Bay Area Community Celebrates 14 th August at Santa Clara County HQ
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali

 

The San Francisco Bay Area Pakistani American Community celebrated the 75 th Independence Day of Pakistan with great enthusiasm and fervor on Sunday, August 14 at the Santa Clara County HQ.

The colorful event was attended by Pakistani Americans from near and far. Some of them travelled 100 miles from Sacramento.

The Independence Day event was sponsored by the Santa Clara County and organized by the American Muslim Voice in collaboration with the AMV supporters and well-wishers.

The program began with the raising of American and Pakistani flags. Machelle Ahmed thrilled the audience with her singing of the Star Spangled Banner. She is a talented young lady who will be starting a Musical Theatre BFA program at Boston Conservatory at the Berklee college of Music in September.

Asad Khan, engineer, from Sacramento amused the audience with his presentation of Pakistan’s national anthem. English translation of the Pakistani Anthem was presented by Hibah Waheed,a UC Davis graduate.

Farha Andrabi was the MC of the colorful event.
Addressing the gathering attending the flag raising ceremony, Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee said that for many, many years Pakistani Americans have contributed to the American economy, specializing in agriculture, mining and logging industries.

Lee said Pakistani Americans represent a broad sector of professionals in fields such as medicine, law, business, education, government, technology, social services, non-profits, and more.

He went on to say that Pakistani Americans have worked to improve community relations through the building of coalitions and alliances and the promotion of cultural understanding. They have played a significant role in immigration reform and other social justice concerns.

About the independence of Pakistan, Lee said he was born in Hong Kong when it was a British Colony before he moved to this free land. “So, I know what freedom is.” He said that freedom and independence should not be taken for granted. He stressed the importance of voting and said that “you should vote so that your voice is heard”.

Otto Lee presented the Commendation certificate of the Santa Clara County to Abdus Sattar Ghazali, Communications Director of the American Muslim Voice.

Earlier, Khalid Saeed, President of the American Muslim Voice, welcomed Supervisor Otto Lee and said it is heartening that the Santa Clara County has been sponsoring the flag-raising ceremony for the last ten years.

National songs - Millie Nagamay - were another enlivening feature of the Independence Day program, They included:
Jeevay Jeevay Jeevay Pakistan by Almas Shabvani and company

Sohni Dhurti Allah Rakhay by Almas Shabvani and company

Tera Pakistan Hai Ye, Mera Pakistan Hai by Shahida Mailk and company

Yeh Watan Tumahara Hai by Asad Khan and company

Tere Bina Dil Na Lage by Asad Khan and company

Dil Dil Pakistan by Asad Khan and company

The Pakistani cultural event, Main Bi Pakistan Hoon, perhaps stole the show with its beautiful catwalk of ladies in traditional Pakistani dresses. Nusrat Qureshi donned the Sindihi dress, Fari Khanthe Punjabi dress, Ayeza Taimoor the Balochi dress, Nusreen Khan the Pathan dress, and Zeba Khan the Kashmiri dress.

Young Pakistan Americans spoke about their experiences. High School senior, Abdullah Navaid spoke about the life experiences of a Pakistani American. Zunish Sohail Sardar gave another look at the life experiences of a Pakistani American raised in California. After graduating Zunish went to Pakistan to teach at LUMS University. 12-year-old Ameera Amin spoked about Miss Fatima Jinnah, sister of the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah.