KARACHI, Feb 24: A teenager left for Haj via Yemen in the mid 1940s and got stuck in Aden, only to return home after 60 years. Ghulam Umer Gopang, now in his 70s, after performing Haj was trapped on his way back in Aden for 60 years. Gopang, native of Baburi Goth, a bordering area in Larkana district, forgot to speak his mother tongue Sindhi but could barely speak Urdu.
Talking to Dawn at Edhi Foundation office, Mr Gopang said that the Pakistan movement was in full swing in 1945 or 1946 when he planned to perform Haj. He first came to Karachi and met a man, who sent people to Mecca. He joined a caravan that boarded a boat for Muscat. Instead, the boat took them to Yemen from where they went to Mecca and performed Haj and spent many days in Madina.
On his way back, he was picked up by law enforcers in Yemen and was jailed as he did not have travel documents. Reminiscing about those days, he said that travel documents were not considered important; meanwhile a civil war broke out in Yemen. At the end of the civil war, he was released and decided to stay in Aden.
Mr Gopang said that his name was Ghulam Umer Gopang but the Arabs in Yemen changed his name to Abdullah Ismail, and he spent all his life with the given name.
Giving details of his life, he said as he was illiterate he worked as a labour. He was apprehended many times but was let off afterwards. About his private life, he said: “I married a Somali woman first and after we could not prolong our relations, we decided to get separated. Thereafter, I married an Indian woman but again my second marriage proved unsuccessful”. He has no children from either of his wives.
He said that although he missed his family a lot, but never thought of returning home. “I was afraid of going back as this country is very dangerous. In Yemen, one cannot even think of stealing a penny as he may lose his hand if found guilty. But in this country (Pakistan), one could be killed for no reason”, he added.
About his return to his native country, he said that he met Pakistan ambassador in Sanaa after he had moved from Aden to Sanaa some four months back. The ambassador convinced him to go back and meet the family.
His elder brother has died but both his sisters are alive. All of his family live in Baburi Goth where most of his family members speak, understand only Sindhi.
Mr Gopang’s nephew Mohammad Hashim, came to take his uncle back to the village. Hashim said that they read about him in a Sindhi language newspaper and contacted the Edhi Foundation. After it was confirmed that Gopang was his uncle, he along with his two cousins came to Karachi to take him back to their village.
The elderly man hopes that he could not face as much difficulty as he thought before the arrival of his relatives Ghulam Abbas and Haji Gulzar, who played the role of interpreters between Gopang and his family. Ghulam Abbas, who is husband of Gopang’s niece, has spent many years in Saudi Arabia and is well-versed in Arabic language as well.
A letter issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Sanaa read, “Mr Abdullah Ismail Ali (formerly known as Ghulam Umer), a Pakistan national and holder of Emergency Passport No.SS-083520, came to Yemen in 1940s by ship, had been apprehended by security agencies on many occasions owing to having no valid document with him. This embassy has time and again approached our authorities but no reply from them has been received. It has now been decided to send back Mr Abdullah Ismail to Pakistan on government expenses so that his grievances could be lowered down and he could spend his remaining days in peace and harmony rather than in jail.”
KARACHI, Feb 24: A teenager left for Haj via Yemen in the mid 1940s and got stuck in Aden, only to return home after 60 years. Ghulam Umer Gopang, now in his 70s, after performing Haj was trapped on his way back in Aden for 60 years. Gopang, native of Baburi Goth, a bordering area in Larkana district, forgot to speak his mother tongue Sindhi but could barely speak Urdu.
