Pictorial Editorial: A Beacon Of Light

A Beacon Of Light

Asem Mustafa Awan: It was paper for Zeeshan, and in the rush, he forgot his wallet and the man who came as an angel in disguise was none other than Bashir Masih.

Bashir, a resident of G-6/2 Islamabad, accompanied Zeeshan to the examination centre and ensured he completed his paper on time. Zeeshan wanted to pay the gentleman who didn’t have a phone and whose only possession was a dilapidated taxi that he used to make ends meet.

Masih’s thoughtfulness for Zeeshan touched his heart, and his stature as an honest and upright person resulted in a post on social media. This scribe also digs deeper into the man who understood the other person’s distress and was there to help.

He lives in Islamabad, the beautiful federal capital, but where he lives is actually a slum in G6/2 that has been neglected by the Capital Development Authority for a long time; a time that spans decades, not years.

The tale of Bashir Masih is endless. It is already hard for him to make ends meet with his two young daughters since his wife passed away recently. The place where he built a small one-room house is on top of a nullah (sewage stream). The entire locality faces disease and hunger in the area, with death ensuing time and again in the form of dengue, cholera, hepatitis, etc.

The locality in G-6/2 houses sanitary workers who work day and night to keep the capital clean and green, and this back-breaking work keeps them busy for 12 hours and more. The remaining time is spent in quest for rations, which are out of reach due to the increasing price hike.

The government’s promises, such as granting them housing rights, are empty promises that are never honoured. The place that houses a few thousand people in the heart of Islamabad is devoid of basic amenities of life. There is no electricity or gas, and clean drinking water is a luxury throughout Pakistan that is a far-fetched dream.

The G6/2 residents are of the opinion that the rich and powerful elite in Islamabad have taken the “elixir of immortality” and the cleaners are entrusted with only one task, which is to clean their garbage and nothing else. The New Year is around the corner and this scribe hopes that there will be a change of stars for Bashir Masih, as he was there for Zeeshan, who could have missed a year; but Bashir’s thoughtfulness ensured that he shouldn’t suffer and follow his destiny to reach for the skies.

It is not the first time Bashir has aided those in distress but will someone stand up for him now, when he most needs it.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.

Photo Credit: Shazia Mehboob