Do They Really
Want to Alleviate Poverty?
By Rafiq Ebrahim
Glen Ellyn, IL
Enjoying life’s luxuries at my cousin’s
palatial house in Defence and being treated by
my rich relatives and friends to places like Lal
Qila, Salt&Pepper Village, Defence Club and
Country Club during my visit to Pakistan last
year, I had almost forgotten how life is on the
faraway side of the Clifton Bridge.
I was beginning to get an impression that Pakistan
is no longer a poor country, and that the quality
of life is even better than what it is in some
parts of the USA and Europe. People live in large,
ostentatious houses, and many of these have armed
guards at the gates. Inside they have all the
fancy and self-indulgent commodities; one hundred
different channels can be viewed on their large
screen TVs, and you can go for a swim in the pool
right in the basement. This delusion was rudely
shattered when we went to a slum in Golimar. My
cousin’s chauffeur Imtiaz had invited us
to his place for lunch. It was a modest home,
and he did manage to make two ends meet with the
salary he got. But for occasional unforeseen expenditures
like repairs in the house, getting his motorcycle
fixed or meeting some immediate medical emergency,
he was okay. The family pulled on with fortitude
and faith in God.
It was when we came out of his house and saw an
adjoining building complex that something within
me stirred. It was a shabby, dilapidated structure
with small cell-like rooms and a common balcony
visible from outside (reminding me of the remains
of the notorious Alcatraz prison).
“Would it be possible to visit a home inside?”
I asked Imtiaz.
He thought for a while, then said, “As a
matter of fact I know a man living there.”
We ascended a dirty and creaky wooden stairs to
the second floor, where a man, disheveled and
in soiled clothes, invited us in. Instant sadness
invaded us as we saw his one-room flat and the
inmates. His young wife was constantly coughing.
On a table were some medicine bottles. I looked
at an expectorant and read its label. The medicine
had expired three months ago. There were a couple
of kids; a thirteen-year old daughter, who was
washing dishes with what looked like unclean water
in a bucket in a corner which was used as a kitchen;
an eleven-year old son, reading an Urdu book of
history. The page he was reading was about the
1947 partition, and the promise made to the Muslim
population of India of a new Muslim country where
people would be able to live happy, prosperous
lives! His father informed me that his son was
going to a nearby madressah where he was given
religious and Urdu lessons. No question about
the girl going to a school, as she had to attend
to household chores.
Looking closely at the room, we could see that
the walls badly needed whitewashing and the doors
some repairs. The beddings on the floor needed
clean linens. In that hot May summer, this home
didn’t even have a small fan.
Nasir, the head of this household, was working
as a laborer in a factory, bringing home a meager
salary that barely lasted two weeks. He had to
borrow money every month to pull on with the rest
of the month. His wife had a chronic cough, and
to see a doctor she had to go to the Civil Hospital,
a long way that required changing two buses. There
she had to wait for hours, before a doctor would
see her and prescribe some medicines. The doctor
didn’t ask her to get an X-ray, as that
would be asking too much! Not her privilege!
Nasir apologetically told me that he didn’t
even have a rupee in his pocket, and was unable
to serve any cold drinks to us. That gave me a
shock. My God! I was face to face with poverty
– abject poverty. Imtiaz pointed out that
a majority of the people lived under such conditions.
Meager earnings, jobless youths, mean dwellings,
no water, no electricity, sub-standard medical
care, no proper schooling, mal-nourished children
and families living on one small meal a day!
Hundreds of thousands of people suffer the pangs
of extreme poverty. They die at the entrances
of hospitals, unable to get in for treatment;
they die in places where drinking water is contaminated
– a recent report shows that 700,000 children
die of consuming contaminated water each year.
We also learn about the extreme effects of poverty
on people when we get news about a head of the
household, driven to psychosis by poverty, slaying
his wife and children.
On a visit to Makli and Thatta, we stopped at
a remote village to take some rest. We could see
small houses of mud and the usual activities of
a community at work. A young man came out from
one of these houses, and asked me if he could
offer us some tea. That was a welcome suggestion.
He spread a charpoy by his house and soon some
dud patti was served. I asked him whether he owned
a piece of land here to do his farming. He shook
his head and said, “We can’t. Chaudhry
Habib owns the land here. We just work on the
farms.”
“How much are you paid?”
“Each working person gets Rs 50 per day,
and he has to work from dawn to dusk. If he does
not work any day due to illness or some other
emergency, he is not paid the day’s wages.”
“How are your other needs like medical,
schooling for the children, electricity, fuel
and water met?”
He grinned and replied, “ Sahib, we have
got a hakim in the village. If someone gets sick,
he goes to see him. If God wishes, he gets well,
otherwise he dies. Our children generally do not
go to school. Those who want to learn go to that
shack over there. One of our mullahs teaches them
to read the Qur’an and basic Urdu. No electricity,
only kerosene lamps. We use wood for fuel and
fetch water in buckets from a distant well.”
I felt an urge to meet Chaudhry Habib and as such
asked him where I could find the chaudhry. I was
informed that he lived is a bungalow in Thatta,
and gave me the address.
Arriving at Thatta, I located the bungalow with
some difficulty, but couldn’t see him, as
I was informed that he and his family members
had gone to Murree, as they usually did during
the hot summer months.
What a difference in the lifestyle of the poor
people and those living in posh localities! Such
a wide chasm between the ‘haves’ and
the ‘have-nots’!
How would poverty be alleviated in our country?
This was the question that kept bugging me. The
next day at a dinner at the Defence Club, I was
introduced to an owner of a construction firm,
and finding an opportunity, I popped up the question.
“Look here, my friend,” he said, munching
a tandoori. “ We are all doing what we can,
giving donations to charitable organizations,
paying zakat, looking after the needs of our employees,
giving alms to the beggars, but the poor actually
do not want to get out of their situation. Why
should they have so many children? Why should
they indulge in intoxication and crimes?”
Wisdom of the illiterate
Buying some fruits at a stall in Clifton, I asked
the owner, an old wise-looking guy named Zaheer
Baba – who later I came to know was quite
well-known in the locality and to whom many poor
people came to get advice and suggestions - about
the problem of extreme poverty prevailing in the
country.
He studied my face for quite some time, smiled
and then said, “Sahib, you don’t live
in this country, so you do not know what actually
is going on. The poor will remain poor. The administration
is not very anxious to rid them of their plight,
though they make half-hearted efforts here and
there. They really do not want the poor to be
well fed, educated or contented. If that happens,
people would develop political consciousness and
begin to fight for their rights.”
“ What about the rich people? Why are they
not doing worthwhile efforts to help their poor
brothers?” I asked.
“Rich people? Why should they? If poor people
prosper, who will serve them as slaves in their
household? What would happen to Naukar Shahi?”
I was amazed at the wisdom of an illiterate. I
do not know how far he was right, but it seems
that he was not far from the truth.
Government efforts
What the present government – or for that
matter any other government in the past –
has done for the poor? In their zeal to impose
reforms and undertake development projects that
would bring long-range benefits to the country,
the government has failed to take steps that could
bring immediate relief to the poor masses. Instead
of indulging in emotional rhetoric, they would
do well to provide the poor with at least a foothold
from where they could rise.
Appeal to the elite
Though the government could do a lot, yet government
alone cannot alleviate poverty on a large scale.
People must come forward. The elite who are blessed
with untold wealth has got to play a major role.
No doubt many of the elite have struggled hard
to acquire what they have, but they should just
reflect about the plight of the people who are
not that blessed. Don’t they deserve a little
help? Even a very thin slice of your wealth would
go a long way to make the lot of the poor better.
These poor masses desperately need your money,
time and effort.
It is unfortunate that we seldom hear about noticeable
humanitarian and philanthropic acts by affluent
people in Pakistan. In the West, particularly
in the USA, we see a number of celebrities giving
more and more time and money to benefit suffering
humanity. That’s how charitable organizations,
universities and schools, health-care centers
and hospitals are able to function fruitfully.
These blessed people even launch their own charities
for deserving causes. They play a dominant role
in improving the quality of life of their fellow-beings.
What are the wealthy industrialists, flourishing
businessmen, high-ranking officers, sports and
show biz celebrities doing in Pakistan to help
the suffering masses? Ever heard of any significant
effort being done by them? Of course, there are
a few exceptions – individuals whose names
shall be carved in glittering letters in history.
A few names come to mind. Abdul Sattar Edhi and
his wife Bilquis. They have been helping suffering
humanity all their lives. Their deeds and efforts
are not only recognized in Pakistan, but all over
the world where their relief centers are stationed.
Imran Khan; our cricket hero, by founding Shaukat
Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital proved himself
to be a classic humanitarian. His hospital offers
the benefits of latest technology and equipment
to every patient. Yes, poor patients are treated
at no cost and with all the dignity that a paying
patient gets. At a fund-raising program held recently
in Chicago, Imran informed us that seventy percent
of the patients are poor, who could not afford
the high cost of treatment. They are treated free
of cost. There is also a langar in the compound
where anybody coming to the hospital can get free
meals two times a day. This langar is self-subsisting,
as all the groceries and other needed items come
from donors.
Then there is that pop singer, Shehzad Roy. He
is opening school after school to educate children
who beg on the streets, and there is nothing nobler
than to impart learning and knowledge. Ansar Burney,
a champion of human rights, is putting in all
efforts to get justice for the victims of injustice.
There may be more such individuals contributing
their bit, but that is not enough.
There are a number of NGOs functioning in Pakistan,
and no doubt their efforts are meritorious, but
they should go deep into the problems of the poor.
Members of these organizations should make it
a point to visit areas having extremely poor population,
go to as many houses as possible and take immediate
steps to ease their conditions. Any well-to-do
person, whether he is working for an NGO or not,
can do this humanitarian job. We need more and
more people with love and milk of human kindness
in their hearts, willing to work for the benefit
of people like Nasir of Golimar. We need people
with one common goal – that of human development
– to bring prosperity to the people and
progress for the nation. A country can only prosper
if her masses are happy and contended.
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