Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 236

“I wanted to be a singer. I loved music. I practiced all the...

“I wanted to be a singer. I loved music. I practiced all the time and worked on writing songs for myself. I loved sad songs especially. But the community put so much pressure on my mother. My father passed away when I was twelve. And everyone kept telling my mother that a girl could not be something like a singer without her father’s permission. My father wouldn’t have minded. He was always so supportive of me. But my mom was so worried about what people would think. She begged me to stop. She grew so nervous that I finally told her, ‘It’s OK, Mom. I’ll stop.’ Now I just listen to music. It’s too sad for me to sing anymore.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“There were no paved roads here when I was a boy. We had...

“There were no paved roads here when I was a boy. We had to walk for 3 days to get to places that only take 2 hours now. There was never any money for school. We had no wealth or property. Beginning at six years old, I cleaned dishes at a restaurant until 9 pm. Then I would go to sleep and start again. All my money went to my parents. I’d hear stories about cities and airplanes, but they seemed like fairy tales. I’d dream of visiting these places, but before I could get too far, I’d be hungry again. So I grew up thinking that the entire world was like our valley. I thought all children lived like me. Then one day when I turned 16, I had the opportunity to visit to the city of Gilgit. I couldn’t believe it. I saw a boy eating at a restaurant with his father. He was my age. He was wearing a school uniform. I broke down in tears.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“What’s your goat’s...

“What’s your goat’s name?”
“Goat.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“One beautiful thing about advocating for the poor is that...

“One beautiful thing about advocating for the poor is that feminist ideals are advanced naturally. In order to fight eviction from their homes, women whose patriarchy has kept them secluded have been allowed to emerge into public life. Their husbands have been forced to choose their homes over their idea of honor. Even within my organization, the patriarchy is being broken down. Energetic young females are beginning to share influence with older male members. When you’re in a tough fight for a common cause, you can’t afford to be choosy about where the best ideas are coming from.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“It’s a difficult time to be a socialist. The left has...

“It’s a difficult time to be a socialist. The left has been depleted everywhere else, but in Pakistan it’s been decimated. I belong to an organization called the Awami Worker’s Party, and right now is a crucial moment for us. We are trying to resist slum evictions in Islamabad. There is no affordable housing in the city, so servants and laborers huddle together in informal settlements called kachi abadis, which have no water or electricity. Recently, the Islamabad high court has issued an eviction notice, and the land is being sold out beneath them. They are defending their actions by saying that terrorists hide in the slums. Right now an operation is underway to remove the slum inhabitants by force.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

“The most important thing about swimming is to not be...

“The most important thing about swimming is to not be afraid.”
“What advice do you have for people who are afraid?”
“Just don’t be afraid. Or you’ll drown.”

(Hunza Valley, Pakistan)

Continuing in the tradition of last summer, I’m going to be...

Continuing in the tradition of last summer, I’m going to be travelling during the month of August and posting stories from overseas. Only this time I’ll be visiting two countries instead of trying to span the world, because that was exhausting, and it also caused my poor senile dog to forget my existence. The first stop is Pakistan. Hope you enjoy.

“I had a nanny named Carmela Geribelli. She was a...

“I had a nanny named Carmela Geribelli. She was a Sicilian woman who lived across the hall from me at my apartment building in Queens. We lived in 2B and she lived in 2M. My parents were always working so I’d live with her during the week. She always had me pick her horse when she bet on the races. And whenever something bad happened, for some reason, she’d scream: ‘Shit on toast!’ All my extended family lived in Korea, so I even called her ‘Grandmother.’ I’d spend every Christmas with my Korean family, and every Christmas Eve I’d spend with my Italian family across the hall.”

“I found out my boyfriend was cheating when I got...

“I found out my boyfriend was cheating when I got Chlamydia.”

“There were two young people fighting at the apartment I was...

“There were two young people fighting at the apartment I was staying in, so the police came. They took all our IDs and saw that my green card had expired, so they took me to jail. It was my fault for not renewing it, but I really thought they’d let me go after a few days. I couldn’t afford a lawyer. When they finally assigned me one, she told me that I was going to have to stay in jail and that it was going to take over a year to sort out. I couldn’t believe it. There were four times that I went in front of the judge: first they presented the case, next they figured out the charges, next they started working on the case, then they made a decision. But there were several months between each court appearance. I had never gotten in trouble before. Just a few misdemeanors when I was younger. But I had to wait in jail for 18 months. It was my fault, though. I should have renewed my green card.”