From Pakistan to France with Love
ISLAMABAD -- At a time when almost all the countries have issued strict travel advisory against traveling to violence-hacked Pakistan a French doctor is championing a personal mission to show the "real" face of this South Asian Muslim country not only to his countrymen, but the entire West.
"Pakistan is a misunderstood country in the western world, where people think there is nothing except suicide bombings and terrorists attacks," DR Vincent Loos told IslamOnline.net in an exclusive interview.
Loos, an intensive care specialist, has just finished his three-year work at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.
He has decided to drive his way to his home country in a 25-year-old Volkswagen Beetle, commonly known as "Foxy Shahzadi", which is painted in an explosion of trippy colors.
Loos and two Pakistani friends, who make up the Art on Wheels tour team, drove 1500 kilometers from Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub, to the capital city of Islamabad.
"This journey has been a great source of motivation for me as I had as many as possible opportunities to talk to the common people of Pakistan and their potential to become a great nation," said in excited Loos.
"We travelled through villages and towns and have been able to bring smiles to the faces of the common people, who are the real assets of this country."
The team will then drive through Iran to Turkey, Greece, Italy and France.
Shahzadi (princess) will culminate its 6000-mile journey arriving in the French capital Paris after two weeks.
"Besides that, our tour aims to achieve the promotion of Pakistan-French friendship, inter-cultural harmony, the spirit of adventure and determination."
The tour is sponsored by the French government and some local and foreign corporations.
The Art on Wheels tour team also includes Dr. Haroon Khan, a consultant pathologist, and Salman Rashid, an information architect.
Soft Imagine
"We want to promote the soft image of Pakistan," said Loos.
"This is a culture-rich country, where a majority of people are modest, hospitable and art- lover," he insisted.
"They have a great sense of art and culture. But unfortunately Westerners do not know much about them. This is my mission to acquaint them about the real faces of Pakistan.
The team is equipped with an ample stock of spare parts and a line of Urdu poetry inscribed on the bonnet: Maan Ki dua- Jannat ki Hawa (Every mother's prayer is a breeze from paradise).
Beetle Princess is covered in a psychedelic array of flowers, waterfalls and the faces of famous Pakistani personalities, including the father of nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
"I want to tell the world that there are poets, thinkers, great sportsmen, artists, painters and social workers, who love their country and have the potential to move forward," said Loos.
"This journey has been a great source of motivation for me as I had as many as possible opportunities to talk to the common people of Pakistan and their potential to become a great nation."
