Coming Home

Well, this will be the last Broonpooper for some time. I'm leaving for Toronto in the wee hours--and not a moment too soon. It's been as inspiring as it has been infuriating, at once awesome and awful. The joys of new foods, new cultures, new beards... and the terror of senseless violence, the stress of constant fear and suspicion, not to mention the hardships of travel. But of course it's hardship entre guillemets... none of my occasional inconveniences or discomforts could compare to the challenges faced daily by 99% of the people whose lives briefly intersected mine. As always I'm so grateful, not only for the conveniences of home, but also for the idea of home... the very concept of Canada as a multiethnic, multiracial and religiously tolerant society where no-one will be whipped because she laughed in the street or shot because he shaved. Hopefully the TV and radio stories I'll be telling over the next several months won't just fill airtime, but will inspire others to work for change. 

Here are some selected pictures from my last week in Pakistan.