Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Muscat: Indian and Pakistani expatriates said they are living in peace and harmony in Oman despite hostilities back home.
“Peace is the need of the hour in today’s conflict-prone world,” said Manpreet Singh, chairman, Indian Social Club, Salalah.
Imran, an Indian national, who works in the private sector, said: “Back in India I had a different view of Pakistan. From childhood, we don’t look at them as a neighbour, but as a potential threat. But when I moved to Oman my perceptions changed and I could see there is hardly any difference between the two communities.”
For example, here people can see Pakistani woman married to an Indian man, an Indian barber with Pakistani clients, a Pakistani restaurant is full of Indian customers in Ruwi, and so on.
“There is no difference here,” said Zahir, a Pakistani national, who have been living in Oman for the last three decades.
Expats from both the countries feel that peace is exactly what is required and needed right now in the world, adding that the Oman is a perfect example of how various faiths can coexist in one place. “Peace at home begins with providing guidance to children and leading by example as children are the future leaders of the world,” they said.
“It’s all just political stuff that they fool us with back home,” said Rahman, who hails from Pakistan.
“They tell you that people in India are bad, but when you come here you find that we are the same people.
“We’ve always been the same, we’ve got the same culture, the same lifestyle, the same food, so what else do you expect? There’s nothing bad between us.”
Rekha, a housewife who came to Oman from Southern India was of a similar opinion. “We came here to work together, not to fight. That is the main reason. All of us have been told to respect and be friendly with one another right from the time we were children.”
“We’ve all come to Oman from different countries,” added Kaushal from India. “We eat together, we sleep together, and we live together, so there will obviously be friendship between all of us.
“I’ve come from India, he’s come from Pakistan, but how does that matter? If we have good relations with them, things will work out well for us.”
“We’ve left our homes behind us, and we don’t really look at people as if they are Indian or Pakistani,” reflected Jawed. “My children go to Indian schools to take part in competitions with Indian students, and we’ve never thought of people on the basis of their nationality.”
“In my view, most of the Pakistanis here are well educated,” chimed in Hassan. “We have to understand two things: to become friends, firstly you need to be truthful, and then you need to look at people as humans, not whether they are Indians or Pakistanis. First you are a human, only then are you anything else.”
A large number of nationalities, including people of different religions, live in peace here. “The credit goes to the Oman government for creating this culture of harmony,” they said.
