“I was born in Faisalabad in a poor family and am the second of eight siblings. I grew up working various jobs including weaving carpets and working as a cobbler to help out the family. My father had some land, which my elder brother sold and cheated us out of the money when my parents died. I had to take responsibility for my siblings after that and married off three of my sisters.

When I was 20, I met this colonel in the Cantt area who was impressed by how hard I worked and he helped me get a position in the army as a part of the janitorial staff, where I worked for 16 years.

I got married and retired from my job in the army and moved to Rawalpindi, where I got a job in the Rawalpindi Waste Management, where I have been working for two years.

I have two children, my daughter is married and my son is 13 and is mentally disabled. I am renting a house on the Double Road.

My wife works as a maid in houses but it is still hard to make ends meet. Our Christmas will be very simple because after paying the rent, we are left with very little money, from which we have to pay bills and for other expenses as well.”

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2016