Our city is in pain and it’s telling us every day: Shaniera Akram

Akram has raised her voice against constant garbage disposal on Karachi beach

Shaniera Akram is once again raising her voice against the practice of garbage/sewage dumping at Karachi's beach, Sea View.

The activist/philanthropist took to Twitter to share a disheartening image of the Clifton coastline strewn with rubbish. "I’m sick of this. We clean the beach, again and again, only to have the city’s garbage dumped in our sea & sewerage lines, which eventually washes up on our shore," she lamented in her tirade.

Akram then added dejectedly that "I will not even be going to the beach anymore. I’ve had enough," calling the situation an 'embarrassment to the country'.

I’m sick of this.We clean the beach again & again, only to have the city’s garbage dumped in our sea & sewerage lines, which eventually washes up on our shore. I’m not even going to the beach anymore. I’ve had enough. This is an embarrassment to our country. We should be ashamed. https://t.co/DdpIeBFRfK

— Shaniera Akram (@iamShaniera) October 4, 2020

Her first rightful outburst was followed up by a stream of tweets that showed the mirror of realities to an average Karachiite. "It’s not just the beach, there is garbage everywhere. It’s on our street corners, our lanes, outside our shops, in front of our offices, next to our schools, dumped on vacant land, outside our homes, on our only beach, and its in our ocean. We are literally swimming in it!" wrote Akram.

She then went on to share how she always associates the word' pride' with Pakistani people; "We take pride in everything, our families, neighbours, friends, offices, homes, gardens, etc., however, the situation in Karachi is sad, to say the least.

"All I see is rubbish & people breaking the law. Shops with piles of rubbish, sewerage tankers offloading in the ocean, Housing blocks looking like they are falling apart because no one wants to paint or fix them. There is no pride anymore Karachi," she penned.

All I see is rubbish & people breaking the law. Shops with piles of rubbish, sewerage tankers offloading in the ocean, Housing blocks looking like they are falling apart because no one wants to paint or fix them.There is no pride anymore Karachi. It’s like we have given up caring

— Shaniera Akram (@iamShaniera) October 4, 2020

Akram then made her way to the beach in the morning to gauge the reality of the mess, posting a picture of herself at the Sea View surrounded by garbage. "Our city is in pain and it’s telling us every day. We are crying out for help but nobody can hear us. This has got to stop! This has bought shame to our city, our people, and our culture. This is not who we are," she wrote.

Our city is in pain and it’s telling us every day. We are crying out for help but no body can hear us. This has got to stop! This has bought shame on our city, our people and on our culture. This is not who we are 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/aM0gAXL7dU

— Shaniera Akram (@iamShaniera) October 5, 2020

Akram's advocacy against garbage/sewage dumping at the Karachi coastline is a long struggle of hers and here's hoping that her much-needed voice doesn't fall on deaf ears anymore.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below