LONDON: Vanessa O’Brien, the first British woman who conquered K-2 last month, has said the western media has been responsible for presenting a distorted image of Pakistan by highlighting stereotypes while ignoring the real beauty and diversity of Pakistan.
Vanessa O’Brien, 52, conquered the K-2 on 28th July 2017 and made history in her own right – raising flags of both Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
She brought the flag that was hoisted at K-2, the second tallest peak in the world, to Pakistan High Commission here yesterday and presented the Pakistani flag to Syed Ibne Abbas, the High Commissioner, at a reception organised in her honour.
By completing the round-trip journey from base camp to summit, Vanessa became the first British woman to conquer K-2, 24 years after Jonathan Pratt became the first British male to do the same in 1993. In her remarks at the High Commission Vanessa shared the story of her challenging journey to the top of K-2 and spoke about her determination to accomplish the feat. She fondly narrated how much she was impressed by the people of Pakistan, especially talented youth, their generous hospitality, the pristine beauty of the mountains and landscape of northern areas, and the economic potential of the country.
Addressing Pakistani media here, she said she loved the people of Pakistani more than its mountains and peaks.
“Pakistanis are really lovely, humble and hospitable. They are friendly and welcoming. I was able to see in Pakistan that Pakistan is not we see in western media and how Pakistanis are portrayed in a bad light. Western media doesn’t show the reality of Pakistanis and how good they are. It’s my belief that if you want to know and enjoy the real Pakistan then you must take a trip to Pakistan and not get make your impressions about Pakistan through the eyes of Western media,” she said, adding that she went to Hunza, Lahore and Karachi and had a great experience.
She recalled that the last part of her K-2 Summit adventure was extremely difficult and tiresome and “it took me 16 hours to complete the last part”.
She added: “It was snowing, winds were blowing at 50 MPH, weather overall was extremely bad. I had to climb up on a certain route and any diversion could have involved greater risks. It was a worthwhile journey and it was a proud moment to hoist British and Pakistani flags at the top. Technically K-2 was more difficult peak than Everest.”
Syed Ibne Abbas felicitated Vanessa on her singular achievement of becoming the first British woman to summit the K-2. He commended her indefatigable determination and courage to accomplish this difficult adventure. The High Commissioner thanked Vanessa for telling the positive story about Pakistan and its people, and termed her a goodwill ambassador of Pakistan. He also hoped that Vanessa’s achievement and amazing story would attract many more mountaineers and adventure tourists to Pakistan in future.
He said that Vanessa was playing the role of Pakistan’s goodwill ambassador. Vanessa O'Brien has already ascended Mount Everest and other top peaks around the globe.
