“I am Karachi” campaign helps city reclaim its walls after years of violence and hateful graffiti

By Sana Panjwani

Pakistan has seen its fair share of violence.

Ranging from your average criminal activity to politically-charged confrontations surrounding sectarian divides, these aggressive acts have been unduly accompanied by fear and anger.

The leading sectarian divide in Pakistan between the Muslim Sunnis and Shiites has led to a number of horrific acts of violence, particularly in recent years. Scour the local newspapers and you’re bound to find countless articles outlining the animosity present between these sects.

In fact, you actually don’t have to look beyond the walls of Pakistan to get a glimpse of the open hostility.

Take Karachi, for example. Home to numerous political and ethnic divides, the city is now considered one of the most violent urban centers in the world, its walls peppered with animosity, anti-progress graffiti and, sadly, far too many bloodstains.

However, as bleak as the situation may seem, there are always people who are willing to take action and make a positive difference.

The “I AM KARACHI” campaign is one of those knights in shining armor.

Launched in 2014, the campaign aims to serve as “a platform for organizations and individuals committed to promoting and supporting social and cultural activities as vehicles for peace building by reclaiming public spaces, bringing civil society together, and enhancing public awareness through dialogues and campaigns.” With Karachi’s history of vibrant culture in mind, the campaign is on a mission to revive the city’s forgotten art scene by promoting social and cultural activities and enhance public awareness and advocacy through the involvement of the city’s media, government and civil society.

One of the projects titled “Reimagining the Walls of Karachi” was launched in hopes of bringing a more positive outlook to the streets by repainting the hate graffiti with more lively messages and colors for the city’s 20 million inhabitants. With 200 artists geared up to reclaim the city, the authorities have happily granted them access to 1,600 areas including warehouses, schools, flyovers and underpasses.

Munawar Ali Syed, the leader of the team of artists, is quite optimistic about their venture. “I believe that this will yield good results in the long term,” he said. “When you see positive things around you so your behavior becomes positive and a big change comes along in one’s life.”

By attempting to revive Karachi’s cultural scene, the campaign is already beginning to unify Karachiites and help them regain and strengthen their sense of identity by painting (literally in this case) a more positive and upbeat environment in which the locals can begin to thrive and move forward to a more progressive life, especially the youth. Schoolchildren are also part of the project in an effort to imbue them with a sense of ownership and responsibility to Karachi, encouraging them to embrace their city rather than shun it due to its violent past.

“When they grow up, they will feel that they are comfortable in sort of working for the city — this is like planting a seed to the next generations,” added Syed. This is also an important step towards revitalizing Karachi as it allows its citizens to peacefully take part in an initiative that aims to transform the city into a more peaceful and unified setting.

Wajiha Naqvi, the campaign manager, stated: “With this project, the aim is to reclaim the walls of Karachi that are often covered with hate graffiti towards ethnic groups and political sloganeering, replacing them with images that depict positive values.” For her, the idea is “to evoke a sense of civic activism, unity and interest among the residents of Karachi, inspiring individuals and communities to take ownership by protecting their walls, their spaces and, ultimately, their city.”

Is it enough?

With the objective of this campaign being unification, it does bring up the question whether just repainting the walls is enough.

A naïve response may be yes – that by removing all hate graffiti helps foster a positive environment and allows for the possibility that citizens might approach matters with a more positive outlook.

The campaign, however, aims to do more than paint over the city’s painful history. Just one of many projects underway, the initiative also includes the “Stencil Art Project” and “Banchoon Say Tabdeeli” (roughly translated to “Replacing through Children”) project which involves schoolchildren participating in revitalizing Karachi’s art scene.

The artwork ranges from abstract depictions to inspiring imagery of Pakistan’s former leaders, and also includes simple, lively imagery of elephants. The movement has already begun to receive positive reactions with one of the onlookers stating: “Colorful graffiti allows for a more aesthetic and visually pleasant experience of cities, one that does not impinge upon individual sentiments in any harmful way.”

With more time, people and effort dedicated to the cause, there is hope that Karachi will soon be on its way to become the pride and joy of its citizens and the vibrant cultural center it once was.