I was at the passport office in Karachi when a woman with a newborn baby sat next to me. She slept through the noise, wrapped in a blanket, unaware that she was about to receive her first official document.

They were not alone. Another family sat opposite us, also with an infant, also waiting for their turn. I knew it would be a bit of a wait so I struck up a conversation. I asked where they hoped to travel. Saudi Arabia, the newborn’s father said. Not for Umrah, not for a holiday. To try for work; they had a cousin who was calling them.

The couple in front of us said “us too!” in excitement. “My brother has been in Riyadh for 5 years and been telling me to come try my luck too.” He was a software developer.

What does it say about us that a baby’s first official document is a way out?—Muna Khan

What does it say about us that a baby’s first official document is a way out?

Let me be clear about what this is and what it is not. It is not a survey. I spoke to a handful of people on one morning in one office. These are not statistics, and I would not present them as such. But sometimes a single room tells you something the numbers cannot.

Both families were........

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