Heroes in the shadows

In Pakistan, where bomb blasts, target killings and building-collapses occur regularly, we have forgotten to acknowledge the people who are the first to arrive at the site of such calamities.

When I was covering the aftermath of one such bomb blast, I saw, whilst photographing a burnt shop, a rescue worker holding the grill of the shop and looking up at the sky. Watching him, I could almost feel his pain and misery, which was heartfelt to say the least. He looked exhausted as he had been working there for the previous 24 hours.

But in his eyes there was a resurgence of spirit; the spirit of going all the way for the people who suffered; the spirit of rescuing victims no matter how long it took. It was right there, in his eyes.

I have now realised that Pakistan has forgotten such unsung heroes. The heroics of ordinary people. The people who aren’t celebrities. The underdogs. Thousands of rescue workers respond to such attacks and work day in, and day out. Theirs is an endless and thankless job. They are not even taken notice of by the media. If nothing else, these people should at least be appreciated for selflessly putting their lives on the line day after day.

We need to acknowledge feats of these rescue workers who have not even received proper training to deal with emergency situations. They have learnt everything on-the-job, during the course of carrying out rescue operations. In addition, they are hardly ever provided with proper safety equipment, which further endangers their lives.

It now seems that our nation is on the road to recovery from a bloodied path and the role of our disaster management and rescue services cannot be disregarded here.

There is an urgent need for further investment in these personnel, who were and still are, undoubtedly, the unsung heroes of this country. These people should be the real source of inspiration for the whole of this country, and looking after them must be prioritised by the state.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2015.