Like me, many of you might have seen the pictures of Dubai when it included a few old houses and few huts were being established on the beach. Population was limited and people mostly depended on fishing, or other local sources of income. Oil was discovered but its mass production and export had not started. Then suddenly, there was a blast in the form of refining and export of oil and money started flowing from different corners of the world. This money brought a lot many skilled people from different corners of the world who wanted to cash their skills and acquire their share in this inflow of prosperity. The money obtained from the oil exports became a good source to invest in numerous other industries and then it emerged as one of the rapidly growing economies of the world. Today, we know Dubai as a city which has the busiest port, one of the biggest airports, the tallest building of the world, most developed network of roads and transportation, most successful hotels and recreational places and other features that have gained it the honor of one of the most prosperous states of the world.

But these are the changes which are external but these changes also changed the thoughts and dreams of the people. People, who were content with a few mud houses and their meager income, got so brave that they started rearing the wildest dreams. One of them went and bought an international and one of the most expensive football teams of the world. Another one dreamed of establishing one of the most successful airline companies of the world and he turned his dream into a reality. Another one thought of building the biggest artificial island of the world and soon it was there. Then a person thought of building the tallest building of the world and it got its reality in the form of ‘Burj-Al-Khalifa’. There is a long list of such wildest imaginations and their successful implementation. In the heat of desert, you can ice-skate, without any major team on world level, there are well-facilitated grounds of cricket, football and many other games, and if you want to see Disney World, you can easily enjoy it in Dubai.

But what is more interesting is that, the people who used to ride camels, drank water from wells and did not know about any traffic or its laws, molded themselves as a disciplined, modern, forward-thinking, and technology-sensitive nation. This nation now realizes the importance of commerce, of quality education, of technology-driven advancement and other things which are common among the developed and educated communities of the world and which get their birth from a well-planned and well-organized effort of many years.

It brings out a reality that environment changes the general thinking and conduct of people. When they live in an environment with limited possibilities, they think and dream limited. When they live with same old environment, they never come to experience what others are doing and how world is advancing in the field of science, technology, commerce and civic life.

This is not the story limited to Dubai. There are a number of states and cities that have prospered from this change of environment resulting in the change of thoughts and ideology. In Pakistan, the capital city Islamabad was newly established almost 40 years before. This city was established with best town planning and management and now this small capital is house for beautiful houses, well-organized market spaces, parks and foreign embassies, with all the civic facilities. Similarly, people who lived here are all civilized and well-educated and have dreams with high spirit and ideology. Anyhow, this is not the case withthe adjacent city of Rawalpindi which is at a distance of only half hour’s drive. This old city includes of dark and dirty streets, ragged houses, small shops and of course, people with similar thoughts and approaches. Old and New Delhi also depict the same result.

Inside the country, there is a general perception that Afghans are lazy, corrupt, and dishonest and always adopt shortcuts to reach to the success. But same Afghans have shown surprising performance in the foreign and developed countries of the world. When the war started, millions of Afghans migrated to the different countries of the world. A lot many of them went to the developed countries of America, Canada and other European states. They not only got adjusted in these countries swiftly but they also emerged as a hardworking and honest community, reaching to success in their fields and showing a worth-praising performance. From their social vigilance, sense of responsibility and desire to extend hard work for success, they were the exact opposite of the general perceptions found in the country.

Both of these perceptions are right on their places. They were lazy, corrupt and dishonest in their country but when they moved to a different society, they also became different and adopted all the good qualities of the new society. This example again depicts the same result, i.e. our personalities and all its traits are shaped according to the people and environment around us.

Kabul is one of the most congested cities of the world. After the establishment of a democratic government, there came an influx of jobs and thus it witnessed a crowded urbanization. The city was planned for a limited population and thus today we see that our roads are not in position to handle the traffic, and its inhabitants are suffering a lot from the shortages of water, electricity and other civic facilities. Millions of dollars have been pumped into the city to improve its general condition but if we start rebuilding and reconstruction from a side, the wear and tear of the city starts from the other and thus this exhausting and never-ending process of mending and repairing doesn’t seem to come to its logical end. Similarly, people living in such an environment are also having same kind of thoughts and spirits. We time and again hear the complaints of general indiscipline, corruption, robbery, and other social evils which are associated with the backward areas of the city. Harlem, a district of New York once became notorious for its gangs and other groups involved in crimes and other illegal activities. It again depicts the same conclusion that environment plays a vital role in making up the minds and personalities of people living in it.

Keeping in view the above fact about Kabul, a very wise plan was improvised according to which a brand new Kabul city is going to be built by the name of Deh Sabz Kabul or Kabul Green City. This city has been very well-planned and some of the fertile minds of the world are working to turn this dream into a reality. The construction work has started and in near future, a new Kabul city will be on the map of Afghanistan where people will be having new and elevated spirits and thoughts. This city would bring a new era of development and prosperity. It is hoped that, having a look at its success, rest of the cities of the country would also think to adopt this strategy and would try their best to provide their citizens with an environment where they would think and act better. This amazing dream of future would be responsible for changing the fate of millions living in the area.