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No
laws for the plebs of the carpet industry The
hypocrisy of not acknowledging infanticide The vanishing ecosystem of the Indus Delta By Zahid Jalbani The word Delta can be defined as the meeting point of the river and the sea. The Indus Delta, therefore, is where water from the Indus River enters the sea near Khobhar Creek, taluka Keti Bunder, district Thatta. Debt-bondage
in carpet industry 'far from resolved' READERS’ VOICE
By Imran Bahadar Boxed into a refugee camp at a desolate place several
kilometres away from Al-Asif Square, off main Northern Bypass, hundreds
of Afghan refugees – men, women and children – ensure their survival
through the only profession they know well: weaving hand-made carpets.
Unfortunately for them, however, no labour laws specific to
"refugees" exist in Pakistan, and this becomes the basis for
their exploitation. "Almost sixty per cent of the Afghans are associated with the hand-made carpet industry in Sohrab Goth," explained Muhammad Yusuf, a refugee lodged at the camp. "Many Afghan workers are employed in makeshift factories, and carpets weaved by them are sold to local traders. They then export these carpets to a large number of countries in return for huge profits." In the absence of labour laws that accord protection to the Afghan refugees, many of them deem themselves fortunate to be able to simply make a living. "Every family, include the men, women and even children, are involved in this business. Many of them even work inside their own houses till late night," another refugee, Haji Yar Muhammad, told Kolachi. "These people work on daily wages, which comes to around five thousand rupees per month, and is calculated on the basis of per square metre of carpet weaving," he said. Some refugees at the camp claimed that at least three factories manufacture the most expensive hand-made rugs, but the principles of remuneration remain the same. Meagre compensation has forced many families to send their teenage children to work, which, in effect, is a violation of international laws, claimed Atiq-ur-Rehman, the president of Pasban Pakistan (Sohrab Goth zone) – a social welfare organisation at the refugee camp. Such violations of law seem to be the norm when it
comes to Afghan refugees, and one seemingly aided by government
apathy. The major problem faced by the Afghan refugees, according to 45-year-old Muhammad Saeed, another refugee, is the lack of their registration in Pakistan since civil war broke out against the Soviet Union-backed government. Millions of Afghan refugees migrated to Pakistan in the decade of the 1980s, as one civil dispute led to another, and war became customary in Afghanistan. Following the terror attacks on American soil on September 11, 2001, any notions of returning have been put to bed for a while. Some of these refugees were able to be registered through the National Alien and Registration Authority (Nara) under an agreement of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Pakistani government. These refugees were issued proof of registration (PoR) cards, which had to be renewed after one year. This process, however, could not be completed due to a lack of interest from the authorities concerned. After December 2006, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) started registration of the refugees again, after another agreement between the UNHCR and the government. PoR cards are now being provided to Afghan refugees for a three-year duration. The refugees claim that their complete data is stored
with the authorities, but they have not been given cards till now. Many
allege that the reason for this delay is that the authorities concerned
demand hefty bribes from the refugees. "Only one PoR card is provided to one family, and this is not sufficient. Each and every member of a family should be provided with a PoR card; this is the need of the hour, and officials should take us into confidence," claimed Saeed. The camp, meanwhile, presents a picture of indifference. The housing facilities and associated lanes are unplanned and without any management. There are no street lights in the area, while no government official has bothered to visit the camp to assess the situation. Most refugees live in cottage-like houses, which are not fully covered with a roof – thereby inflicting problems for inhabitants during extreme summers or winters. The area also lacks a proper sewerage system, and hence, a pungent smell engulfs most of the camp. Similarly, transport facility to and from the camp are not satisfactory. The road leading to the camp area from the main road near Al-Asif Square is not metalled, which in effect translates into entire families having to walk to the main road. Not a single basic health facility exists at the refugee camp either, and many refugees continue to suffer from severe diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and cough. Millions of dollars were directed from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide health facilities to these refugees, but so for nothing has been done. More critical is the fact that no education facility has been provided at the camp. Only one private school, supervised by Dr Han and made with the cooperation of a German NGO, operates in the area. "This facility is insufficient for children of almost five thousands families (150,000 refugees)," said Shah Mohammad, in charge of academics in the school. "Education is the basic right of human beings,
but these teenagers have no chance of receiving basic education in such
conditions. Since many children get deprived of basic education, they
are misguided and become criminals. This is not in favour of strategic
stability and peace of Pakistan," Mohammad told Kolachi. Given that no civic facility is available and the government seems to have turned a blind eye to the complaints of these refugees, it is imperative for the government to recognise the contribution of these refugees to the Pakistani economy, Mohammad said. "Pakistan is like our native homeland, and we will defend it from any foreign aggression. This country is the source of our livelihood, and we should be given full opportunities to play our role in the growing economy of Pakistan. "The recognition of Afghan contribution to Pakistani exports is necessary, which should then be followed by the formalisation of their role and building their capacities. "Such steps would not only lead to more exports, but also greater productivity of labour as Afghans would be protected by law. Without capacity building, without adequate health and education, how can they become productive citizens?" Mohammad said.
The hypocrisy of not acknowledging infanticide By Anis Mansoori If you are walking on a footpath in Karachi at night, and hear the crying voice of a child, then do not worry because it is now common in this metropolitan, educated, politically aware and anti-Taliban city. You just pick up this poor body, and know that your only responsibility is to deliver it to the Edhi centre. The Edhi Centre is one of the few places in the city of 20 million where these "unwanted" children are welcome. In fact, two infanticide cases are registered almost on a daily basis at the Edhi foundation. The birth of these "unwanted" children has a gender aspect as well: most infants killed or abandoned are girls, and according to data received from the Edhi centre, 650 girls — recovered alive or dead, were registered over the past year. This data is only from Karachi, and one can only imagine the situation in other parts of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Who is responsible? How can we stop this humiliating act? When I knocked at the door of a parliamentarian, he asked me for advice about how the government could stop the phenomenon. I then went to the deputy speaker of the Sindh Assembly, Shehla Raza, and expressed my frustration. She replied, "If we launch strict laws in this regard and implement them by force, what you think? Would you get less dead infants?" Having perused my research, she said that as per my data, half the infants are recovered alive while half have already been killed. "Its not only the matter of Karachi, its happening in all parts of Pakistan. We’ll do something very soon to stop this shameful crime," she assured me. One can solve any problem if correct and reliable data is made available, but unfortunately, no one has any figures, nor have there been efforts to collect and compile data. When I contacted the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) for answers, they could not satisfy me either. What is more surprising is that the Karachi police even does not have any complete data about infanticide. The police usually pick these abandoned infants up from roads or pavements, and that too after information provided by a citizen. Following the recovery, they proceed to enter details in their "Roznamcha" and deliver the body to Edhi. Is any government institute responsible for collecting data and about future of these innocent, beautiful children, I asked Anwer Kazmi, a senior activist of the Edhi Foundation. His smile and expression in reply said everything: no one cares. "The government is facing many challenges, why are you creating another trouble for them? This is not a new issue, hasn’t been since the past 20 years," Kazmi simply said. Though his answer was simple, it bred more questions in my mind. I asked him the reason. He confidently said that in our society, girls are still like a burden. I also went to the "red area" of Karachi, and met a woman in "Bulbul Hazar Dastan." She asked me how many newborn girls I wanted to see, before telling me that the majority of people thinks that they were not "good for this society." The major factor in this phenomenon of infanticide is religion. When these infants are recovered by the police or any NGO, most people claim that the child is a bastard, born out of wedlock. I called the principal of Jamia Banora Al-Almea, a man named Naeem, to seek his comments. He raged at me, and said that Edhi is provoking people to create a society where couples produce children out of marriage. I was surprised by his answer, but asked him why infant girls were mostly killed. He did not answer me, and started delivering a sermon instead. Famous gynecologist and former president of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Shershah Syed, revealed that Edhi is not the only organisation receiving infants. This account was corroborated from other sources, who said that two to three cases are registered in private hospital every week, in which parents make off after the birth of the baby. Most flee after learning that yet another girl is born, especially when they already two have or three daughters at home. Sadia Baloch, a human rights activist, commented that no institute, government or non-government, has data on infanticide because of the religious behavior of society. "No one is interested or keen to talk about this crime. In the twenty first century, girls are still considered to be a burden. Educating people in this sense is extremely necessary to spread consciousness about the fact that girls and boys both are human. Council member of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Uzma Noorani, said that boys can be accepted, but in the case of girls, many people think it is difficult to gather money for their dowry.
The vanishing ecosystem of the Indus Delta Thirty one out of 42 settlements in the Keti Bunder region have been already engulfed by the intruding sea. According to estimates, about 80 acres per day are being eroded by the intruding sea, destroying agricultural land and 25-year-old mature mangrove forests. The mangroves are also well-known as protective walls from storms and cyclones, as well as hatcheries for fish and shrimps By Zahid Jalbani The word Delta can be defined as the meeting point of
the river and the sea. The Indus Delta, therefore, is where water from
the Indus River enters the sea near Khobhar Creek, taluka Keti Bunder,
district Thatta. I visited Bhoori village of Khobhar Creek about an year-and-a-half ago. With around 300 to 400 households, the village is one of the biggest in all four major creeks of Keti Bunder. There I met an old man, Mohammad Talib Jatt, and asked him to tell me about the Indus Delta. Jatt's response for emotional -- he requested that I not ask him talk Indus Delta. "I may not be able to explain to you. It is unbearable for me to share with you the golden days of my life that I spend there," he said. He did, however, come up with an explanation when pressed. "About 25 to 30 years ago, when I was young, my family used to grow red rice (which was exported to neighbouring countries during the 1980s). We had a happy life," he said. "Almost every household used to have buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep and camels. All of them are, however, dead now, because of the saline seawater." The sea eventually reclaimed all agriculture land in
the area due to the increasing water level and rapid sea intrusion.
"You know, half of the villagers have been shifted to the Karachi
coast. They now live in Ibrahim Hyderi and Rehri villages," Jatt
said. Ali Hussain Jatt is a young men from the same village. "I learnt from our forefathers that they lived very happy life and they never have seen such days," he said. Referring to sea intrusion, he said that not only agriculture land and livestock vanished, but mature mangroves forests are also being destroyed now. The destruction of mangroves has also adversely affected the production of fish and shrimps in the area, Ali Hussain Jatt said. Taluka Keti Bunder comprises only one union council and 42 settlements (revenue Dehs). While more than 100 villages were present in the area around two decades ago, barely 25 to 30 villages exist now. Thirty one out of 42 settlements have been engulfed by the intruding sea and the only reason is the shortage of fresh water as well as the rise in sea level, 60-year-old Siddique Roonjho, who has lived in Keti Bunder since his birth, said. "Do you know, Keti Bunder used to be well known for its Red Rice; but where rice mills once flourished, now only their ruins have been left standing," Roonjho said. I also visited the village Tippan of Hajamro Creek, which comprises of about 90 households. Most of the residents of this village belong to the Dablo community. I got a chance to meet with a 65-year-old women named Fateh Khatoon. She was carrying a child, and smoking a crude, beetle-leaf cigarette (Beeri). I asked her about the lives of the villagers. "A few years ago, the Indus River carried lots of water over here and our men used to fish, particularly for the Pala, which weighs around two to three kilogrammes. This fish, however, has totally disappeared now. Where once our lives were comfortable, we now find it very hard to even survive," she said. "In case of illness, the patient remains sick for months due to the non-availability of any health facility not only in our village but in all 25 to 30 villages nearby." "We don’t send our children to schools because
we neither have schools nor teachers in the area," she said.
"We prefer to send our boys out to fish with the men. The girls
remain at home and share household chores with their mothers." Ghulam is a resident of village Kharyoon of the same Hajamro Ceek. He said that their basic problem was drinking water which they used to bring by boat from Keti Bunder Town, 30 minutes away. "Rs20 is being charged from us for the use of one gallon of water, even we don’t know about the quality of water. We don't know if it is drinkable, but we are forced to purchase it just the same, because we have no other option. We can’t afford bottled mineral water for drinking because it is very costly. We use sea water for washing and cooking," he said. About 10 years ago, Babu Jatt, a resident of village Bhoori, migrated and settled near village Mosa Jatt in Keti Bunder. "We aren't fishermen, but have been forced to adopt this profession because we lost every thing," he said. "I had 50 buffaloes and 200 acres of agriculture land. All of that was sacrificed to sea intrusion after the reduction in the flow of the Indus River. Now, we living in the trap of middleman. It depends upon him; he can purchase our fish at Rs100 per kilogramme, or Rs20 per kilogramme. We can’t negotiate with him because he provides food for our families for the rest of the year." Fatima is a resident of Keti Bunder who manages an organisation for women, who, she says, have an especially hard life now. "A couple of decades ago, a lot of fresh water used to come with the Indus River, and everybody was happy," she said, adding that the reduction in this flow led to sea intrusion, which destroyed agricultural land, killed cattle, and ruined uncountable lives. "We are, however, thankful to Benazir Bhutto who provided us an access road and a protection Bund around Keti Bunder town during her second term," Fatima said. "We are also thankful to the World Wildlife Fund for establishing an office in Keti Bunder and doing a lot of work for this extremely deprived area." If the required amount of water, as per the Water Accord of 1991, is not released downstream Kotri, then one can expect more destruction in the area and further displacement of local communities. It is therefore mandatory for the sitting government to give priority to this issue and conserve the vanishing ecosystem of the Indus Delta. The writer is a senior development professional based in Sindh.He can be reached at zahidjalbani@gmail.com caption Mature mangrove forests are disappearing due to sea erosion
Debt-bondage in carpet industry 'far from resolved' By Jan Khaskheli District Tharparkar, a poverty-stricken desert zone,
contributes more than 40 per cent of workforce to the agriculture sector
and the brick-kilns of Sindh, besides engaging a large number of
children in carpet-weaving work at their homes. The labourers migrate
round-the-year to different riverine areas of the province, finding work
to beat poverty. Due to the illegal network of certain influential
people, however, including landlords and kiln owners, a majority of
these families work under debt bondage and are being dealt with cruelly. ìI can not say how many people are living a pathetic life in such concentration camps but at least seven families of Sore Jo Tar village in district Tharparkar do not come to their native village in the monsoon season anymore, because they are trapped in debt,î said 80-year old Naro Menghwar. For the people of Thar, the monsoon rains is more attractive, and families return home at any rate to enjoy the season with relatives. Unfortunately, several people do not come back to their native villages because they have been trapped by landlords and kiln owners through an illegal debt network, Naro Menghwar said. He added that families flee their native villages because of the low wages that they get for a full day's work from home-based carpet weaving unit owners in the desert areas. When they leave their villages, however, they are again victimised by the debt bondage network. In carpet woven work, the debt ranges from Rs50,000 to Rs200,000 per family, Menghwar said. A majority of the population from Sore Jo Tar, which has a total of 5,000 residents, is associated with home-based carpet weaving. While a few lucky families may enjoy liberty, the rest are all trapped in debt. During a visit arranged by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc), Indus Watch noticed that most of those engaged in carpet-weaving were young children. The village elders recalling the history of the situation, and said that until around 15 years ago, people used to earn through cultivation and livestock grazing and lived prosperous lives. They had hundreds of goats, sheep, cows and camels and collected fur for making traditional carpets and other woven fabrics. The community people also used to make rope and traditional shawls for their own use and for the local market. Since the last 10 to 15 years, however, the desert area has not received sufficient rains; as a result, the communities have lost their traditional occupation. Taking advantage of the adversity of the villagers, some wealthy people invested a little amount of money, and provided the villagers with raw material and tools with advance loans. These loans multiplied due to interest, and have now trapped entire families. Presently, it was observed that each person earns around Rs50 to Rs60 for a full day's work, which is insufficient to meet their domestic needs. Similar is the situation in neighbouring villages scattered around the sandy mountains. They have small makeshift rooms for home-based carpet units, in which four to eight children can be seen busy in work. Fifteen-year-old Gayanchand Menghwar owes around Rs60,000. According to him, despite his full day's honest work, he is unable to pay off the loan. He said that when the debt crosses Rs50,000 nobody is able to return it. Villagers take loans against promised work before or after joining and are generally unable to clear the outstanding amounts due to low wages. Slowly, the credit multiplies with the addition of compound interest at exorbitant rates and goes up beyond their reach. In such cases, they are not allowed to leave the workplace or join any other profession till they clear every penny of the dues. Basharat Ali, a researcher who has worked against bonded labour, told Indus Watch that about 40 per cent of the families from Thar, mostly young children, working in debt bondage at brick-kilns and agricultural farms in Sindh. The nature of work at kilns and agriculture depends on their skill. Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (Piler) Deputy Director Zulfiqar Shah said that child labour is very common in home-based carpet weaving units in Tharparkar. These children work against debt taken by their families, or under social obligation (for example caste, ethnic or religious practices) without their consent. They work under conditions which restrain their freedom, increase their vulnerability to physical and other forms of abuse, and deprive them of their basic rights. According to a study conducted by Shah, about 98 per cent of carpet weavers' families were indebted. Many families had taken multiple loans and half of them had taken loans for subsistence -- to buy food on a day-to-day basis -- because their earnings from carpet weaving were too low. A significant number, 63 percent, had borrowed from contractors. The debt had compelled many families to put children into carpet weaving. A rapid assessment study on bonded labour in carpet industry undertaken in 2004 by the Ministry of Labour in collaboration with the ILO, revealed that 40 percent of the workforce engaged in carpet weaving was below the age of 15. Kashif Bajeer of Sparc said that the irony was that the government had not taken yet any step to set up a Labour Department in district Tharparkar. There is no government mechanism to monitor carpet-weaving units and the plight of the workforce. Children are especially vulnerable in this work, which destroys their futures by denying them access to education and health facilities. They also suffer many horrible diseases due to carpet weaving work. Girls are routinely gang-raped and their poor parents are unable to raise their voices or resist against this inhuman situation; nor does the law take action against this kind of cruelty. Forced labour, primarily in the form of debt bondage, is found most commonly amongst agriculture and brick kiln workers. There is no implementation of labour laws. For example, people who are being freed through government initiative or struggle are unable to get justice as per the rule. They are not compensated for even 10 or 15 years of work. After being freed, they only take their children, and eventually return to the same bondage. Meeran Kolhi, an unmarried young girl, belongs to a poor family. When she was freed from bondage after 10 years, she had three children (two daughters and a son), a local activist recalls. According to a 2007 report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), bonded labour was prevalent across the country, with around 1.7 million bonded labourers, "indicating that the problem was far from solved." Moreover, women who work in brick kilns have to do their daily household chores as well. They undergo physical and mental exploitation, as well as sexual abuse. Despite working for about 12 to 18 hours per day, they cannot earn enough. Most of these women are weak, anaemic and dehydrated, and have no access to health and educational services. The issue of bonded labour has been under discussion at the official as well as unofficial levels for at least three decades now. During this period, particularly since the mid-1980s, thousands of bonded labourers have been released through different interventions. However, hundreds of thousands still remain in bondage. Various interventions so far have been initiated by the government, judiciary, NGOs, international organisations, human rights groups, labour rights groups, peasant organisations, political parties, community organisations, media and, in many cases concerned individuals have also played an active role. The issue, however, is, as the HRCP report said, "far from resolved."
Save the Indus Sindhu Day was celebrated recently by activists, journalists, labourers, peasants, and citizens, by gathering in the now-dry bed of the Indus River. More than three million people are suffering due to the acute shortage of water to downstream Kotri. Thousands of acres of irrigated land are degrading. The livelihoods of millions of people are at risk. The ecosystem is dying. A number of indigenous species of fish, birds and animals are disappearing. People of the coastal belt can be affected by heavy rains, hurricanes, storms, floods and tsunamis at any time, if forests of Timar trees are increasingly destroyed, as has been happening since the last decade. Access to water (drinking and irrigation) is the basic right of Sindh and the Sindhi people. It has been observed that for more than half a century, the Indus River is been made to dry up deliberately. The due share of water has not been given to the nations as agreed upon. Agreements and accords are have been violated equally by the federal government and IRSA. Ensuring equal distribution of the Indus River water among the nations and releasing water to downstream Kotri, as suggested by number of research studies and water experts, is our basic demand.
— Jabbar Bhatti, Hyderabad.
Equal rights to admission at universities The GM-ist Nazaryati Committee, Hyderabad, and the Karachi Students Welfare Forum (KSWF) will observe a 72-hour-long hunger strike at the Hyderabad Press Club, starting February 19. We demand an end to the discriminatory admission policy at higher education institutions in Karachi. Out of a total enrolment of approximately 30,000 at the University of Karachi, around 1,500 students are from Gilgit; 1,000 from Punjab; 1,300 from the NWFP; and only 300 from areas of Sindh outside Karachi. This is despite the fact that 10 per cent of the student population at the Sindh University and 35 per cent at Mehran University is from Punjab. No nation can expect to prosper without sound education, and we demand an end to this discrimination against students from Sindh. — Azadi Joyo, student leader, Hyderabad. Questions, complaints, feedback, and suggestions can be sent to
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