Never have we heard of any of these filthy-rich people contributing towards the welfare of their fellow citizens
LAHORE: This refers to the news of Mark Zuckerberg and his wife planning to donate his wealth to charity. According to the news, they announced that they will donate an amount of nearly $45 billion to the cause of solving the world’s problems in celebration of their daughter’s birth.
What a noble gesture and what a unique way of celebrating the birth of a child!
Pakistan has its share of billionaires, who were just ordinary citizens before the independence of the country and within a short span of time, were able to build huge empires. However, never have we heard of any of these filthy-rich people contributing towards the welfare of their fellow citizens. Very proudly, every year, they proceed for a VIP-style Hajj and Umrah, but when it comes to Huqooqul Ibad, they find themselves overburdened with loans (which are never paid back anyway). It is rare to find these tycoons carrying out any welfare work for their employees, who are not even provided with the basic needs of shelter, medical, food, education and clothing.
Our elite possess so much wealth and property, not only in Pakistan but the world over, that if they were to stop working, their next many generations could live prosperous lives without being employed. Yet, they are busy in the dirty games of tax theft and unethical practices, while causing irreparable damage to the economy of the country — the country they have used to make all their fortunes in the first place.
Unfortunately, this disheartening trend can be widely observed in all other Muslim countries as well.
The royalty in many Middle Eastern countries live a life beyond our imaginations. While humanity is dying of hunger and natural calamities, they are preoccupied — booking five-star hotels in Europe and the US for vacations.
We have the example of Bill Gates, the CEO of Microsoft, who retired from active service and donated all of his wealth for charity and welfare of humanity. Our wealthy elite must remember the famous saying: “When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost and when character is lost, everything is lost.”
Aamir Aqil
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2015.
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