KARACHI: The killer heatwave has already claimed hundreds of lives. But spare a thought for those who have been living under a small tent on a pavement outside the Karachi Press Club since March 1 to press for the acceptance of their demands. And they are special people at that.

The 14 disabled men and two women have steely nerves. It’s been more than three months, the weather is suffocating and their demands have so far cut no ice with the authorities concerned. Yet they are there, in their wheelchairs or perched on a soiled chador, expectantly looking at journalists coming in and out of the club.

The disabled persons are from Hyderabad, Larkana and Naushahro Feroze. They demand that they be given jobs, as the Sindh government has reserved a two per cent employment quota for people with disabilities.

Abdullah Khan from Hyderabad is stricken with polio. His wheelchair, and the wheelchairs of a few of his friends, has now become part of the paraphernalia spread out outside the Karachi Press Club. “We’ve been here for more than three months. Most of us are physically handicapped. We also have a couple of blind friends. All we are asking for is to get us employed. We are not illiterate people. I have done my matriculation. Some of my friends have also been to school. So we can be employed. Besides, there is a two per cent quota in jobs,” said Abdullah while talking to Dawn on Wednesday morning.

Not that this bunch of special people have been left to their own devices. There are people who have been helping them survive in torrid weather conditions. For example, in Ramazan they get their regular supply of sahri and iftari. But it doesn’t mean that they sit idle on the pavement only bemoaning the fact that no one is paying heed to their demands. It is Rafique’s duty to do the dishes when the sahri time is over. He has a water cooler next to where he sits on the pavement with his legs also affected by polio, and cleans the dishes using the water from the cooler.

“A television news channel once interviewed us, and a few newspapers have published reports about us, but that’s about it. We are still here and getting dispirited by the day,” said Abdullah and then turned his wheelchair to his right to attend to one of his friends who needed attention.

Even if there are loopholes in what these 16 individuals are requesting for, it would not be inappropriate for the government to lend an ear to them and do the needful. These days the infernal heat that has gripped the city is disconcerting enough for those who move from one comfortable place to another, avoiding effects of the heatwave, leave alone for the people who live under the sky with only a tent to shelter them.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2015

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