Atch Kotch Pakistan

【Japanese version→】
The location of Hunza gallery was in the shopping area passed by the government office quarter of Islamabad.  Walking across the brick lane we entered and went up to the second floor.

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After I climbed up the stairs and saw the patterns of some big wall hangings I encountered the style and likeness of Hunza.  The inside of the store the small adorned cases with things like sukizu and Hunza caps and many other things clearly indicated that this gallery earns its name of Hunza Gallery. 

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Among the things displayed in the gallery there might have been handiwork made by Passu women.    The activity of BiBi Circle with assistance from Japan seems to begin to show again improvement as one of the local development movements that can be seen in the Hunza gallery.
However, to our regret the deterioration of Pakistani situation in recent years has discontinued the activity of Japanese NGO(HATH・HATH ).

(Editor・Elena Akari /Photo･Sisso /Writer･Tomiko)

【Japanese version→】
In Passu, there is ‘BiBi Circle’ that is supported by NGO（ＨＡＴＨ・ＨＡＴＨ） of Japan. 　We saw in the south of Passu the notification board of ‘BiBi Circle’ which looked like a photograph.  ‘I bought the Salwar kameez’ that I was wearing at that time in front of the board at “BiBi circle”.(photo①)  The operation center of the ‘BiBi Circle’ was one traditional house near the Hunza river of Passu. (photo②)

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It already got dark when we left to visit ‘BiBi circle’ after the supper.  Women who had walked with the light opened the key to the entrance of the BiBi circle, and we were guided to the inside.

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They were teachers (photograph⑤) at DJ school, a traditional nurse (this side of photograph⑥) and a woman who had helped when the house was constructed.  ‘BiBi circle’ of Passu seems to have been managed chiefly by them.

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A big bundle of arabesque pattern cloth was untied in front of us. A lot of handicrafts that were decorated with colorful embroideries filled the table beyond capacity.  They were works of women of Passu, for example wall hangings, bags of various sizes, purses, etc.  The pattern of different embroideries seemed to be typical to this region. 

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A suki-zu and several Salwar kameez were put on the next table. 

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These goods made by women of BiBi circle are offered to the tourists who visit Passu. They are also sold in “Hunza gallery” in Islamabad. Mr. Meharban purchased some of these goods for the exhibition sales at “Hunza gallery” that he manages.

(Editor・Elena Akari /Photo･Sisso /Writer･Tomiko)

【Japanese version→】
‘After school’ class was opened on the second floor of the community center on Saturday afternoon.  There was a boy who was playing with a red balloon.  The atmosphere in ‘After school’ class was not affected by any restriction.

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About 40 children of small age gathered for the ‘After school’ on this day.  They were separated in several groups.  They sang songs, and were reading books of Ismaili teaching .

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The book that children were reading was written in Urdu.  Urdu is the official language of Pakistan.

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Among the books that the teacher had shown us, there were books written in English, too.

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Passu’s children speak in Wakhi language at home, while Urdu and English are studied in school.

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Photograph⑫ shows girls who after finishing the ‘After school’ class have descended from the second floor.  Looking at their smiles I felt that ‘After school’ had a good influence for the children identity formative years.

(Editor・Elena Akari /Photo･Sisso /Writer･Tomiko)

【Japanese version→】
Passu Community Center is a two- storied building next to Jamaat khana.  We visited the office of Passu Reform Pannel(PRP) that was located on the first floor of Passu Community Center.(photo②)

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In the office, Mr. Karim was waiting for us.(photo③)  As his official position, Mr. Karim is President, and the predominant role is to inform the government about the villagers’ necessities and requirements.
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On the shelf of his office, there were various books, and among them there was also a picture book of Japan.  PRP is an organization of Passu made 11 years ago.  The constituent members are 12 in number.(photo⑤)  The election is done every five years.  From six clans, called Kutooru, two representatives, a young person and a senior person are chosen from each .  Before PRP was set up, there was another organization called “Marka.  In this organization 13 to 18 persons of each ‘kutooru’ had to decide matters concerning the village.  For instance, the time when land in the village had to be distributed.

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This is a map related to the construction of a water service. This map is 17000 feet in total length and it was pasted onto the wall.  This project begun nearly three years ago, and after its completion all villagers are able to use the water service.  In this project, the grant-in-aid from Pakistani government was 700,000 rupees and the villagers offered to do volunteer labor.

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This information pasted on the wall is the domestic animal ownership list and tips problem solving in Passu. 

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PDO (Passu Development Organization) was organized nine years ago, and PRP is its subordinate.   ’Kemiti’ was previous to PDO.  In each family a member of PDO has to pay a contribution of about 300 rupees and one person per family must take part in the organization.  The man in each family bears the responsibility with the organization though the woman can also attend the gatherings.  PRP is an organization to deal with the local affairs while PDO is a means of access to get help from the Pakistani government and foreign countries.

(Editor・Elena Akari /Photo･Sisso /Writer･Tomiko)