KARACHI: The people of Thar suffer, they have been suffering for a long time, and in their desperation they have turned to Karachi in search of employment and a better life. The conditions in Thar continue to regress and the numbers migrating to Karachi continue to increase.
Sindh’s two major cities - Karachi and Hyderabad - are no strangers to the people of the desert and they have been coming here for a while, but their numbers have increased drastically in the past two years.
Some work as cooks and drivers - in Clifton, Defence, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Malir and other such posh areas - while the others find employment as labourers in factories, especially garment ones.
They may still be in their own country, and even in the same province but life in Thar and life in Karachi are vastly different and they often find themselves missing home, despite all of its faults. And so they stay in touch with each other and meet every week on Sundays at Sea View or the Gizri Ground. There they gather, Muslims - Rahimoon, Samejo, Nohri and Junejo - and Hindus - Bajeer, Bheel, Menghwar - alike, just as they did back home.
“We play cricket and share the stories of our week with each other,” one of the workers, Mumtaz, told The Express Tribune. “It is our time to relax and release tension, to recall the memories of Thar. This is also the ideal time for us to try and find employment for those who have just arrived.”
The Thari come in considerable numbers but not a single woman or girl does so. “Our women and elders do not work outside their homes,” said a young boy, Khan Sahib. “We [the youth] support them.”
They believe the number of those coming to Karachi is increasing by the year due to the drought. “People contact us and ask us to get them jobs in Karachi because of the drought,” said another worker, Manthar. “There are only 70 households in my village and 40 boys from there work here.”
Around a third of these workers have completed their Matriculation and Intermediate but those who come to the city at an early age can’t continue with their education. “Those who come to Karachi at a young age are able to find jobs easily and can learn to cook or drive,” explained Mumtaz. “The demand in bungalows is high for very young boys but they must know, or learn, skills such as cooking.”
Before being given a job though, these young men have to pass an interview with any prospective employer and are often exploited by them. “We are not always in a position to bargain,” said another worker, Anwer. “We need money immediately so we have to work even at low wages.”
The wages also depend on the age of the boy and younger ones are often exploited more. “For very young boys, the wages start from Rs2,000 per month,” said another worker, Abdul Karim. “Our rights aren’t protected by the government but even Rs2,000 is a lot for a family that is in need.”
Back home in the desert, there is no work if there is no rain but that is not the case in Karachi, where work can be found throughout the year. “The only option left for the people of Thar is to come to bigger cities in search of employment and work on whatever wages they are offered,” said a former Tharparkar lawmaker, Wali Muhammad Rahimoon.
The plight of the men of Thar is not only due to the harshness of the weather but also due to a lack of resources. “There is potential in the boys of Thar but they have to settle for menial jobs as they have no technical training,” added Rahimoon. “If you establish factories and exploit the natural resources of Thar, you will hardly find a single man in Karachi from the desert.”
Rahimoon provides a link to Thar for these young men and they often contact him in case of an emergency or just to stay in touch. The former MPA estimates that there are around 50,000 young men from Thar in Karachi. But on Sundays they dance away their worries at Sea View, yards away from the waves of the water that they so sorely miss back home and for a few exultant moments, these people from Thar belong to Karachi just as much as anyone else.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2014.
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Why not bring all the thar people to Karachi, at least they will not die of negligence of GOS