UNFORTUNATELY, it has become a common practice that we take pride in our ability to find faults right, left and centre, and to criticise one and all. When we come across something extraordinary, we do not even bother to appreciate it.

I live in Toba Tek Singh, a small and underdeveloped city, and would share a horrible incident related to my childhood. Once our family was returning home from some other city when we saw a lot of ambulances and fire engines whizzing past our vehicle. After a while, I saw the sky going red. It was a massive blaze. As we got closer to town, we saw people on the roads, and there was fear in their eyes.

As it turned out, the main pipeline of natural gas distribution centre had developed a leakage which would have burnt the whole city down had it not been for an old employee at the station who lit a fire to make the blaze go vertical rather than horizontal. He knew he would not survive, but he saved us. He saved the whole city.

Every time I passed that area of the city even today after all these years, I remember his sacrifice. As a nation, we have many unknown heroes who have died unsung deaths. They must be admired, remembered and honoured.

Saira Ahmad
Toba Tek Singh

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2023