TAMPA – The ‘Florida Pakistani Community’ celebrated Lok Virsa on Saturday evening at the USF campus.
Lok Virsa is a celebration of Pakistani culture and everything they stand for and organizers and participants said this is more important than ever after students were harassed on the USF campus.
What they’re saying:
“It’s more important to show up after what has happened just to show that we are all about peace,” said Ayaesha Syed, a participant.
“None of that hinders or make us worry that oh, what happened,” said Saqlain Syed, a participant. “This is just an individual thing and things like that will be there and everywhere to be honest. It’s not something we’re gonna just go sit back and just not now.”
The Lok Virsa cultural celebration showcased many positives from the Muslim and Pakistani community right here in Tampa Bay.
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Big picture view:
“We want to celebrate our heritage and connect that to local communities and basically help with the integration of different cultures,” said Addie Javed, the Co-Founder of the Florida Pakistani Community organization. “I believe that’s what makes America so great.”
There was music and art as well as live performances on display at the event.
“I also have one of my key speakers who’s gonna actually be talking about the culture and heritage of Pakistan,” Javed said. “And why it is so important and so crucial for people to understand where we came from and where we are in this great country.”
The goal was to celebrate the rich history of the Pakistani culture.
“They should not be feeling like all of a sudden they popped up in the US, and they don’t know where their parents came from,” said Imtiaz Ranjha, the Director of International Affairs for the Florida Pakistani Community organization. “So while they are being, as a proud American, they should also be proud of their culture, heritage, their foundation.”
Organizers and participants reiterated one point over and over again. They stand for peace and all are welcome at this event and all in the future.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.