To say that he suffocated to death will only be the half-truth, as it was rather a murder than anything else.
KARACHI: A sanitary worker lost his life on June 1st owing to a doctor’s complete disregard for his life. Irfan Masih fell unconscious while cleaning a manhole in Umerkot and was rushed to the hospital by his family. But little did they know that the ‘pious’ doctor, who was supposed to be his saviour, would be the reason for his demise as he refused to treat him. Why? Because Masif was drenched in sludge, making him ‘napaak’ for the holier-than-thou doctor to treat him until he was cleaned up as per his liking. He said that since he was fasting he couldn’t touch 30-year-old Masih’s body covered in filth.
For the doctor, Masih was an untouchable and hence his life was unimportant. But his demise doesn’t only point fingers at the sorry state of the doctor’s attitude but also towards the apathy of the hospital.
After asking for the patient to be cleaned, the medical staff responsible for this duty didn’t do so, but, instead, Masih’s own brother did. Then, the doctors sent an oxygen cylinder which was empty and before they could arrange for another one, Masih lost his life.
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To say that he suffocated to death will only be the half-truth, as it was rather a murder than anything else. And not only is the doctor or the hospital responsible for it, or even the municipal committee accused of forcing Masih and his fellow sanitary workers to work without safety gears, but, in fact, the society that propagates such a mindset.
Sanitary workers in our communities, more often than not, belonging to the Christian community, are looked down upon owing to their profession, which is widely considered to be the lowest menials of jobs.
This is why we give our local sanitary workers or ‘sweepers’ the ‘other’ glass to drink in when they ask for water, make them sit on the ‘other’ side far away from us and try our best to engage with them the least, lest someone sees us mingling with them.
Such a mindset is perpetuated since our childhood, intertwined with our upbringing so much so that it is passed on from one generation to another. Creating a divide and alienating the poor workers. And when such a story of bigotry is brought to light, an inquiry team is made that does little to bring the accused to justice but a lot in buying time for the story to be forgotten. And so it does and the prejudice continues.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 9th, 2017.
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