ABDUL Sattar Edhi is no more. There is sorrow at his passing and sadness at the pain his 92-year-old body may have suffered in his final weeks.
Greater, however, is the feeling of pride that he was from among us, if not quite one of us in the way he lived his life.
Edhi: icon, humanitarian, Pakistani – ours. To the end, he put simplicity first and others always before himself.
His organs were to be donated, but age and frailty meant only the cornea could be transplanted.
Perhaps that final act will draw attention to the desperate shortage of healthy organs being donated for transplant in the country – an issue that only comes to the fore tangentially through grim tales about the kidney transplant racket.
If only a few of the many who are mourning Edhi’s passing were to emulate his example, many more could live longer lives or have use of faculties they otherwise would not.
It would also be a tremendous boon to the other iconic institution where Edhi was hospitalised: the SIUT, which heroically continues in circumstances of adversity.
The greatest tribute that could be given to one of Pakistan’s most famous sons would, of course, be to ensure that Edhi’s humanitarian network continues its tremendous work.
Edhi’s family and associates have already indicated that they will endeavour to carry on with the man’s mission, but the impact his passing could have should not be underestimated.
Charitable donations – likely to spike in the days ahead – may drift downwards eventually.
The Edhi model has been replicated by others and the organisation will surely struggle to emulate the impact he had on donors, large and small.
Perhaps the state, as represented by the highest of officials who attended Edhi’s funeral prayers yesterday, could play a role – but with the immediate caveat that it find a way to mobilise funds transparently for the Edhi network without interfering in its management and day-to-day affairs.
The Edhi network, after all, came into being because of acute state failure to look after the dispossessed, the rejected and the scorned.
His mission should not become hostage to the very failures that created the need for it in the first place.
Reflect also on the values that Edhi embodied.
His worldview was ecumenical and increasingly antithetical to the country he grew old in.
Not for Edhi was the religion, caste, ethnicity or citizenship of those he served. All were equal and all equally welcome.
If Edhi’s values were superimposed on the Pakistani state, Pakistan would indisputably be closer to the vision of its founding father, Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
A state that discriminates is a country that attacks itself. Edhi was a man who showed a country what is possible when humanity is put first.
Truly, no other has come close since.
Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2016
