Stories under occupation

PUBLISHED
April 16, 2023

KARACHI:

Kashmir, the gorgeous valley of extremes. On one hand, it brings to thoughts bloodshed and battle, and on the opposite, this limitless geographical and cultural romanticisation. Visions of inexperienced mountains, rivers, shikaras on Dal Lake, lovely bejewelled women, goshtaba and rogan josh come gushing into the thoughts. The subsequent minute the sweetness turns right into a vile bitterness as you consider this land being in territorial dispute between India and Pakistan, sparked by a fateful choice in 1947, leading to many years of violence, two wars, ache, struggling, wrestle and injustice.

Apart from Sana Altaf being born to Kashmiri dad and mom in Srinagar Metropolis, the capital metropolis of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the yr 1985 was comparatively uneventful within the historical past of this battle. Whereas within the previous yr, the Indian Military seized management of the Siachen Glacier, an space not demarcated by the Line of Management. In 1986, whereas the Mujahideen struggle in opposition to the Soviets in Afghanistan was at its peak, a coalition authorities was shaped between the Indian Nationwide Congress and Farooq Abdullah, the ex-President of Jammu & Kashmir Nationwide Convention and Chief Minister of IIOJK.

In these occasions of turmoil, Altaf gurgled, crawled after which toddled round, however the world round her was quick altering. She was hardly 5 years previous, when she first heard the gunshots as she was enjoying within the snow. From then on, blasts, killings, protests, and never-ending strikes had been part of her life. She grew as much as realise what was occurring round her. Her delicate soul by no means at peace, she expressed her emotions by means of writing, finally selecting to be a journalist.

In 2013, this ‘Kashmir ki kali’ received an award for reporting girl points throughout battle. Ten years later, the 38-year-old Dubai primarily based creator has received a nomination for Standard Selection AutHer Award for her extensively acclaimed debut e book, Forgotten Tales: Tales from the Kashmir Valley, launched final yr. The AutHer Awards are a three way partnership by JK Paper (India’s main paper firm) and The Instances of India to rejoice girls authors who’ve contributed in numerous fields of writing.

Set within the Kashmir of the conflict-driven Nineties, the e book is a set of quick tales of about wrestle, ache, and injustice. “Telling tales is the one approach one can protect the current, and it’s the current that creates historical past someday,” says Altaf, who did her Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism from the College of Kashmir.

Altaf opted for journalism, as a result of she was at all times a storyteller by coronary heart. She started her profession as one of many few feminine journalists in IIOJK, working for Kashmir Instances, the primary and main English newspaper of the territory. “Later, I went on to work with numerous worldwide publications corresponding to Inter Press Service, Daybreak Information, Khaleej Instances, and The Straits Instances,” she says.

The mere point out of IIOJK reminds certainly one of horrible issues occurring to individuals, and Altaf’s childhood was no totally different.

“As a Kashmiri, my childhood was deeply impacted by the continued battle within the area,” she says. “Each side of our lives was affected by the insecurity, trauma, and concern that surrounded us. Nevertheless, regardless of these tough circumstances, my childhood was additionally full of moments of pleasure, laughter, and bonding with my household.”

Whereas rising up amidst battle can undoubtedly have an enduring traumatic impression, says Altaf, however there have been additionally moments of pleasure and heat that she treasures from her childhood. “Regardless of the frequent shutdowns and lengthy evenings, my household and I discovered methods to profit from our time collectively,” she reminisces. “We performed video games, had conversations with dad and mom and elders, and shared many interactive storytelling classes. These experiences helped us develop a powerful bond that has stayed with me to today. Though my upbringing was removed from regular, it offered me with a singular perspective on the world that I wouldn’t commerce for something.”

Rising up in a battle zone had a profound impression on her childhood. “It affected not simply our bodily security, but additionally our emotional and psychological well-being,” says Altaf. “As kids, we had been recurrently uncovered to violence, trauma, and instability, which frequently led to emotions of hysteria and concern. We additionally skilled vital disruptions to our training and social lives, with lockdowns confining us to our properties for prolonged intervals. However regardless of these challenges, we had been capable of finding moments of pleasure and heat in our household and shared experiences. I recall spending lengthy days of curfews enjoying cricket with my father, cousins, and uncles, our laughter and shouts echoing by means of the quiet streets. Because the solar started to set and the darkness crept in, we’d collect across the dim candlelight to play carom and different board video games, creating cherished reminiscences that endure to today. Residing in a battle zone examined our resilience and compelled us to adapt to new circumstances. However by means of all of it, we realized the worth of household and the ability of shared experiences to deliver us collectively and supply consolation in even essentially the most difficult of occasions.”

As a journalist in IIOJK, Altaf had the chance to witness and uncover many untold tales and incidents. “These experiences together with my childhood reminiscences, impressed me to put in writing my first e book, Forgotten Tales: Tales from the Kashmir Valley, which is a set of 11 quick tales, all fictional,” says Altaf.

The 11 quick tales contact upon totally different elements of individuals’s lives within the valley that holds a number of untold tales of demise, bloodshed, disappearances, rape, sufferings and injustice. However within the midst of all this turmoil are additionally tales of affection, friendship, memory and hope. There’s a story of a younger woman searching for her lacking father and the way she dedicates her total life to tracing him. There’s one other story of two girls whose sturdy friendship transcends faith, brings us the lesser identified, compassionate aspect of IIOJK. One other is a coronary heart rending story of a younger woman who falls in love and weaves a thousand desires, however a stunning flip of occasions might value her this valuable love.

Writing her e book was not with out its challenges. “I needed to do justice to the characters within the tales and make them as detailed and elaborate as doable,” she says. “It took me over two years to finish the e book, and it was an emotional journey on many ranges. It has required me to confront tough and traumatic occasions, and tales of loss and struggling, and to delve deeply into the advanced political, social, and historic contexts that underlie conflicts. Via this course of, I’ve been challenged to confront my very own biases, assumptions, and preconceptions concerning the world, a course of that has been each tough and rewarding.”

Regardless of the emotional challenges, writing about battle has been an extremely rewarding expertise for Altaf. “Via bearing witness to the experiences of these affected by battle, I’ve discovered a way of empathy and compassion for others that has been deeply fulfilling,” she shares. “Moreover, the act of writing has been a cathartic course of that has allowed me to course of my very own feelings and emotions about the subject material, and to higher perceive the impression of battle on people and communities. In the end, writing about battle has allowed me to bear witness to the experiences of these affected by violence and to offer voice to their tales. By focussing on the complexities of battle and the human toll it exacts, I hope to encourage higher empathy and understanding and encourage significant motion to construct a extra peaceable and simply world.”

Altaf lived in IIOJK until 2014, a time when India cancelled talks with Pakistan after accusing it of interfering in India’s inside affairs when Pakistan’s Excessive Commissioner in Delhi consulted Kashmiri separatist leaders prematurely of the talks. Icing on the cake was India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to the disputed border state of IIOJK, accusing Pakistan of waging a proxy struggle in opposition to India in IIOJK. Finally a flare up of violence throughout their widespread border left at the very least 18 individuals useless.

“After I obtained married, I moved to Dubai in 2014, however I go to IIOJK twice a yr,” says Altaf who admits, it was not straightforward for her to depart her hometown. “My dwelling, dad and mom, sister, uncles and full clan remains to be there. It isn’t solely the place of my delivery and childhood, nevertheless it has formed me into the individual I’m as we speak. The ache and injustice that the individuals of IIOJK have endured over the previous few many years have deeply affected me. I missed not solely my household but additionally the land and its individuals, who’ve undergone a lot struggling. I do miss Kashmir and its individuals, although I’m grateful for the alternatives which have come my approach.”

She clarifies that her objective for penning this e book was to not win awards however to share the tales of the widespread individuals of Kashmir with the world. “I’m not focused on enjoying the blame recreation between India and Pakistan, however merely needed to share what occurred there from a typical individual’s perspective.”

Altaf believes that detailed and elaborate characters are the important thing to inform a narrative that touches the reader’s coronary heart. The character of Ayesha within the first story of her e book holds a particular place in her coronary heart. “She embodies the struggles of younger kids in Kashmir who develop up with out reminiscences of their fathers, solely to spend their childhood and youth looking for them who had been subjected to enforced disappearances,” says Altaf. “As a journalist, I had the privilege of interacting with many such kids, and Ayesha jogs my memory of all of them. Her story is a poignant reflection of the tough actuality confronted by households impacted by battle, and her character represents the resilience and energy exhibited by those that endure such trauma. Via Ayesha’s character, I hope to shine a light-weight on the struggles of those households and pay tribute to their unwavering willpower to hunt solutions and discover closure.”

Whereas there isn’t something within the pipeline but, Altaf plans on writing extra books sooner or later. Watch this area and because the sample goes, the woman makes headlines each 10 years, so let’s see what she does in 2033, or perhaps even earlier than that!