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It is a suburb surrounded by the sea, where locals earn their living through fishing and are part of multicultural activities throughout the year, but the people of Ibrahim Hyderi are far from living a normal life.
Located in Bin Qasim town, the community is far removed from the active city life of Karachi with booming businesses, glitzy night life and high-rise buildings spread across the metropolitan. The city is surrounded by several such slums and underprivileged areas, which serve as an open question mark to the governmental and social policies, chalked by the higher-ups in their respective domains.
Ibrahim Hyderi, marked with derelict houses, dilapidated infrastructure, low standard of living and non-existent sanitation, is a contrast to the other side of the city.
[For more photos from Ibrahim Hyderi click here.]
In the town by the sea, fishing is a seasonal way of living which is why the area is in dire straits and demands attention of the social and governmental reformers. The area is inhabited by over 150,000 people who are subjected to severe poverty without appropriate educational and health facilities. Scarcity of resources and inability to raise their voices has developed an aura of gloom around the residents.
The youth is deprived of education and is disoriented, keeping in view the current state of affairs. The area has its share of private and government schools but they are unable to achieve their respective goals. Various not-for-profit organisations are also working to facilitate the local youth and residents, with the Citizens Foundation (TCF) topping the list. The school governed by TCF, regarded as the haven for local students, provides high quality educational services to the students and counselling services to the parents.
For Azra Arif, principal of the TCF school, the organisation’s presence has raised the standard of education. “We have been a part of this community since 1998 and initially it was extremely difficult for us to convince the local residents to get their children enrolled in our school. We had to adopt door-to-door marketing techniques, in order to create awareness regarding the prospect of education, its importance and repercussions of remaining uneducated. However, the situation has changed now and we are registering/enrolling more students than expected.”
She added, “We are also advocating the rights of children by discouraging the parents against child labour, which is highly prevalent in the area as major chunk of the population lies below the poverty line. The school is a relief to beleaguered children who are in need of attention and require role models to straighten their habits.”
Addictions are very high in the area and large portion of the residents are addicted to gutka and pan. Children less than five years of age also indulge in the evil and are not restricted to act otherwise. Lack of education and resources to acquire it contribute towards the deterioration of positive thoughts and process of development.
Huma Iqbal, communication manager at the Citizens Foundation said, “We think beyond education, hence involving parents and instilling positive behavioural change amongst them. Population control, personal hygiene, addictions, proper sanitation and literacy remain the core issues that we are battling against in many similar communities and this area is no exception to that. However, contaminated and scarce water supply, are issues that are of significant importance in this community.
Gastro and Hepatitis C have become very common at Ibrahim Hyderi and we collaborate with various hospitals and institutes to encounter them. Recently, we collaborated with Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust (LRBT) and provided free optical treatment to many of the residents. Moreover, we also address issues pertaining to addiction and conduct workshops to highlight the side effects of such addictions.”
Since most of the households live below the poverty line, children are expected to help their parents to make ends meet. Najma Inamulhaq, a 10 year old local student, said, “I enjoy going to school and meeting my friends but we are extremely poor. I want to help my parents and alleviate their sufferings by assisting them in any capacity whatsoever. Every afternoon, I sell homemade “Chaat” in front of our one-room house located at Baloch Para, Ibrahim Hyderi,”
Noor- ul-Haq, a very young boy from the neighborhood said, “I study and take tutorials from an automobile workshop so that I can help my father when I grow up. Most of my friends do not go to school and there is a striking difference between them and myself. They are uncouth and addicted to Pan and Gutka, with no aspirations and goals in life.”
There are countless tales entailing the lives of many such students who serve as agents of change in such areas. These children have seen the worst and now hope for good days to come soon.
In communities where ignorance prevails and need for money supersedes human values, life becomes a predicament in itself. Health and education are the necessities of the contemporary world and living without them is a feat in itself.
Locals of Ibrahim Hyderi have seen it all and are pessimistic about the future. Their plight is evident, however the government refrains from taking measures to alleviate their standard of living.
The writer is a reporter at Dawn.com.
