“I did not go to school due to financial constraints and started working odd jobs from a young age to help my family. I worked in the fields of my native Fatehjang for many years. I came to Islamabad 26 years ago, hoping I will find a job as a gardener and started working in a few houses.

Some years ago, I started working for a lawyer who also provided me with accommodation in his house where I moved my wife and three children. My wife started working in the house and I would work in the garden. We manage to make about Rs18,000 to Rs20,000 a month.

My eldest son recently moved to Rawalpindi with his family where he found work. My second son drives a Taxi and the youngest doesn’t work yet.

My only regret is that I could not send my children to school. If they were educated, they would have fared better than I have. But everything is in God’s hands.

I earn enough to support my wife and son and I do not intend to move back to Fatehjang because I have nothing to go back to. Islamabad is home to me and I have given this city 26 years of my life. This city gave me whatever I have today.”

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2017