Fatin, Farith, Piesecki and the small world

You know the theory of six degrees of separation? It is said, that there chances are extremely high that you will establish some link with every 6th person you come across. Sure I believed it to some extent. When I'm in Pakistan. it's not surprising to know that someone you know, knows someone else, who knows someone else who knows you. But when that happens half way around the world, it tends to open your mind to a whole new level.

Here I was sitting on the train from Philadelphia to Radnor with Rafael (Philippines) and Fatin (Saudi Arabia) when we got talking about our backgrounds. Only namesake fellows until the time when you sit down and share a cup of Dunkin Donuts Ice Coffee on a train, I mentioned that I had lived in Saudi Arabia and promptly began to describe a dear friend of mine I had grown up with. Not wishing to invade her privacy, but suffice to say that this woman (this friend of mine) is perhaps the only Saudi Woman to have been sent to Oxford to complete her PhD. I said this much, when Fatin broke into a smile and yelled out her name. "You know her!!?? I know her too!!!" and there. The link had been established. A few moments later, it turned out that Fatin had regularly interacted with two cousins of mine, and I thought I would have a heart attack. Could the world really be that small? The answer to that question obviously doesn't end there...

The first evening I was there at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia, I met with Farith (Malaysia) - Turned out I had interviewed Mr Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim a year earlier on his brief trip to Karachi - Mr Ibrahim was the ex-deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia until the problems in Malaysia broke out. Farith's father worked with Mr Ibrahim. Perhaps not as direct a link as with Fatin, but we had SOMEONE in common.

But the incident that almost pulled the floor from under my two pretty feet, was this one - At the Trustees Dinner, last week in Philadelphia, there would have been about a hundred people filling up that room. I met with people from all over, and then decided to turn around to meet a very dignified woman. Without paying attention to her name, I shook her outstretched hand and introduced myself. When she introduced herself, I focused on her name tag and asked her if she knew of a Nicole Piaeseki. "Why yes! She is my daughter!" I couldn't help but laugh and then said, "I don't believe this..." I had interviewed Ms Nicole Piaeseki during the MAP Conference in Karachi, Pakistan as the VP Marketing of Boeing, as a leader and one of the team of people who helped to turn Boeing around.. I had met with her, chatted with her and caught her interview on tape and made it a part of my Image Building video. Do you see the reason I am so excited?

The moral of this brief bloggy (a blog-story) is simple: there is someone out there who knows you... or has a link to you. I disagree with Thomas Friedman's title "The World is Flat" - I believe that the world is just tight, small and deep. The deeper you dig and explore, the more links and commonalities you find.

More later!

Dorrie Friend on Sunday March 25, 2007

When the Eisenhower Fellowships handed me a sheet of paper with a brief about Dr Theodore Friend, here's what they used to descibe him: Teacher, Historian and Novelist. In my opinion, they missed out a couple of descriptive terms: How about, 'the most interesting and insightful person you will ever meet'? I think that pretty much does the job.

One of the reasons I really looked forward to coming onto the fellowship was to be able to meet people. People who had opinions and beliefs and an objective view of pretty much any topic relating to any part of the world. That's exactly what I got. Dorrie is a former President of the Eisenhower Fellowships and former President of Swarthmore College. His books, Between Two Empires: The Ordeal of the Philippines and The Blue-Eyed Enemy: Japan Against the West in Java and Luzon have been master works - He has been a Fullbright Scholar, Rockerfeller Foundation Fellow at International Relations, amongst other honorariums. His interest in the South Asian region was the reason the four of us were meeting over lunch on Sunday afternoon.

Fatin (Saudi Arabia), Rafael (Philippines) and myself ventured over to the suburban train station. Of course this entry would be incomplete if I didn't tell you that this trip was great fun because of the accutely organized navigational skills of Rafael. In fact, I don't think I have ever come across anyone so organized! With his mental compass and pre-purchased tickets, Rafael led us towards Radnor Chester Road in Villanova.

The train experience itself was fun and gave room for some reflection on the issue of public transport in places like Karachi. I don't think I have actually ever travelled on a train so this was a fun first. But my limited experience about the efficiency of the train system or even the public transport system, has been impressive. How does a train ensure its arrival to a station at a time like 142pm and still be exactly on time? Huh!

Regardless, Dr Friend took us around to show us his home (photographs up on the picasaweb.google.com/rgarib in the DORRIE FRIEND Album) and we talked about our perceptions and views the entire time. Everything from current events to past experiences, leaders and history of our countries. Each time the conversation touched upon the subject of Foreign Policy, Dr Friend had an interesting observation to make. The fact that Dorrie sits on a Foreign Policy ThinkTank and has so much experience in various regions, only helps him to draw conclusions based on insights and a wealth of experiences he depends on.

Of course, our discussions varied from country to country in the South Asian region and was, quite aptly, situated at a Chinese restaurant.

Please write to me if you have specific questions about the conversation since we spoke for almost 3 hours (over some of the best Eidelweiss I have ever tasted!), but the conversation made me think of a lot of issues at hand. I'd like to share one important lesson that was highlighted through the conversation - The whole world is a huge puzzle. It has links. In fact, most countries share a similar progression at different times, depending on what period in history they are at present. This should make the lay person think that countries have the benefit of learning from mistakes that other countries may have made earlier by studying their pasts and drawing similarities, strengths and linking them with weaknesses from their own. However few countries seem to look at the big picture when making a political or economic decision and often, repeating mistakes which could have been avoided. It's amazing how much information is available and accessible, and even more astounding, how much of it is overlooked and ignored for one reason or the other.

Dorrie is working on an interesting book I know I will want to get a copy of when it comes out, focusing on Women in 5 different Islamic countries. It would also be interesting what his thoughts about meeting Fatin and me, once our meet had come to a close. We too, have the benefit of hindsight.