Online course developed by late Dr Ruqaiya Hasan kicks off in Pakistan

Posted on February 11, 2017 by beenasarwar
feb2015-chris-m-rh-and-mak-photo-by-lexie-don

Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Thrilled and excited to share this news from my mother, Zakia Sarwar, founder member of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT), about the online course for teachers’ professional deveopment that was her sister, my khala ammi Dr Ruqaiya Hasan’s dream

PRESS RELEASE: 11 February 2017

Professional development online course for teachers in Pakistan kicks off

Project posthumously takes forward globally renowned linguist Dr Ruqaiya Hasan’s dream and intellectual legacy

KARACHI: The posthumous launch of an online course for Pakistani teachers designed by the internationally renowned linguist Dr Ruqaiya Hasan kicks off February 11, 2017, taught by Dr. Carmel Cloran, Dr. Hasan’s colleague and co-researcher from Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. Continue reading →

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R.I.P Ruqaiya Hasan: A life well lived

Posted on June 28, 2015 by beenasarwar
Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Ruqaiya Hasan: Born -1931, Pratapgarh, India; studied at Allahabad University (1953); Government College Lahore (1958); Edinburgh University (PhD in Linguistics, 1964). Retired as Emeritus Professor Macquarie University. Passed on: June 24, 2015, Sydney, Australia.

She seemed to be getting progressively better since the life-threatening respiratory infection she’d contracted after receiving radiotherapy for her advanced stage lung cancer (she survived rectal cancer in the 1980s). I had rushed over to Sydney to be with her, not knowing whether she’d still be there when I landed. If she’s still around, I’ll get to see her, if not, I’d be there for my cousin Neil and Uncle Michael, I reasoned. We knew, as did she, that it was a terminal disease but the rate she was improving led the doctors to add a chart to her hospital room stating her expected date of discharge as: “(?) 07/07/2015. Destination: Home”. We knew she wouldn’t be with us long, but at least some months seemed assured.

Continue reading →

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An Ozzie update, and thanks

Posted on June 19, 2015 by beenasarwar
Sydney, Feb 17 2015: Christian Matthiessen, Ruqaiya Hasan and Michael Halliday at a symposium in honour of Michael in his 90th year. Photo by Lexie Don, courtesy Frances Christie.

Sydney, Feb 17 2015: Chris Mathieson, Ruqaiya Hasan and Michael Halliday at a symposium in honour of Michael in his 90th year. Photo by Lexie Don, courtesy Frances Christie.

A quick update from Oz: my aunt Ruqaiya Hasan is improving, slowly but steadily. She was discharged from hospital and is now in another to receive palliative rehabilitation care until she is strong enough to return home, which the doctors hope will be in a couple of weeks. This really is nothing short of a miracle given the condition she was in last week. The other good news is that my mother Zakia Sarwar in Karachi has just got the visa and should be arriving on Sunday. Many people worked to make that happen in days rather than the month it usually takes. A multi-effort led to Ammi’s pre-visa medical exam being moved from July 4 to June 17. A heartfelt thanks to the friends in Islamabad who kept calling the Australian embassy, the linguists who appealed to the Australian government, and those who used their contacts in the Australian foreign office to expedite the visa.

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An unplanned visit to Oz and my mother’s appeal

Posted on June 14, 2015 by beenasarwar
M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan, at a conference in Sun Yat Sen University, 2012

M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan, at a conference in Sun Yat Sen University, 2012

Sydney, Australia, June 13, 2015.

I’ve been promising for years I’ll visit them in Sydney but as things happen, one ends up keeping a promise only when disaster strikes. A couple of weeks ago, doctors said that that Khala Ammi’s discomfort was due not to reflux (a digestive disorder) as diagnosed earlier but advanced stage lung cancer.

“I’m 84,” she said. “Everyone has to go, but I had always hoped that when my time came it would be quick.” That’s not something cancer is known for but we don’t always get to make these choices. Continue reading →

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‘And there shall be more caravans of passion…’

Posted on March 16, 2010 by beenasarwar

Title for documentary 'Aur nikleiN Ge Ushhaq ke Qafley' - design by K.B. Abro

Several items uploaded to the Dr Sarwar blog over the last month:

1. Learning from history in an age of bombs
– my article based on research done for the 30-min documentary on the 1953 student movement directed by Sharjil Baloch, that I produced (we are making some final changes after which it will be available for distribution upon request).

2. Articles specially written for the Jan 9, 2010 Event Book on the 1953 student movement:
– Keep the fire burning – End Note by Zakia Sarwar
– Continuing Stories: Social Action and Change – by Ruqaiya Hasan
– The High School Students’ Association and my rite of passage – by Ghazi Salahuddin

3. Scans of the Event Book, Jan 9, 2010 – Copies available upon request

Filed under: Progressive politics, Student politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

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