Parents abandon sick child on the road

Ten-year-old cancer patient Ameen left on the road by his parents because he was ill.

RAHIM YAR KHAN: On Tuesday, a ten-year-old boy Ameen was left alone on the road by his parents because he was ill.

Kot Sabzal resident Ameen is reportedly a cancer patient and his parents said they could not afford his treatment. According to his father Shareef, they had conducted several blood tests for Ameen at different private hospitals and he had been diagnosed with leukaemia. Ameen was abandoned on the road by his father because he kept crying due to the pain. “He kept crying and I couldn’t help him. I cannot afford his treatment,” Shareef said.

A lawyer brought the boy to the Sheikh Zayed Hospital where his initial medical treatment has been started. Medical Superintendent Mushtaq Ahmed said that the boy’s blood samples had been sent to Shaukat Khanum Hospital and Multan Nishtar Hospital to confirm the status of the cancer. “The treatment does cost a lot of money and his family cannot afford it,” Ahmed said.

Shareef is a prayer leader in the main Kot Sabzal mosque and said that he had lost all his savings in the floods.  “I repair bicycles part time and I have three other children. I paid off everything to pay for his treatment but now I cannot afford to pay his bills,” Shareef said. Shakeel Abbasi district zakat officer has taken notice of the situation and assured that the boy’s medical bills will be borne by the zakat and ushr department.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th,  2011.