Childhood On A Bridge Of Neglect 

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: They are smiling. That is perhaps the first thing that catches the eye.

Three young girls, apparently all under the age of 10, hurry across a narrow makeshift bridge suspended over a stream clogged with garbage, stagnant water and discarded waste. Their steps are quick and confident, their balance seemingly effortless.

There is no visible fear on their faces.

Perhaps there is a small shop nearby, where a few coins might buy sweets, biscuits or a cold drink. Perhaps they are simply racing each other toward a place only children would consider important.

Whatever the destination, they cross with the carefree confidence of childhood.

Children have a remarkable ability to find joy in places where adults see hardship. But this photograph tells two stories at once.

One is about childhood — curiosity, friendship, playfulness and the ability to find happiness despite difficult surroundings.

The other is about the environment in which that childhood is taking place.

Beneath the fragile bridge, a water channel appears to have been turned into an open dumping ground. Plastic waste floats on stagnant water while piles of rubbish accumulate along the banks, obstructing what should be a functioning waterway.

The bridge itself appears temporary and improvised. To the girls, however, it is simply a route from one side to another.

To an observer, it raises a much bigger question: What does it say about a society when children grow accustomed to navigating hazards that adults have failed to remove?

The photograph does not capture panic or disaster. In some ways, that makes it more powerful.

The girls do not hesitate because the scene is familiar to them. The polluted water, unsafe crossing and neglected surroundings appear to have become ordinary parts of their daily lives.

And that normalisation may be the most troubling element of all.

Children should be crossing bridges on their way to schools, parks and playgrounds. They should be discovering books, games and new possibilities — not learning how to negotiate unsafe surroundings simply because there is no better alternative.

Their resilience is admirable.

But a society should not have to depend on children’s resilience to compensate for neglected infrastructure and environmental hazards.

The girls may eventually forget this particular bridge, this stretch of polluted water or the afternoon they spent racing across it. Yet the environment in which children grow up can influence their health, education, safety and opportunities long after a single photograph has faded from memory.

For now, they keep running.

They keep smiling.

And beneath their feet, the fragile bridge tells a quieter story — one about environmental neglect, inequality and the circumstances children are forced to accept as normal.

Photo: APP