RECENTLY, I visited a peripheral area of Rawalpindi. It was a locality of the poor, and right in front of the settlement there was an open ground with litter flying all around and a stream of sewage running around and across it. It was hard to believe that people could actually live in such a surrounding, but they do. They breathe, they play, they earn while living there. They are there not by choice, but because of their circumstances. We enjoy the many privileges that we do without even realising how blessed we actually are and how grateful we should be.

Another thought that crossed my mind during the visit related to our social behaviour. The locality was inhabited by various families. If each family had taken out just an hour to clean their unsightly surroundings, the open ground might have presented a completely different look. Maybe they did not feel that it was awkward living in such an environment, or maybe they, like many of us, believed that keeping public spaces clean is the sole responsibility of the local administration. Their children play amid all that mess. It will rain. It will stink. But they will never join hands to improve their locality.

There are times when bringing a positive change requires just a bit of effort, but we generally do not bother putting it in either because of over-reliance on some ‘external help’ or because we do not want things to change for the better. In either case, it is we, the people, who end up being the losers.

Muhammad Majid Shafi
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2026