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ray
of hope confined
creativity displacement hyderabad
ray
of hope Nehal Academy in Islamia Colony, a Pukhtun-dominated area in Orangi Town of Karachi, had raised the hopes of this poverty stricken community until it was hit by inflation forcing students to drop out of school and support their families. By Sabeen Jamil Tayyaba Dil Haisiat
knew it was difficult to alter the way her community perceives
education. However, with a 22 per Born to a not-so-conventional Pakhtun family living in Karachi, Tayyaba was lucky enough to attend Karachi University unlike most girls in her community, where she was able to complete 16 years of education. With a university degree and approval from her family to pursue a career in education, Tayyaba moved to Islamia Colony, a Pakhtun dominated poor neighborhood in S.I.T.E Karachi. She decided to avail her freedom in changing perceptions of Pakhtun community about education instead of merely minting money from her occupation. With an aim to make every child of her neighborhood attend school, Tayyaba became a part of Naunehal Academy. "The school was
doing a lot to promote education," Tayyaba explains, while saying
that it is the success of the "It has been providing education almost free of cost," she tells Kolachi "and is successfully working towards the goal of educating up to 2,000 children in the area by 2010." Since the cause of this school is similar to her aspirations she decided to become a part of it and has been working towards changing the fates of Pakhtun children. The success story of Naunehal Academy in Islamia Colony over the years has proved Tayyabaís decision was a wise one. The school, initially built in a makeshift hut in 1996 at a mere cost of Rs13,000, caters to the education needs of hundreds of children belonging to under-privileged daily-waged labourers, security guards and transporters hailing primarily from Pakhtun community or the Punjabis of Mianwali village in Punjab. Given the scarce financial resources of the majority in area, the school started off with a minimal fee of Rs20 and later increased it up to Rs150 rupees over the past decade. For the less affording destitute (that make up 50 per cent of school's current 510 students), Naunehal Academy bears all the expenses ensuring that no children drops out of school out of poverty. The literacy rate in
the area has increased from 5 per cent in 1996 to almost 18 per cent. As
the number of students However, "the success was not easy to attain," says Abdul Waheed, the president of Naunehal Academy while talking to Kolachi. The school faced resistance from rigid religious and ethnic factions in the area. "They feared education would drive them away from religion and convert them into angraiz (Americans)." Waheed tells that area people were doubtful of their intentions. It was after the school team went from door-to-door to convince families and clear their doubts for years that they finally managed to change their perceptions. The main achievement was persuading parents to send girls to schools as well. "Initially only five girls were enrolled in the school," Waheed informs. Today there are approximately 150 female students indicating the projectís success. But on the other hand, some 150 students have also dropped out of school in the past year owing to the increase rate of inflation, leaving it with only 388 students. "Inflation has
made it impossible for children to study," Waheed tells referring
to the record three decade higher Poverty and inflation was always a Herculean task to deal with for a majority in Islamia Colony. Yet, it never added in to the school's drop out rate which was only 3 per cent previously. Students of Naunehal Academy would work after school washing vehicles and serving tea at dhabas against few rupees to help their parents fight inflation, never letting poverty grow enough to compel them leave school. But the situation is different now. Sadly, inflation in 2008 has changed everything for these little bread winners of Islamia Colony. It has not only made them leave their schools and resort to full-time jobs, but has also left their dream of completing education (for better job prospects) unfulfilled. "I don't foresee a bright future for myself now, nor do I know where I am headed in life," says Waris Khan, 14, who was sure about his bright future till last year. "I had decided to be an aeronautical engineer," he says and after securing a position from nursery till the sixth grade, he was confident of achieving this goal. Besides studying at school in the morning, this little boy would sell fruits at a push-cart in his neighborhood after school to support his family. "I would earn almost 150 rupees daily," Waris recalls adding that this amount, along with a few hundred rupees earned by his mother through sewing clothes, would be enough to support the family of seven after his father's death for five years. However, the situation has been quite an opposite this year. "People cannot even afford a sack of flour, how can they afford fruits?" laments Waris. This year's inflation has deprived him of his regular customers and he was hence unable to pay his school fee. "Therefore I had to leave school." Waris Khan now works in a packaging department at a factory from morning till night. However, despite the hectic routine, he misses his school and friends and hopes to resume his education. "If the inflation continues to rise, I won't become an engineer. The thought depresses me," Waris says "but its not in my hands to change my fate." This feeling of helplessness is equally shared by Ajmal, who left school after the sixth grade last September. Aiming to become a pilot one day, Ajmal now spends days spreading tobacco and supari on betel leaves at a paan stalls at Banaras Chowk earning Rs4,000 monthly. Despite believing that "education helps one survive respectably," Ajmal has given up on pursuing education because now his father, a driver at a bungalow, cannot afford to pay Rs600 per month as his school fee alongwith that of other three children. "Everyday parents throng our school requesting us to completely lay off their children fee," Tayyaba tells Kolachi "but we cannot afford to provide 100 per cent free education." Like students, inflation has hit school as well. Waheed said that the school funds were already limited and they had to pay off Rs8,000 each against 50 per cent of destitute students at the school while Rs4,000 rupees each against 25 per cent of those living below the poverty. Inflation has only added to their misery. Moreover, the cost of stationary, books and uniform have also doubled this year compelling parents to take their children out of schools and enrolling them at seminaries instead that provides education absolutely free of cost. This, at one hand, helps saves the cost one has to bear over child's education and with children employed as well, the income of the family also increases. The recent trend, however, is quite worrisome for the administration at Naunehal Academy as it is believed to encourage others as well to leave school "wasting our decade long efforts and millions of investments in the school by philanthropists," Wahid fears. He adds that these children belong to a very strong brotherhood where a trend set by some in the community is religiously followed by the rest. Therefore there is a likelihood that the drop out rate would increase and push the school away from achieving their goal of promoting education in the area. To help prevent this, with the few available resources, the school has managed to get 14 students back to the school by offering them education completely free of cost, but this cannot be done for all. Waheed said that the school is trying its best to retain the rest of students by increasing its contribution against each child from 4,000 rupees to 7,000 rupees per year "but that is not enough and we need to do more." Waheed reiterates that the school cannot lay off fees of every student right now and if it is not supported by the philanthropists, then, he predicts, the school will not be able to achieve the target of educating 2000 children any soon. Tayyaba Dil Haisiat adds that to help prevent this, every affording Pakistani shall at least support one child by paying his share of Rs4000. This, she says, will also help maintain whatever little change the Naunehal Academy has brought in the lives of the Pakhtuns. Owing
to the increasing rate of inflation, Ajmal and Waris were compelled to
drop out of school confined creativity Learning in captivity Music cannot be confined on pretext of race, gender, or bars. Prisoners from Karachi Central Jail show their talented side with their aspiration to learn how to play musical instruments. By Shujauddin Qureshi Syed Musheer Alam
aspired to be a singer, but lady luck was not on his side, and he ended
up in prison serving a life Alam, 33, has been taking a keen interest in the classes. He feels he can revive his passion for music he had lost touch with since being taken into custody. Teachers at the prison are happy with his performance as he sings quite well and understands the rhythm and different notes of music. Ever since the classes commenced on September 3, 2008, they have attracted over 35 inmates in the Karachi Central Jail, with several others in the queue. The majority are young men in their 20s. Belonging to a middle class family, Alam was fond of music while he was young, and learnt how to sing and play different instruments at a music academy in his neighbourhood in North Karachi. "I learnt to sing and play the keyboard for over three years," he recalls. But after his arrest,
he was unable to continue the classes. Alam had previously attained a
Diploma of Associate He would spend his day at the factory and learn music at night. Alam regularly participated in private music parties as a singer and attended concerts with some bands, which was a source of additional income. Now that he has been able to revive his passion, Alam hopes to take up music as a profession after completing his term in prison. Out of the dozen other students the classical teacher, Mohammad Yousuf, has, Alam stands out. Yousuf, the 60-year-old teacher, visits the prison almost everyday for two hours, and has been associated with music since he was 14 years of age. "I used to play the violin with great music directors of Pakistan, like Khawaja Khurshid and Rashid Atray." The other instructor, Eric, takes weekly classes and teaches how to play the guitar, among other instruments. It is mostly foreign inmates, particularly those who belong to African countries, that take keen interest in learning the guitar from Eric. The musical instruments necessary for the school are provided by the jail authorities including three key boards, one harmonium, one tabla set, one conga (three-piece African tabla), one set of bongos (small two-piece tabla), and three guitars. The instruments have been donated by local philanthropists. Mushtaq Ahmed,is another 23-year-old under-trial prisoner who grew interested in music while in prison. "People say music is food for the soul, so I am learning to feed my distressed soul," says Mushtaq. Facing various criminal charges in the city court, he is hopeful he will be released soon. According to him, all the charges levelled against him are false. He said he has been in prison for the past year and a half without being tried in court. Mushtaq too, has decided to take up music as a career in the future. Housed in a jail's ward, the music school shares its space with the art school, another venture of the jail authorities. The school is has been run by a professional art teacher, Sikandar Ali Jogi, for the past year. Jogi is a graduate of the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts, (Arts Council of Pakistan) Karachi. The art school is recognised by all the leading art schools and private art galleries in the city. They encourage the inmates and support the jail authorities in organising exhibitions of the prisoners' paintings and drawings. Such an exhibition was organised in June this year within the jail premises, and was largely attended by art lovers and students of various art schools in the city. The French Consul General in Karachi Pierre Seillan inaugurated the show. He was so impressed by the work of prisoners that he convinced the jail authorities to hold a full-fledged two-day exhibition titled "Imprisonistic" at the gallery of French cultural centre, Alliance Francaise. The exhibition was held on June 26 and 27, and earned the artists a handsome amount from the sale of their paintings. The remaining paintings from the exhibitions hang on the walls of the Art School in prison. During the Holy month of Ramazan, students of jail's art school are are busy making calligraphic paintings of the verses of Holy Quran. "We plan to hold an exhibition of calligraphic paintings by the inmates by the end of Ramazan," Nusrat Mangan, Superintendent of Karachi Central Jail, told Kolachi. The spirit behind all these creative activities in the jail, says Mangan, is not only to revive the traditional jail industries, but also to provide inmates with skills that will make them useful members of the society when they are released. The revival of these industries has also provided a source of income for the families of poverty-hit inmates. Earlier, these industries were either closed or not functioning properly. Now, at least 10 shuttleless looms have been repaired and made operational, and are being used to manufacture fabric for local industries. The jail inmates are also producing Sindhi caps, carpets, rugs, intricate beads, and embroidery work. Taking a step ahead, the present Superintendent also set up a bakery in the prison to produce quality cakes, breads, biscuits, and rusks, among other traditional bakery items. Initially, three bakery instructors were hired to train the inmates. Eventually, the inmates took over, and are now successfully running the bakery. Mangan, who has a Master's in sociology, said that he initiated these activities as part of bringing reforms in the lives of prisoners. "There is a visible change in the attitude of the prisoners, who are learning art and music. Instead of gossiping in their free time, they now keep a distance from other prisoners and spend most of their time on honing their skills," he says. Mangan further said he always desired to work for the jail inmates. The idea of organising art classes for prisoners, he recalls, occurred to him when he was posted at the Nara Jail in Hyderabad in 2003. Back then, he met a graduate of the National College of Arts, Lahore, who was an extremely talented artist but unemployed. "I requested him to impart his skill to the jail inmates on a voluntary basis, and later offered him money to encourage him," he added. "I pooled money with a group of friends and collected the stationery and other drawing material," he said. However, just when the art the inmates grew interested and the classes began to produce positive results, Mangan got transferred. He regrets not being able to market their work through an exhibition as he did in Karachi recently. When Mangan was posted to Karachi, his initiative was welcomed by the authorities. "I was lucky to have found the right teachers," he says. Such activities are encouraged in prison to provide inmates with an outlet for their suppressed emotions and creative faculties, and to give them relief from the gloomy atmosphere of a prison. "Next year, I plan to start yoga classes in the jail," said Mangan. Besides these, computer classes are also offered at the prison. A three-month course in computers makes the students capable of obtaining a good job in any government or private organisation. At least 44 students have already completed the certificate course, and it has been reliably learnt that those who were released have secured jobs. The institute in the jail is affiliated with an institute in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. To avoid mentioning the name of Karachi Central Jail, the certificate bears the title of this institute. Apart from this, local non-governmental organisations offer a Criminal Rehabilitation Programme, and individual philanthropists are running different welfare projects in the prison that houses over 6,000 inmates. (Names
of the inmates have been changed to protect their identity) Baloch refugees: a flicker of hope? Refugees from Balochistan languish in parts of Sindh and are deprived of basic human necessities. However, Baloch activists are doing their level best to provide these migrants with a safe haven and shelter. By Jan Khaskheli Baloch activists in
Karachi believe that the change in government may have a positive impact
on the conflict in According to the activists, who are not satisfied with the way previous governments have handled what has been termed 'the Balochistan issue', there are two good indicators that President Asif Ali Zardari can make decisions independent of the traditional establishment. The first is that he initiated a United Nations-led investigation into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The second is that he ended the military operation in Balochistan. These two factors have led activists to feel optimistic about steps the Zaradari-led government may take regarding the Balochistan issue. "The Balochistan issue includes the rehabilitation of families in refugee camps scattered in parts of the Balochistan and Sindh borders," said Ellahi Baksh Baloch, a rights activist and part of the Strengthening Participatory Organisation. "It is a strategic matter the president is not authorised to touch, but after the recent replacement of the permanent envoy to the UN, we can say there is a ray of hope for positive change in the country on whole and Balochistan in particular." Baloch activists are concerned about the plight of some 80,000 families who migrated from areas that are under the military operation in Balochistan. They say that so far, the government has not taken any steps to rehabilitate them. These refugees have no food, potable water, or medicine. The women, children, and elderly are vulnerable to different diseases. Many of them look towards Karachi for medical aid. Activists said that many foreign and local rights groups, as well as the Edhi Foundation, had shown a willingness to help, but were stopped by the government. So far, around 80 refugees, mostly women and teenagers, have been brought to Karachi for a medical check up. Many of these were suffering from kidney failure, as the water available to the refugees is contaminated. Others who were suffering from Hepatitis-C were also brought to Karachi for treatment, said the activists. "The main problem refugees are facing in camps is the unavailability of safe water, food, and shelter," they said. "Several families have migrated to Sindh and have started work as construction workers, but they, too, live in deplorable conditions." According to activists, Baloch youths are targeted by law enforcers when they visit their parents who are being treated in Karachi. "Law enforcers pursue them, regardless of their political affiliation, which is why many young Balochs are reluctant to visit Karachi to seek medical help for their ailing parents." Abdul Wahid, a renowned writer from Lyari, said he had approached different rights groups in Karachi who claimed to fight for the cause of Balochistan, but none came forward to help the Baloch victims when they arrived in Karachi for medical treatment. "Hundreds of children are malnourished," said Wahid. "They have no schooling or medical facilities. Women are suffering from many diseases. People do not have a source of income, and are forced to beg to survive. It goes against their dignity in light of recognised principles of international humanitarian laws." Quoting UN laws, activists added, "International humanitarian law obliges states and other parties to agree to the provision of humanitarian and impartial assistance during conflict when the civilian population lacks essential supplies." They said that state authorities should make a distinction between combatants and non-combatants and ensure that non-combatants are protected under international humanitarian laws. Nisar Baloch, who is an Advocate of Baloch Promoters and Welfare Society and works for the community in the Makran, division, said that families in the newly established port town of Gwadar are being deprived of their residential plots. According to him, their documents are tampered by the officials of the Revenue Department. "This is a pre-planned strategy which will turn the local people into the minority," he said. "The state should ensure that the victims of this conflict are being provided relief and protection."
hyderabad Reviving the dying tradition of letter writing, some of the professional letter-writers in Hyderabad are providing support to the poor and needy and finding more ways to earn a living. Letter writing is a
centuries old tradition but with the arrival of modern technologies such
as electronic mails (e-mails) One can find individuals sitting outside post offices along with envelopes, postage stamps, tickets and money orders to facilitate the public by assisting them to avoid problems inside the post office, all for a nominal cost. However, earlier, these people used to write and read letters for the uneducated public. Hyderabad has seen the trend emerging of late for those individuals who used to write letters. This opportunity is created because of the fact that the post office is located right opposite Hyderabad Press Club, also commonly known as the Hyde Park of Hyderabad. People from across the Sindh province come here to lodge their protest against the injustice in order to seek attention of quarters concerned. In the past, there were quite a few individuals who used to write letters outside the post office, but now a selected few are venturing into a new territory of writing press releases for people who want to publish their complain via media. According to one such
person, this process of writing press releases and complaints is not an
easy task since it Moazzam Ali Jafri started writing letters and selling envelopes, money orders outside post office. He used to work as a head clerk in the army but has retired and ever since, he has been surrounded by poor people who come up to him to get their complaints written down. "Mostly people from the lower class come to me with their personal problems and difficulties, which I pen down for Rs50 (max.)," Jafri tells Kolachi. He says it depends on the financial condition and situation of the victim who wants his grievances to be addressed through the media or present it before the court of law. When asked how much he earns in a day, Jafri replied that the situation is not good as at the current inflation rate, everybody is living from hand to mouth. However, he is content that he is able to make ends meet. Shagan, a peasent living in Sikandarabad, Kotri, says that he comes here to have his letters written in a simple, yet effective manner since they do not have the resources to reach the authorities for registering their complaints. Jafri first listens to the problems of the people in peace before writing them. Although he knows fully well that his writing may not solve their problems, but he says he can at least be a part of helping process by forwarding their applications and press releases to the concerned authorities. It is heartening to know that people like Moazzam Jafri are still supporting and helping by doing their bit to provide help for the oppressed people mired in difficulties despite economic hardhships of his own. Photos by Sajjad Zaidi
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cent drop out rate within a year at the free school she is a part of,
Tayyaba now thinks it is impossible that her community would see change.
Inflation, which has hit Tayyaba's community as hard as everybody else,
has made education now a distant dream.
school in changing perceptions of the area people towards education that
made her choose Naunehal Academy over other schools in Islamia Colony.
multiplied from hundreds to thousands, the school managed to receive
financial aid worth Rs40.5 million now has a proper building that can
accommodate all the students.
inflation that hit Pakistan hard this year. "Earlier, it religious
cleric were hindering our goal to promote education, this year inflation
is serving that purpose," Waheed remarks ironically.
imprisonment. He has been lodged in Karachi Central Jail for the last
six-and-a-half years. He can now see some light at the end of the
tunnel, as the jail authorities have started regular music classes
conducted by experienced music teachers for both under-trial and
convicted inmates in the prison.
Engineer (DAE) in Mechanical Technology from one of the top technical
schools in SITE Karachi, and had been employed as a supervisor in a
factory to provide for his wife and six children.
Balochistan, which has uprooted many people in the province and forced
them to live as refugees.
and short messaging services (SMS) among others, the tradition is
diminishing from the society, affecting those professionals whose
livelihood was associated with this profession.
requires a lot of concentration and it is time consuming as well.