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We need to learn!

Posted by Umema Siddiqi on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 in ,
There was too much traffic on the road today. Cars were moving at snail's speed. I was enjoying the cool cloudy weather, so the jam didn't bother me much. I was near Rejent Plaza that I noticed something in the greenbelt. A 10-12 year old kid having a deep sleep on the damp green grass. It really brought tears to my eyes. The thought that what circumstances led him to sleep in the middle of the noisy, polluted road really gave me goose bumps.

I once read somewhere, "You learn something new everyday, if you pay attention". We sleep on cozy, comfortable beds, in air-conditioned rooms. We wrap ourselves in quilts, and we sleep on soft pillows. Talking about myself, I really can't sleep on some other pillow, and can't even think of sleeping on the (carpeted) floor. I'm a grown up, I know I should have the strength to sleep on carpets, if ever required. As compared to that boy, I don't have that tender skin that really requires comfortable, soft bed. And still I'm so unthankful for all that I have. We need to learn from such people. We need to be patient and thankful.

When I moved little farther, this thought striked my mind suddenly. Was he even alive? And I could harldy concentrate on my driving after that. Who could sleep in such noise?

Please Allah, forgive us for our sins and our unthankfulness. We surely are among the blessed people, but do we really thank You for all the happiness and ease around us? Please give us the ability and strength to help those in need and make us your favored people. Ameen.

This reminds me of "Your Handicap and Our Handicap."

I run for miles at a stretch, without once realising what an ordeal it is for you to walk one step. I talk of the red and the blue sky and the silver moon, without thinking of you, who can only see black. To whom his own appearance is a mystery; for whom there is an envelope of darkness and no morning. And when I break my glasses, I complain.


My day begins with words and ends with words. I hear, I speak. I express feelings of love, hatred, of hurt. I compliment, I reprimand, I spend hours glued to the television and the telephone. I sing my favourite song and hum my favourite tune. You do not cross my mind. You, who have no communication with the rest of the world. And when I am asked to lower my voice, I complain.


In the remaining time (i.e. the time when I am not doing any of the above), I think. I think before I speak, after I speak, while I speak. I think when I write, when I observe, when I sleep. I think of the past, and often relieve it. I think of the future, and try to plan it. I form opinions. I calculate, I learn, I reason, I remember. I think of everything, but you. You, who are unable to perform any of these tasks. You, who are locked up in a prison and are unable to live your own life. Unable to understand who you are and why you have been brought into this world. And when I can’t recall what I wrote to my friend’s birthday, I complain.


Today, all of a sudden, I am beginning to think of you. All of you. Trying hard to imagine what your life is like. And wondering why I haven’t done anything to help you. Why we don’t provide you shelter that you need. Why sometimes your family fails to give you the love that you need and leaves you to struggle alone. I wonder why the institutions are so scanty and the benefits so meagre. Why not our government allocates more funds for proving your quality of life.

Why we cannot have books in Braille and speech therapy and the countless facilities provided in the West. Why we continue to be oblivious of your existence, and ignorant of your problems.


You have taught us more than our best teachers. It is through you that we have learnt to survive. To conquer our fears and make our weakness our strength. You have taught us to be confident, yet sensitive – brave, yet accepting – for you are all these qualities personified. Those among you who are mentally incapacitated have taught us the lesson of virtue and innocence. You who are unaware of Satan who abides within us. You have taught us, above all, to persevere. And, not to complain. History has witnessed people with handicaps climbing mountains of success. Anna Sewell wrote ‘Black Beauty’ without ever having ridden a horse owing to physical handicap. Milton wrote unmatched ‘Paradise Lost’ when he was blind. Beethoven played his classical symphonies before awe-stricken audiences, when he couldn’t hear. If these legends can do it, you can.


You think you are handicapped? Ain’t I? Aren’t we all? There is always something that we lack. Be it beauty, intelligence, money, or character. We say we have eyes, but do we really see the heaps of garbage around us, the filth, desperately needs to be cleared? We say we can understand. But is there anything in this world, in this life, that we understand fully? We say we can speak. But do we call idle gossip we indulge in, speech? Do we speak the truth and fight the injustice that exonerates the guilty, and persecutes the innocent? We have deliberately chosen not to use any of the facilities provided to us and this, my friend is OUR handicap.



Why can't we really do something to help such people? And I'm not talking about those beggars who belong to proper organizations. I'm talking about the real deserving people. We really need to do something before all this becomes very common.

Cheerio folks.

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11 Comments


nice :), that piece you quoted is an eye opener.


~Acro: Thanks for liking :)

Anonymous says:

Yoo hoo I m back....

Lady lets get one thing straight, world is supposed to be a miserable place. So you can help all the helpless. But yeah lately it has turned into a real shitty place, so I agree that we should help the helpless, and the first step is to help them then and there.


~Safiullah: How to help? You never know who's the deserving one. And frankly speaking, it has now become my habit to say, "abhi nahi hay" without even looking at the person. And then most of them give me gaalian in return.
Who to give then???

Anonymous says:

How I see it is that even the non deserving ones are poorer than me... So they still deserve it.

I think we are not the judge of who is deserving and who is not. We only get to see the person for five seconds. Give them when you have something and apologize when you dont.


~Safiullah: You're right, but you see some of them do belong to those i-don't-know-what groups! I have even seen this amputated baba, who pulled his cellphone out with his distorted hand, checked if he had any call or sms or whatever, and then slid it back. And by face he was looking so damn deserving. What to do with such people then?

Anonymous says:

Again one can judge something of which one does nt know anything. That baba was someone you knew about. But I can bet you dont know this stuff about the rest.

And again the same point, even that baba deserved his alms cuz he still is very poor than us. If he was nt he'd be somebody else. I m not saying you give him a 1000 rups or some thing. Just 5 to 10 rups does nt make me or you poorer and him any richer. So I think this much is just by any standards. Wont you Agree?


~Safiullah: Your point is pretty valid, but somehow I just can't stop thinking about the real deserving people. Reminds of a documentary shown in geomentary about such beggar groups who were very well off (in the sense that they could and did earn from alternative sources) and yet they'd act like poor, needy people. This disturbs the most!

~Ali Raza: Welcome to my blog :) And thanks for liking the post. Despite Edhi centres, these beggars are increasing day by day. :|

Anonymous says:

Some of the most deserving are the Afghanis here. We can look for them and give them. Ehdi Center is a good option, there are some restaurants that feed the poor such as one in the lane turning at dunkin donuts on university road and one near Shah latif school in Sindhi muslim. You can sponsor two to three people with just 50 rups. They feed three times a day. Its also a good option if you pass near these places, and they are reliable.

Anonymous says:

@Umem:its really hard to understand who to give people and who not to. But instead of giving money you can give them what they are asking for. If they accept, than they were needy and if dont, they are professionals.
Its really easy to understand if you put some thinking into it. There is a company in Pakistan that I am proud to be friends with, because they have a huge website, and whatever they earn from that website they give it to the needy, and instead of just giving away they even put 50% of that to schools that dont have much to help teachers educate young generations. I wish I can tell everyone who it is, but I guess you can help them too, and all your friends too. Just need to think of a way you, not necessarily by giving them just money.

@Ali Raza Shiekh: Hey how are you? Nice to see you? hows your devnext coming?


~Safiullah: Once a relative of mine asked this beggar to search for some work (like selling hankies or tissues etc), but instead she said, "paisay dainay hein to do, ziada perhao mat mujhe". Now what to do with such people?
Which restaurant near Dunkin?

~Foody: Beggars on the roads don't ask for food or clothes, they ask for money - that too at least 5 bucks! Anything less than that and they walk away without even taking them.

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