On 19th Feb 2015, I went through one of the most busiest crossing of Karachi around 9am, the crossing which connects the four giant streets of the city, where I saw a 3-4years barefoot innocent child who was wearing old, tarred, dark maroon clothes but with a fresh happy face. He was begging with a smiling face as it was a role play or a class activity assigned to him by some teacher. There were many people around him on the same crossing; who were in a rush and the voice of that child was disturbing them. Most of the people ignored him. Some fellows insulted him but it did not affect the performance of the little boy. Later on, an elderly lady gave the child a few pennies. Suddenly, the child’s smile changed into a big laughter and he walked in a jumping style and ran away clapping his hands with joy and naive expressions of some achievement.
The same night, around 10.30pm, I went through the same crossing again. I saw that child was sitting at the corner of the pavement. This time, he was wearing the same dress with the addition of black sweater over his dark maroon tarred clothes along with tired red eyes. He was trying his level best to get up again in order to do some work, most probably begging. But he was unable to do so as he was tired, weak and maybe had an empty stomach. After that, he put his head down for a few seconds and closed his eyes for a while. Suddenly, I saw a fat woman who already had one infant with her arrived there and started beating the child brutally and shouting at him in some regional language which was not understandable for me but I was only able to understand that the child was saying “AIII MAA” “ AJ REHENDE MAA”. Word Maa represents “Mother”. (Maybe that fat lady was his step mother/ Guardian or that boy just called her mother in her respect). After some negotiations, she took all those pennies from the boy and made the little boy beg again. He had no choice whatsoever but to beg again.
The story of the little boy has raised a lot of questions from this sophisticated society about what kind of childhood that boy was compelled to face during his most innocent period of life. Are elders showing the wrong path to their own offspring? What kind of society are we generating for the future? What kind of psychology we are drilling in the innocent minds who are the future of our nation. This cosmopolitan city is getting even bigger day by day by progressing and generating revenue of millions everyday but aren’t we neglecting the minor basic things which are weakening the roots of this giant city.
By
Nabeel Rashid