Bucks County Herald – November 26, 2009

Anwar Kemal – Part One

Dear Friends,

Good morning. As President Obama struggles with choices about the Afghanistan War, a close friend from Pakistan visited us in Quakertown last week. Mighty Betsy and I’ve known Anwar Kemal since 1963 when he came to Philadelphia to study at the University of Pennsylvania. Following his graduation, he joined the Pakistani Foreign Service and served in posts all over the world. Six years ago, he retired as the Ambassador to Egypt.

Anwar’s story is fascinating…the knowledge he has about his part of the world is impressive. Anwar gave a talk about Pakistan and Afghanistan in Philadelphia last week. I’ll give you that report in the December 3 issue.

In 1963, Anwar Kemal came to Philadelphia because he won the John Boyer Scholarship, a student exchange program which Francis Boyer, the former Chairman of the pharmaceutical giant Smith Kline, established in memory of his son. In 1954, John Boyer died in an automobile accident when he and I were sophomores at Penn. His father knew that John loved travel so Francis Boyer created the scholarship to further peace and understanding in the world.

Every year since 1955, one American has won the right to study for a year anywhere in the world and one foreigner has come to the United States for a year at Penn. About 120 young men have followed Francis Boyer’s dream of making the world safer. In my opinion, of all the John Boyer scholars, Anwar Kemal’s story is the most compelling.

Pakistan is a fascinating country. Consider its borders: its bitter rival India lies on the East; Iran on the West; Afghanistan on the Northwest, China on the Northeast; and the Arabian Sea on the south. Pakistan has a population of 176 million, the sixth largest in the world. Less than four percent of the population is over 64. The median age of Pakistan is just 20!

Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal. One of the major alarms facing world leaders is: what would happen to Pakistan’s nuclear weapons if the government fell under the control of fanatics?

Because half of the adult population cannot read, you can understand why a Pakistani with a college degree is so valued. In addition to a Batchelor’s Degree, Anwar Kemal has a Masters Degree and a Ph. D from Penn. He speaks fluent English, Urdu (his native Pakistani language), Hindi (the language of India) and Chinese. He was the first scholar from a Moslem country.

Although the Boyer scholarship duration is just one year, Anwar stayed for four [years]. Just as important, he traveled throughout the United States from coast to coast. As you’ll read in a minute, those academic and travel years paid tremendous dividends for America.

In 1968, Anwar joined the Pakistan Foreign Service. In the intervening years, he’s served in China, Canada, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the United Nations, and Egypt. Heading the Pakistani delegation to Egypt was especially significant because Egypt is recognized as the intellectual capital of the Moslem world.

To me, Anwar’s assignment in China is the most fascinating chapter in his life’s story. In 1969, Pakistan sent him to Beijing, the capital of China. Anwar served in the Pakistan embassy until 1973. In the 1960’s, China was very isolated. Its close allies were few...North Korea and Pakistan. True, the Soviet Union was an ally but the relationship between the two giants was strained.

Although Anwar was only in his twenties, he had access to the Chinese heavyweights who ran the country. Anwar has pictures of himself with Chou En-Lai, the Chinese Prime Minister under Mao Zedong. Anwar was in Beijing when Henry Kissinger made his secret visit to China in 1971. President Nixon soon followed and the relationship between America and China was reestablished.

Did Anwar Kemal have anything to do with this important event? I think so. Chou En-Lai was known as a brilliant statesman and tactician…one who coupled patience with careful research. Chou knew that Anwar was a trusted ally who had tremendous knowledge about America…China’s most important international rival. Did Chou have conversations with Anwar about America? I’ll bet that he did.

“What kind of place is the United States,” Chou En-Lai might have asked Anwar? “What are Americans like? Tell me about the Northeast, the West, the South; the politics, the industrial and agricultural might,” Chou might have wondered? After all, during his four years in the U.S., Anwar traveled throughout America. He’d driven more than 9,000 miles in his second hand Volkswagen.

Did any of these conversations happen? Anwar will not confirm my suspicions. He’s very shy.

But the facts of the change in relations between America and China are undeniable.

In the book which celebrates the 50^th Anniversary of the John Boyer Scholarship, Anwar wrote the following: “I have worked all of my life to promote peace among peoples and nations, thereby fulfilling one of the many goals of the John Boyer Scholarship.”

Anwar’s world service is continuing. He’s on the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. He also is the language editor of the Swedish Bulletin, an English language quarterly journal published in Stockholm. Anwar is a member of the advisory board of a trading and consulting firm in Pakistan.

You can understand why Anwar Kemal is my favorite example of how one young man could have such a positive influence on the world.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith