Courtesy Daily Dawn

Pakistani community in the United States is growing at a fast pace. A recent survey pointed out that the combined output of Pakistani Americans in pure financial terms now equals the GDP of Pakistan.

It is indeed gratifying to note that we have excelled as individuals in a society based on puritan ethics of hard work and service with dedication. However, we live in complex times, and today our self-image is dependent upon more than our personal success.

It is our collective image that is continuously taking a battering. Media is in the centre of this onslaught on our identity both as Muslims and as Pakistanis.

Unfortunately, to this day we have failed to interact with the American media as a community and thus it is no wonder that we have emerged as its helpless victims.

It is not that we are not aware of this predicament. Every dinner and iftar party is filled with frustrated analyses and suggestions regarding the problems we face. But then our individualistic efforts never move beyond this stage. If we do not have any collective plan to deal with the problems affecting us, then is it surprising that day after day articles and editorials take liberty to paint and project us the way they like.

Media is not a simple reflection of external reality. Far from it: it continuously assembles and repackages facts and then presents them as gems of truth. To a great extent, it is also driven by special interest groups that pursue their agendas by means of control and dissemination of information.

And all of us know there are such groups within the United States that have a strong vested interest in representing us in a distorted light as a people and in shaping perceptions in a way that brings us out as bad or evil.

This is a dangerous situation. If we still fail to come out to defend ourselves more forcefully, then noose will continue to tighten around our necks. We need to engage the editors of newspapers and producers of television programmes, in a proper but assertive manner, so that they know that we are here, are aware of their propaganda and are mindful of the way they are presenting us.

We must remember that much of the comment about us is also based on plain ignorance. It is our responsibility to inform them more methodically about us.

It is time to raise our distinct American voices to let them know that we have matured from the stage of individuals to that of a community that is an important part of the American mosaic and is proud of its role in the world.

Noam Chomsky said, "Citizens of the democratic societies should undertake a course of intellectual self-defence to protect themselves from manipulation and control, and to lay the basis for meaningful democracy."

The only way this can be achieved is through media awareness. It is important to understand that every community and interest group has its own view of the process of history. When a group is weak to and fails to present its own interpretation of its history, then others take the lead in presenting it according to their own biases and perceptions.

That is precisely what is happening here and we are being pushed to a corner of insignificance by the manufacturers of a specific point of view by the US media.

It is precisely for this reason that the Pakistani community needs to be proactive in finding ways to engage the media. First, we need to distinguish between facts and opinions, ask ourselves if what we are seeing and hearing is the reality about us and then react by writing to the respective media outlets by voicing our opinion as a community.

We need to tell them that an alternate view also exists; reality is always multidimensional.

A group of Pakistani professionals formed the Association of Pakistani Professionals with the sole purpose of representing Pakistan and its people to the western media. AOPP, a New York-based think-tank, focuses on the image of Pakistan in the western world.

It strives to inform decision makers on Capitol Hill and editors of important publications of the important and difficult role Pakistan plays in the region.

The main objective of the group is to closely monitor reporting and news analysis by media outlets in reference to Pakistan and its interests in the United States.

AOPP responds to any media item, news analysis, remarks by Senators or congressional representatives in which inaccurate and distorted views are expressed about Pakistan and its people.

The group writes replies, rebuttals and clarifications with the help of volunteer writers who counter the biased propaganda and present an accurate version of the issue at hand.

It is imperative that we roll up our sleeves and participate actively in projecting and presenting the true picture of Pakistan; a country that has always fulfilled its obligations to the international community in spite of being in a very difficult and unstable region.