Pakistan has lost its greatest humanitarian

Today, though he is no more, his dream still lives on.

By Asma Ali Zain

Published: Sun 10 Jul 2016, 6:53 PM

Pakistan has arguably lost the greatest humanitarian the country has ever had.
Abdul Sattar Edhi, the wiry man with a steely resolve, single-handedly set up the country's biggest medical and humanitarian relief network and brought it to a point where his privately run ambulances and shelter homes have taken over the state's job.
Today, if a child is abandoned, it is left in a cradle outside the Edhi home and if a person is dying on the streets, it is Edhi's ambulances that came to the rescue.
Edhi is a humanitarian brand name and with his death, comes the greatest loss for mankind.
Ten years ago as a fledgling reporter and a Punjabi newly married into the Memon community - to which Edhi belonged - I was just beginning to understand the intricacies of my profession and the nuances of the community that I had become part of.
It was then that I happened to meet Edhi and his wife Bilquis during their brief visit to the UAE. Apprehension got the better of me before the interview. after all I was going to meet a man who was already a legend in Pakistan.
But the unassuming couple put me at ease within seconds of our meeting. "You are just like my daughter," said Bilquis as soon as we met.
This was in 2006 when Edhi and his wife stopped over in Dubai during a humanitarian mission around the world.
On the onset, Edhi made it clear that he was not looking for appreciation or recognition. "Humanity is beyond such trivial matters," he said.
Edhi had last visited the UAE in the year 2000 when he was conferred the Volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services by the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Award for Medical Sciences.
The couple was all praise for the UAE government. "I had applied for a 15-day visit visa but the UAE government has given me the visa for a year, and that too free," he told me.
He said he wanted to set up a humanitarian facility in the UAE and was also offered a place in Humanitarian City in Dubai or anyplace else he wished for. "I am not much aware of this country but I hope the Rulers here will support my cause," he said.
In an another interview from his hometown Karachi a year later, Edhi said that he had finalised a facility in Ajman that would be run by his daughter. "Women can better understand other women's problems, therefore, I think my daughter is more capable of running this facility," he said. However, the plan never materialized since Edhi was already 80 and not in good health.
The UAE Rulers donated a huge sum for his cause but he had set the rules. "I take monetary donations from people of my nation only. This is a rule I have set for myself, and Alhamdolillah, I have received billions of rupees as aid from my country's people," he said. "But if someone is willing to offer help voluntarily, then I am ready to accept."
The Memon's are essentially a business community, many of whom migrated to Pakistan from India during the Partition in 1947. They are also known to be hardworking and honest in their business dealings.
But it was very clear that the Edhi Foundation kept business and humanitarian work apart. "Welfare work has now become a money-making industry," said Bilquis expressing her dismay and giving a few examples.
Edhi's words of wisdom were based on his experiences since he had not had any formal education. "Humanity is free from short-sightedness," he said.
"One expects educated people to understand and serve humanity better but they are the ones who are flouting the rules the most," he lamented.
He was a man of a few words delivered honestly and in a straightforward manner, often leaving the sentences midway to be completed by his wife whom he referred to as his backbone.
During our meeting, we spoke about everything - from my Punjabi-Memon connection to their marriage. Bilquis lovingly repeated the story she may have told several times earlier. "I was training as a nurse at his centre in Karachi when Edhi sahib proposed to me," she said.
Edhi also shared his last wish with me. "My last wish is to set up an international emergency cell in Pakistan that can offer help to troubled people anywhere in the world. My desire is that this cell should be equipped with charter planes, free dispensaries and mobile emergency units."
Today, though he is no more, his dream still lives on.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com