" Freelancer Ki Duniya Mein Anay Walay Bachay Na Umeed Hogaye Hain."

ARY NEWS

Transcript

00:00INTERPRETER 2 The speed of the internet has decreased.

00:04What impact has it had on your life, your work, and the lives of the students who are learning

00:10these skills through this platform?

00:15INTERPRETER 1 Thank you, Maria.

00:17We know that quality education is not available in the marginalized areas.

00:21And because of the internet, it is possible that we can remotely connect our expert trainers

00:26who are either out of the country or in the main cities of Pakistan.

00:29Because of the internet, we are facing a problem in the rural areas where we wanted to make

00:34quality education, especially IT education, accessible.

00:37And there are physical labs where children can be connected to the internet remotely.

00:41So, because of the slow internet, classes are not being held.

00:44If classes are being held, children are complaining that there is a problem with their voice.

00:47They are not understanding.

00:48So, these problems have been arising for the past one and a half weeks.

00:51And those children who were hoping for a better future, that we will go to IT and make our

00:55name, that we will also come into the world of freelancing,

00:57they are very disappointed that because of the internet, their education has stopped.

01:01So, how will they work in the future?

01:03INTERPRETER 2 How many children do you train?

01:05Roughly, how many people are directly affected by this?

01:11INTERPRETER 1 Yes.

01:12In our physical labs, there are approximately 250 students who come and study.

01:16In addition to this, we recently started a course in which there are about 1500 students

01:20who were online connected through their mobile laptops from different cities of Pakistan.

01:24And they had to start their classes on August 14th.

01:26So, there are approximately 1750 children who are impacted at this time.

01:30INTERPRETER 2 So, what are the problems arising?

01:31Is there an issue in connectivity?

01:32Are you not able to reach those who share the resources to learn?

01:37What are the precise issues arising?

01:38Because the government is saying that there is no problem.

01:40I feel that my national policy is to gaslight people and tell them that this is all in your

01:43mind.

01:44There is no such reality on the ground.

01:45So, I want to know what specific problems are arising for the students?

01:48Because you have a sample of 1500.

01:50There are more than 2000 students.

01:52There are many such operations in Pakistan.

01:54So, when you will tell them, they will have a representation.

01:56INTERPRETER 2 Yes, absolutely.

01:58We just got a video from the IT minister.

02:00And it is being said that there is only a voice issue on WhatsApp.

02:03Or there is only a video issue on Facebook.

02:05So, the rest of the internet is working fine.

02:07So, even if we believe that the rest of the internet is working fine,

02:10WhatsApp is a means by which most of the people in Pakistan are connected with each other.

02:14Nowadays, the trainings that are going on, the materials that we share,

02:17the assignments, the class discussions, are happening through WhatsApp,

02:20through videos, through voice notes, and through pictures.

02:23So, when you will not allow WhatsApp to be used for communication,

02:27you will control that as well.

02:29And when these problems arise, the students will not be able to access that information so quickly.

02:32Similarly, there was an ad campaign going on on our Facebook,

02:35in which we were giving messages to the students through the video

02:37that these free trainings are going on, and you can be a part of it.

02:39So, in the last few days, when the videos are not going on,

02:41and these problems are arising on Facebook,

02:43the students were not able to see our ad campaign.

02:45The campaign that was supposed to go on for three days,

02:48it did not go on.

02:49Because of the internet, the video issues that have arisen,

02:52the students were not able to use it.

02:54Apart from this, in Pakistan, most of the users,

02:57especially from the marginalized areas,

02:59do not have Wi-Fi available in their homes.

03:01They connect with their mobile data.

03:03So, all the Wi-Fi users, perhaps their internet is working better to some extent,

03:06but all the people connected to mobile data,

03:08first of all, they cannot connect to Facebook or WhatsApp without VPN.

03:11And even if they connect with VPN,

03:13the mobile data is not working so well.

03:16Things are taking so much time to load.

03:18So, because of this, the flow of information,

03:20if the students want to learn something,

03:22if they want to talk to their instructor,

03:24if they want to talk to anyone,

03:25even if they want to talk to their clients,

03:27with whom they are connected through all these platforms,

03:29they cannot do it.

03:30Now, in the government, and I have heard a lot of statements,

03:33there is a feeling that,

03:34okay, Fiber Upper is working well,

03:36you are connected to Wi-Fi there, there is no problem.

03:38So, they do not understand that,

03:39your client is also on Facebook,

03:41your client is also on Twitter,

03:42your client is also connected to you on WhatsApp.

03:44So, it is not that Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter,

03:46you use all these platforms only for entertainment.

03:49These platforms are also used in Pakistan for professional purposes.

03:52WhatsApp and Facebook are easy to use for the Pakistani audience,

03:55especially for the marginalized areas,

03:57because they may not know how to use Fiber so well,

04:00they may not know how to use Upper so well,

04:02but they can communicate well on WhatsApp,

04:04with local clients,

04:05with some international clients.

04:06So, when you close these communication channels,

04:09they will face all these problems.

04:10And for the last 3-4 days,

04:12whether the loss in learning,

04:14or the loss of their clients,

04:16which they could earn in 3-4 days,

04:18those things have stopped.

04:19So, who is responsible for that?

04:20At this time, if the bills of their houses will not be paid,

04:22if the expenses of their houses will not be paid,

04:23then I think,

04:24I do not understand who is responsible for that at this time.

04:26The government,

04:27the government understands that there is no such big problem.

04:28Mr. Irfan Malik,

04:29I will come to you.

04:30You tell me,

04:31because when I contact the government again and again,

04:32they say,

04:33there are national security issues,

04:34which we have to regulate the content.

04:36These are not such bad conditions,

04:38as you are telling.

04:40The representatives of PTA came,

04:42they came and told the Parliamentary Committee,

04:43that no one complained to us,

04:44that the internet is not working properly.

04:46So, why are you complaining?

04:47What is the problem in your internet?

04:48What are your activities,

04:49which are directly affected by this?

04:50And first of all,

04:51tell me,

04:52how many people do you employ in your platform?

04:54And how many people are being affected by this?

04:58Look,

04:59thank you very much,

05:00first of all.

05:01It is necessary to understand,

05:02what is happening?

05:03When they say,

05:04the internet is working properly,

05:05and there is no loss,

05:07this is not a loss of a few days.

05:09First,

05:10we have to understand that

05:11a very big revenue in our country,

05:12is coming from IT and freelancing.

05:14What is freelancing?

05:16When you talk about freelancing,

05:18you are giving your services to an international client,

05:21and the most important bond between you and the international client,

05:24is that of trust.

05:26That the client feels comfortable,

05:28in hiring people from our country,

05:30that they will be available all the time,

05:31and will give me quality services.

05:33Quality services were already a challenge for us.

05:35Now, availability has also become a challenge.

05:36And to build trust with a client,

05:38first, the child has to do a lot of courses,

05:39or degrees,

05:40has to do training.

05:42Then, after a lot of effort,

05:43a client comes to your Fiverr,

05:45and that client has to put in a lot of effort,

05:47day and night,

05:48for the delivery,

05:49and after that,

05:50that trust is built.

05:51I say,

05:52in a programmer's life,

05:53there are peaks of 4 years.

05:54If he spent 4 years,

05:55to build a client,

05:56and that client left,

05:57because of XYZ reasons,

05:58because it is not about WhatsApp,

05:59but it is about the ecosystem,

06:00then his 4-5 days are wasted.

06:02His many years are wasted.

06:03If 10 children are unemployed,

06:05then it is not necessary that

06:06they will stand on their own feet.

06:07Those who have the willpower will stand,

06:09but most people are like that,

06:10who may never be able to stand.

06:11So, the thing is,

06:12this thing that is going on,

06:13is creating an overall problem,

06:15and in that problem,

06:16this statement has added up.

06:17Whoever has given this statement,

06:18I have seen it in some channels,

06:19that nothing has happened.

06:20My people have sent me screenshots,

06:22that we told the client,

06:23that your work has been delayed,

06:24because there is an internet issue in our country,

06:26and that client,

06:27from that channel or news,

06:28took a screenshot and sent it to us.

06:30Now, we have lost our credibility,

06:32when the international media,

06:33is reporting something else.

06:35So, there is a small solution to this,

06:36which has no harm in doing,

06:38that the government can give a press release,

06:40can give a certificate,

06:41can do something,

06:42that what we are doing,

06:43when will it start,

06:44when will it be fine,

06:45so that every freelancer has a benchmark,

06:46to show it,

06:47to show,

06:48so that they can tell the client,

06:49that what is he doing.

06:50But now, no one knows,

06:51what is happening.

06:52I run a company of 150 people,

06:53and we communicate on WhatsApp,

06:54and on top of that,

06:55a lot of clients communicate on WhatsApp.

06:57Then there are further teams of those clients.

06:59Can we, overnight,

07:00remove the entire infrastructure from WhatsApp,

07:02and take it to some other channel,

07:03that we are only talking about WhatsApp.

07:04It is not only about WhatsApp,

07:05when you access Fiverr,

07:07and every person is accessing it,

07:08by installing a VPN,

07:09every person will install a VPN,

07:11so when VPN is used,

07:13you get lagged,

07:15if you change your IP,

07:16consistently,

07:17so this loss,

07:18has been damaged,

07:19for the next few years,

07:20overall,

07:21if you calculate,

07:22there has been a loss of 300 million,

07:24and 300 million,

07:25is just the tip of the iceberg,

07:26the firewall will get fixed,

07:28but the effects of this,

07:29will keep coming,

07:30it's not the end,

07:31it's the beginning.

07:32What effects will come,

07:33because generally,

07:34we want to know,

07:35as a regular user,

07:36we don't have a job,

07:37the lags we are seeing,

07:38the delays we are seeing,

07:39this is frustrating for us,

07:40but,

07:41what is the futuristic effect,

07:42what should we expect?

07:43I will explain it to you,

07:44the technology we have,

07:46from China,

07:47China has not made it overnight,

07:48or in a few days,

07:49or in a few weeks,

07:50it has been made in many years,

07:51in decades,

07:52we have brought a technology,

07:54any error of that technology,

07:56its implementation,

07:57its mismanagement,

07:58its straight impact,

07:59has come on the internet,

08:00when the internet came,

08:01and created an issue,

08:02the client and the user's trust,

08:03got disrupted,

08:04you tell me,

08:05the client who is bearing the loss,

08:06and is leaving,

08:07will he come back?

08:08he will never come back,

08:09and the child who will go

08:10to find a new client,

08:11will he be able to retain

08:12that client?

08:13every child will not be able to,

08:14and I ask a question,

08:15and I have this fear,

08:16as a technical person,

08:17I am sharing my apprehension,

08:18that who can say,

08:19that the mismanagement

08:20of the firewall,

08:21is happening now,

08:22and will not happen in the future,

08:23whenever this happens,

08:24trust will be broken,

08:25and our trust,

08:26as a nation,

08:27let me tell you first,

08:28in freelancing,

08:29because the untrained,

08:30new people,

08:31are injecting millions

08:32of dollars per month,

08:33our credibility

08:34is already at stake,

08:35the credibility

08:36that is at stake,

08:37the credibility

08:38that was at stake,

08:39now the competent people

08:40who have retained

08:41the client,

08:42have also been flagged,

08:43they have also lost

08:44their trust,

08:45so you tell me,

08:46this is a recurrent issue,

08:47I don't think

08:48this is a one time issue,

08:49this is a recurrent issue,

08:50if this happens again and again,

08:51it will have an impact

08:52for many years,

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