Flower child

The sight is all too familiar. Rain or shine — day or night. At every traffic light on a major road in any major city, you will find a child, not even ten years old, with flowers to sell. The child carries the most fragrant of garlands, most precious of bouquets. Barefoot, with tattered clothes soaked either in sweat, or drenched in the pouring rain — the child comes to our cars — with an outstretched hand. Most of us look the other way — the question in the eyes of the child are too painful to answer as we step on the accelerator, worrying little about the odd chance that we may even hit the child. Some of us engage in commerce with the child — and even try to bargain with the little one. Of course we want to get a deal, a little discount would be appreciated — even if it comes at a cost too heavy for the child. The generous ones amongst us would find the lowest currency denomination in our wallet — one that is barely enough for a roti, and give it to the child and expect him or her to be indebted for our incredible kindness.

None would ever ask the name of the child — or inquire where is he or she from? A moment of a kind word is too much for us to spare.

Every one of these children is as precious as my own two children or my nieces and nephews. They are just as important and as innocent as millions of children in the country. The only difference between those who can read my op-ed today, and the child who is selling flowers in the middle of the road, breathing toxic fumes — is that we won the location lottery. We were born in families that were connected, powerful and affluent. They did not.

Fate may have deprived them of their first chance, but they deserve a second one, a real one. We owe it to them. A disabled father, a widowed mother, a harassed girl, a persecuted minority — the state belongs to them, just as it belongs to me and you.

The new social welfare programme — Ehsaas — is a step to correct the historic wrong. The promise of Ehsaas is three-fold. First, it aims to focus on human development and dignity through employment, education and empowerment. Second — it plans to leverage new tools in technology, economics and administrative support to decrease waste and create an efficient system. Third — it aims to combine various sectors of social welfare, from rural income support to innovation, vocational training to nutrition, into a single coherent programme.

Horizontal integration across disparate sectors, and moving away from vertical programmes — that tend to be a magnet for corruption — is something we desperately need. Ehsas is a step in that direction. Engagement of the private sector — both through incentivising corporate social responsibility and smart policies — may fill some gaps as well.

There are of course important and rigorous questions that ought to be asked about funding the programme and the sustainability of this effort. Questions about transparency, political impartiality, strategic road map and milestones are also fair and important — but the biggest question is not why we should not do it because of our current fiscal challenges, but how can we make it work, for everyone, in the current economic climate. Instead of throwing up our hands in frustration and giving up before we even start, let us use the same hands to build a more equitable state, one where the grieving families do not have to protest with the coffins of the dead ones in the street, because they are too weak and too poor.

The young child with a garland to sell on the road is not a statistic. That child is our future.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2019.

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