Seeking New Communities
The poet, John Donne, wrote “No man is an island”. People inevitably form communities, whether as
a family, a neighbourhood or a profession. Community is the yardstick for individuals,
whether they feel part of it or alienated from it.
Early communities were important for the very survival of
humans as there was safety in numbers. While one group went hunting, the others
protected the home. This rudimentary social structure still remains the norm in
isolated communities. In a modern version of hunter gatherers, when the
breadwinner works overseas, he is reassured that they can turn to the community
for support.
As civilizations grew, professional communities developed
for farmers, craft guilds, religious institutions, warriors, and of course the
rulers and the ruled. Unlike social units defined by geography, nationality, or
class, a community implies common interests and a shared purpose and is built
on mutual trust.
Urbanisation and migration created opportunities for new
communities. While some, such as the Irish Americans, maintain ethnic cultural
links even after many generations, urban communities are more likely to reflect
common interests. These may be professionals or those who have a passion for
sports, music, art, cinema, poetry, book reading, trainspotting, quilting or
cuisine. Academics, and technical specialists meet at conferences to share best
practices and new research. Members of one family may belong to different
communities.
Informal communities include neighbourhood watches, home
based gatherings for committee banking or religious ‘dars’ lectures. The shops
on a street look to each other’s interests, especially in Pakistan where single
product markets are the norm, such as clothing, jewelry, wood and metal
markets. Factory workers or employees
form unions to demand better facilities or salaries.
Artists, who often find themselves outsiders in society, find
freedom in artist colonies such as Barbizon in France, that welcomed
Impressionists and Post Impressionists. The
Songzhuang Art Colony in the eastern suburbs of Beijing became the centre for
avant garde art in China and is home to more than 2000 artists. The Kathputli
community in New Delhi is home to about
20,000 painters,
and performers
Many villages across Pakistan engage collectively in specialized
crafts producing wood or metal work products, ceramics or textiles. In urban
centres there are communities of truck and bus decorators or cinema artists. There is even an artists’
community in Karachi jail. Arts Councils, private spaces like t2f, literature
and theatre festivals are havens for urbanites
who share a love of the arts and intellectual exchange.
The internet has completely changed the scope of
communities, that can now connect across the world. WELL (Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link) founded in
1985 and is considered one of the first virtual communities that created a platform
intended to connect everyone on the planet. Social networks have inspired newer
technologies such as Web 2 allowing user generated content, and Web 3 or
chainblock technology, to do away with centralized platforms altogether. Internet
technologies enable a real community where everyone has a voice, and rather
than physically going to a community, the community comes to one’s device. Participants
may not know each other in real life but can share their opinions and achievements,
find inspiration and learn resilience.
However, communities don’t only bring people together. They
can also exclude people and unjustly divide society. They can become
instruments of control, such as political lobbies and insider pressure groups,
or secret societies that owe unquestioning allegiance to fellow members.
Business communities can cooperate to further economic self-interest. Housing
areas can divide the rich and the poor, or become racially or culturally
exclusive. The upper echelons of society
often live in what has come to be known since the 70s as La La land, detached
from the harsh realities of life.
At times of crises whether natural disasters, war or
political turmoil, communities step out of their comfort zone to open up and
share resources, expertise and develop empathy for others. With a world in
perpetual crisis, and internet that makes us all witnesses to the suffering of
others, there is no longer room for exclusive societies. Hilf al-Fudul (league
of the virtuous) was established by the family of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
in 590 AD to establish justice for all through collective action, for both “the
protected neighbour and the unprotected stranger”.
One of the most powerful symbols of complete equality across races and
class is the Ihram, an unstitched white body wrap, essential for all performing
Haj, that erases distinctions between pauper and prince, and sends a message that
all humanity is a single community.
Durriya Kazi
July 13, 2024
Karachi
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