The saddest creature

With not even a single street light on the isolated road and accompanied by highly paranoid parents, my 15-minute ride back from work is one filled with fearful glances in the rear-view mirror, always on the look out for ‘muggers’.

So just a few weeks back when the car came to a shrieking halt, followed by gasps, I knew that was it. That dark huddle standing in the middle of the road was going to strip us of all valuables and leave my family in post-traumatic shock.

But, to our surprise, our midnight assailant was not armed, had a look of despair, and a tail – an abandoned and injured donkey stranded in the middle of the road glared at us in a most unthreatening manner.

While quickly scanning the internet for a doctor or perhaps an animal activist, anyone who could help remove the donkey from the middle of the road (at least for the sake of avoiding accidents), the only thing I came across was ‘flying donkeys’ of Pakistan – pictures put on various sites, for the pure sake of entertainment, of animals lifted up in the air due the weight of their carts.

In a country that lacks basic human rights, is it fair to write about the non-existent rights of animals? And that also of a donkey, the most hardworking, yet the most poorly treated animal? Are the hard workers the ones that get punished the most in our country?

In a struggle to make ends meet, especially at a time like this, it’s easy to ignore and turn a blind-eye to the cruelty inflicted on animals in Pakistan, particularly those on the streets. But while we can ignore it, it’s important not to encourage it. Compassion, even in the smallest form, can go a long way.

It’s time for us to get down off our high horse (no pun intended) and note the plight of the helpless animals.