#66 - To Sacrifice My OWN Life for Pakistan

Pak-Cord: a Pakistani Podcast

Note: this podcast episode exists in video form on our YouTube channel. We strongly recommend watching the video version, as it has more visual context around this topic. Find the video version on our YouTube channel or use the following link:

https://youtu.be/D4cL62ulDDc

Recently TikTok and other social platforms have exploded with viral memes of Pakistani kids taking pledges on stage at a school event. Popular lines include: "To sacrifice my own life for Pakistan!" "I pledge to be a pilot, and help everyone!" These videos have been traced to an event that took place at PISJES (Pakistan International School Jeddah English Section), in 2011. The school has many events that are often meant to promote Pakistani pride. For better or worse, after going viral this particular event has gained international meme spotlight, as well as criticism due to some of the messages.

In this podcast episode we talk to Areej Khalid, who was one of the students at this school and also was present at this event. Areej answers many of the questions on our minds and offers her perspective on the controversy.

Areej's TikTok Username: areeju.k

IG: jeejskhalid