Christians were often inaccurate and offensive; • Public school and madrassa teachers had limited awareness or understanding of religious minorities and their beliefs, and were divided on whether religious minorities were citizens; • Teachers often expressed very negative views about Ahmadis, Christians, and Jews, and successfully transmitted these biases to their students; • Interviewees’ expressions of tolerance often were intermixed with neutral and intolerant comments, leaving some room for improvement. ICRD and its partner, the independent Pakistani think tank Sustainable Development Policy Institute, reviewed more than 100 textbooks from grades 1 through 10 from Pakistan’s four provinces. Students and teachers from public schools and madrassas were also interviewed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), Balochistan, Sindh, and Punjab. Thirty-seven middle and high schools were visited, with 277 students and teachers interviewed individually or in group settings. Researchers interviewed 226 madrassa students and teachers from 19 madrassas. CLICK HERE TO READ REPORTThe U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent, bipartisan U.S. government commission separate from the State Department, has actively monitored the rise across Pakistan of violent religious extremism that targets religious minorities as well as members of the Muslim majority. USCIRF has concluded that promoting respect for freedom of religion or belief must be an integral part of advancing regional security in South Asia. The conflict with violent religious extremists in Pakistan requires the United States to understand the roots of this extremism and actively bolster those who respect democratic values, the rule of law, and international standards of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief. Education reform is a key part of this effort.
Norske myndigheter kan altså ikke benekte at de fører en politikk som på sikt kan medføre betydelige konflikter også her i Norge, ved at ingenting gjøres med norske barns skolegang i en failed state som Pakistan er på alle måter.
A new report on discriminatory practices in Pakistan emerges from America