In Buner, hope and a prayer weave a magical web

Disabled since birth, a young tailor narrates his tale of overcoming adversity.

BUNER: Living with his eight member family, Sajid Ali Khan finally heaved a sigh of relief when he started his own garments and tailoring shop with a UNDP grant. He is one of many recipients of UNDP grants aiming to streamline the livelihood of conflict affected areas in Buner and Swat districts.

Khan is a young man of just 25 but had the misfortune of being born with a physical disability which led to the local community treating him like a pariah. “My father was shocked when the principal of a private school rejected my admission by saying ‘this lame boy will distort my school’s image’.”

Khan’s father insisted that the principal grant him admission but he refused. “Other schools were very far from my home and being physically impaired I could not attend them. I hate that man because he ruined my life by forcing me into darkness,” Khan said.

When he turned eight, his father got him a job as a tailor’s apprentice. “My boss was very kind to me as he himself was disabled. He was also a government teacher, and taught me the trade in
five years.”

The kindness of his employer led him to hand over his shop to Khan when he had learnt the craft completely. Since then, Khan has been working as a
tailor master.

But everything changed when Talibanisation engulfed Buner and Swat. Like many running businesses, Khan’s was also badly hit. “We migrated to Mardan and left behind everything.  After returning home, my shop had been ransacked and I was left to the mercy of God.”

“Then one day some young men came to me and enlisted my name in a vulnerable persons list. They gave me a grant with which I bought new tailoring tools and some readymade garments,” he said, adding, “Today, with the grace of God, I can easily earn Rs500 per day.”

His shop in Sawaria Bazaar now also employs an extra artisan and an apprentice to maintain smooth operations. Though he is content with his life, he still hopes to expand his business.

He said with a gleam in his eyes, “If Sarhad Rural Support Programme and the United Nations Development Programme had not helped me in time, I could never have continued tailoring and would have lived a life
of pain.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2011.