09 February 2004	Monday	17 Zilhaj 1424

ISLAMABAD, Feb 8: The rising sun sees them sprawling the green belts and ravines to collect bottles, cans and polythene bags, anything they can lay their hands on that might sell. Child scavengers are a common sight in Islamabad. Sometimes four- and five-year-olds, barefoot, comb the roads to salvage recyclable items from trash, lugging their bounty on their backs.

Every paper picker has his own individual tale to tell, but they are bound by a common thread. A father, elder brother killed in action, sometimes both parents have died from landmines or bombs or they have been maimed. Invariably they have a brood of younger siblings or elder sisters which leaves them as the effective bread earners.

The Rs20 million plan drawn up to improve civic amenities in the capital would go a long way in preserving the environment if along with dustbins, separate containers for glass, plastic, metal and paper could be placed in every sub-sector. It would facilitate recycling and motivate people to think of trash as another's means of livelihood.

Sher Khan leaves home at the crack of dawn. He is twelve years old, the eldest of five brothers and sisters. He works till after sunset to pay their school fees.

His foremost concern in life is to keep earning enough to feed and shelter his family. He takes great pride in the fact that additional chores like sweeping and washing clothes enable him to buy books and uniforms for his siblings.

The circumstances that drive them to scour in filth for a few salvageable items are starkly similar. The younger ones are arguably the most pitiable and the most admirable. They have no future to look forward to, or none that they can foresee. Their days pass in a haze.

Ahmed and Zareen reach home after dark every day. Their mother worries for her eight- and six-year-olds, but she cannot do without their labour. Sometimes there is barely enough to feed the family at night.

Their faces are streaked with dirt and scratched by the bare tree branches; their clothes are in tatters. They would like to attend school but recognize the more urgent need for food.

Engaged in a profession that most of us regard as subhuman, we choose to ignore them. Because most of them are of Afghan descent, they are somehow not considered part of our society. The fact that they live in a free country with no fear of daisy cutters seems to be favour enough.