The community which has never cast a ballot

Members say they were never treated like citizens

LAHORE: As the entire city heads out to cast their votes on Wednesday, the residents of China Scheme have decided not to vote for anyone—as has been the case for 40 years.

They live in makeshift huts spread over a few yards of land. The topography of the neighborhood may resemble a pond, but the water running through it is sewage drained into the area from nearby localities. Residents have set up their huts on the dry spots between these pools of sewage.

A resident named Siddique Masih tells The Express Tribune that over 700 families had been living in the area for 40 years. "We never cast our votes because no political party leader ever visited the area to convince us to vote. Why should we vote in that case?”



He said if candidates could campaign aggressively to convince people living in housing societies and bungalows, why could they not do the same for his community? "Are we not citizens of this country and can our ballots not be weighed as votes?"

Masih said if any political leader bothered to arrive  in the area and ask for a vote, the residents would have obliged.

"We do want facilities such as gas, electricity and employment. We need the government to solve our problems."

Another member of the community, Javed Masih, said that they did not have a place to bury their loved ones as there is no graveyard in the area.



"Our houses leak and are submerge in water when it rains. It becomes extremely difficult for us to breathe and sleep due to the smell and mosquitos at night," he complained.

"I clean filth and collect garbage in the city. A large number of my family members are associated with a waste management corporation," he shared. “Are we not working for the country?” he asked. Javed said he and his fellow residents were not treated like citizens of the country and provided basic facilities.

He said the all the residents had CNIC and had even registered to vote.

Masih assured that he would cast his ballot in favour of anyone who vows to resolve their problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th, 2018.