Geckos & Guns: THE PAKISTAN YEARS by Sharon Bazant

Author:Sharon Bazant [Bazant, Sharon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781647193188
Google: bU5AzgEACAAJ
Publisher: Booklocker
Published: 2021-02-15T23:35:19.777441+00:00

CHAPTER 22—THE SCARS

The next few months went by in a painful blur. We took our lawyer’s advice and prepared to send Jason back to Canada. We knew this was the right decision in terms of protecting him, but it was still a tough one. He was in his senior year of high school, one of the most important years of his life. He was now being educated in the American International system, which prided itself on using approaches to education quite different from traditional American and Canadian systems. Jason was doing well in this new environment.

Sending him back to Canada would mean enrolling him in similar subjects (Math, English, etc.) within a vastly different curriculum. A course had been set for Jason when we moved to Islamabad. Now he was being asked to abruptly change direction midstream and still successfully attain the same goal, graduation.

We’d been so pleased, and so had Jason, with the improvement he was showing at the international school. What was going to happen now? Where would he be graduating? Canada or Pakistan? Even more important, would he be able to graduate at all?

We tried to make it as easy as possible for him. Luckily, we knew a Canadian couple, Betty and Lloyd, who were from our hometown and had lived in Pakistan before us. Their daughter was a graduate of ISOI, so they knew and understood both school systems. We asked if Jason could stay with them for a few months and go back to his old high school. They were more than happy to accommodate our request.

We’d met Betty and Lloyd prior to leaving Canada for our Pakistan posting. In 1990, it had been difficult to find any information about Pakistan. This was before the ease of finding information on the internet and there were scant library resources on this topic. Through friends and an old newspaper article, we discovered Betty and Lloyd and were able to discuss their time in Pakistan over afternoon tea. Lloyd retained some consulting connections in Pakistan after his return to Canada, so we saw him periodically after we moved to Islamabad.

Initially, we had thought to ask some of our old friends in Canada if Jason could stay with them for a while, but we didn’t want to impose on them once again. They had kept Jason for a few weeks already when the kids and I were waiting for the Gulf War to end. Besides that, Betty and Lloyd had already experienced an expat life which revolved around taking in house guests whenever necessary. All Islamabad expats hosted students, teachers, and others who came from out-of-town. It was a given.

So, with mixed feelings, we put Jason on a plane armed with wire cutters. I was a mess. Our son was under threat of arrest and we were sending him away with a wired jaw, a potential choking hazard. His physical health was a significant concern, but I also worried about his emotional health. Would he get the love and support he needed in Canada? How long would he be gone? I prayed that he would be okay.

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