A dream that didn’t come true

Rashid was dreaming of repaying his debts and getting his wife and two children new pairs of shoes and clothes.

PESHAWAR: With a cheque for Rs100,000 in his pocket, Haroon Rashid, a schoolteacher, was visibly happy, recalls his friend. Rashid received the money in compensation for the wounds he suffered in a bombing over a year ago. He was dreaming of repaying his debts and getting his wife and two children new pairs of shoes and clothes.

Tragically, the dream didn’t come true. The 45-year-old took the dream to his grave. He died with 19 others in Friday’s bomb explosion onboard the bus carrying government employees on Charsadda Road.

Rashid was a teacher at the Government High School City No. 4 Kakshal, in Peshawar. He had suffered serious injuries to his spinal cord when the same route bus was bombed on June 8, 2012.

He spent all his savings on the treatment of his wounds and ran into financial troubles.

“Today he had received a cheque for Rs100,000 in compensation. He was very happy. He said he would repay his debts,” his friend and colleague Jamal Nasir told The Express Tribune.

“Before boarding the bus, he ranged up his wife and told her that he would return home after depositing the money in a local bank.”

After running into financial troubles, Rashid had shifted his family to his native village of Umar Zai, in Charsadda, as he could not afford to keep them in Peshawar. He commuted between Charsadda and Peshawar daily, even though doctors had advised him against too much travelling.

Friday’s blast left his and many other families shattered.

Horrific scenes were witnessed at Peshawar’s main medical facility, the Lady Reading Hospital, where most of the causalities were brought. Friends and families of the victims were seen wailing and crying at the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2013.