Living all her life in Karachi, the biggest and the most progressive city in Pakistan, Ambreen Sikandar never felt the need to think about living anywhere else, until now. Her recent trip to the U.S. has led her to believe that there is still so much in this world that she needs to see and learn from.
Being a journalist in Pakistan, a society that was exposed to free and impartial news channels a decade ago, Ambreen was selected for the ICFJ Journalism Exchange program which provided her an opportunity to visit Washington DC, Virginia, and Denver, and meet people shaping American news media. Working with the professionals was a great feeling.
“I found that American people mostly are open-minded and friendly. The best thing about Americans is that they are a very tolerant society. Only a minority exists that brews hate towards other faiths, however, even after my best efforts, I was unable to find a single hater,” shared Ambreen.
Ambreen feels that Pakistani journalists can learn a lot from America. The U.S. news media has a long history of professionalism which needs to be adopted by all news outlets in Pakistan. An average American journalist work to pass authentic information to the masses. “What I saw here was that people are true to their profession without any prejudice. This quality is perhaps why the American nation has been so successful for so many years.”
She also met some of the finest people and got to discuss key factors regarding the news media in Pakistan and how we can work together to bring positive change in the region through professional and accurate reporting. “I owe the US exchange program a lot for this tremendous opportunity,” said Ambreen.
“I would love to revisit and see the rest of the country and meet the American people. I am going home with lots of love from the United States of America and expect my new American friends to visit Pakistan and give us a chance to show our hospitality.” Ambreen.
