KARACHI: How much do we know about Waqas, the 15-year-old boy who died when a building collapsed in Korangi on Thursday? Well, he was like any other child, trying to enjoy life and learn the ropes at his father Hanif’s shop. Hanif is a kabaari (scrap dealer), so what could have Waqas learnt as a collector of bits and bobs? Answer: interact with people, all kinds of them. But he was also full of beans. And now has departed from this mortal world.

A forty-something man Munir claims that he had given a shop on rent in the fateful structure to Hanif so that he could earn a living. “Waqas was sitting with his two friends when the building shook. All of them [after sensing the danger] tried to run away. His friends were able to move out of danger but Waqas slipped, slid down and got trapped in the rubble,” Munir recalled how the tragedy that took a young life happened that day.

Locals fondly remember teenage boy killed in Korangi tragedy

For some strange reason or reasons best known to Hanif, the family has now left for their village near Bahawalpur called Mubarakpur Janwala. There’s a good contingent of law-enforcing agencies, both police and the Rangers, around on Friday morning. A couple of neighbours of the kid were sitting on the steps of a building nearby, watching the debris of the razed building being cleared by heavy machines. One of the neighbours, a bearded young man wearing a cap, remembering Waqas had tears in his eyes. “Waqas would help his father with his work from morning till sunset. He was supposed to take the 5pm train to Punjab to meet his mother. Little did he know that he’d be on it with his eyes closed, permanently. He was so happy that he’s going to see his mother. He is in our memory. We used to see him on a daily basis running around like children do. He was a hard-working kid, always trying to lend a helping hand to his father.”

Isn’t it strange that within a day of the incident Hanif returned to his village? Perhaps it’s not. Perhaps it’s for those who are looking into the causes of the building’s collapse to inquire about it. The fact is that one significantly sad part of the story is: a young life is no more — a young precious life, who could’ve grown up to become a more useful citizen of this society, who could’ve pulled his family out of their penury-stricken state.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2020