The Netherlands-Belgium border: Can Pakistan have similar relations with its neighbours?

The only thing dividing Belgium and Netherland is a single road. Crossing countries is now just a stroll down the park

Moina Rauf December 28, 2013
It was a hot day, by European standards at least. I took the bus and embarked on a journey of about an hour. I had a book to read but the company on my bus seemed far more interesting.

I looked around and saw a couple that appeared to be Muslim, as the woman was wearing the typical headscarf. They were middle-aged and had a calmness about them. A young man entered the bus, headphones on, busy on his phone. He was cheerful and energetic and appeared to be from a Middle Eastern origin. The couple and this man knew each other.

They greeted one another by saying Assalamu Alaikum and started talking in Arabic for a while, till the bus took off again and the young man returned to his seatA little further from me was a woman, perhaps in her forties, belonging from an African origin, stylishly dressed with high heels and long dangling earrings. She wore a sleeveless, bright dress and there was a tattoo of Jesus Christ on her left arm.

Right in front of her was a man, perhaps from a central Asian country. He seemed to be very cheerful and was busy talking on his phone in his native language. Some seats away, another man, I guess from Turkey, looked serious and focused towards his journey.

There were two girls, in their early twenties, brightly dressed and bursting with the joys of youth. They were busy in their conversations and looked excited about the journey. Some older ladies were also travelling on the bus. Smartly dressed, they were relaxed and seemed ready to enjoy.

In around 40 minutes, we were going to cross the border between Belgium and Netherlands. This wasn’t a tourist sightseeing bus; rather it was a regular one that commutes regularly between the two neighbouring countries.

Dutch side of the border. Photo: Moina Rauf

Crossing the border was serious business for me, keeping our own border tensions back at home in mind.

Having lived in Lahore almost all my life, I never felt that I was living so close to another country or even that a separate nation exited next to mine. When one thinks of ‘borders’, it always brings about the fear of war or smuggling or maybe Partition along with divided families. It has never occurred to me that a border could also be a happy place.

Belgian side of the border. Photo: Moina Rauf

In just those 45 minutes of my travel, my view on borders and relationships between two countries changed from fear to friendliness. It was something which I had never thought of before; the border was only a few kilometres away. It is funny but perhaps an Indian or an Irani is more likely to be foreigner to me than a gora! I cannot imagine taking a casual trip to Amritsar for shopping or sightseeing in Zahedan! It is sad that we miss out economically by limiting ourselves through borders but what we miss out culturally is perhaps worse.

Dutch side of the border. Photo: Moina Rauf

Belgium and Netherlands are part of the border-free Schengen area but it was an incredible experience passing through a border without any ceremonial checks. The only thing one notices is a huge sign board signifying the start of the Dutch territory and the bus smoothly goes on. The land, the road, the trees and the sky looks exactly the same.

Most of the people travelling on the bus are regular commuters between the two cities/countries. Some travel for work, some for shopping or sometimes, even to receive medical treatment. People use this bus service to run their daily errands and chores. So saying that travelling from one country to another really is just a stroll down the park won’t be an exaggeration.

Belgian side of the border. Photo: Moina Rauf

Being in this bus made it clear to me as to how much the politics and state policies affect the lives of ordinary citizens. The hassle-free travel between the two countries, where everyone on the bus was helping each other regardless of their colour, ethnicity or religion was refreshing to come across. It maybe a normal thing for European countries to be connected like this, but to me, this kind of travelling does not go unnoticed – their value in bringing ease to the ordinary man is awe-striking.

Pak-India Wagah border. Photo: Reuters

The role of the state is to promote its citizens’ wellbeing and ease their lives, which should be the ultimate service of the government towards its people. The bus journey was a small projection of the ethos of peaceful coexistence, with mutual regard for all.

Being in that bus, for a while at least, one could believe that freedom, peace and respect can co-exist, even with borders.
WRITTEN BY:
Moina Rauf An economist and researcher based in Belgium. The love of travel and knowledge of different cultures and people is my real passion and I look forward to compiling a book on my travel experiences at some point in time.
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (44)

Bitter Pill | 10 years ago | Reply Nepal and Bhutan have open borders with India, with no visa restrictions, thousands cross the border everyday. Bangladesh and Pakistan are different since they Islamic nations, which harbor elements that are anti-national. These 2 countries are not entirely politically stable either, though Bangladesh might be slightly better than Pakistan in this regard.
Anooop | 10 years ago | Reply The India-China trade is bigger than entire Pakistani Budget. Enough said.
Pakiboy | 10 years ago The humongous trade deficit, however, definitely tells something. I remember India's army mistook planets for China's spy drones for 6 months? So your point of so-called mutual interest between India and China is as weak as your argument as a whole. I hope rather than worrying about China's growing military potential your country actually does something about the crimes for which is known for in the whole world. .
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