Earthquake highlights extreme poverty in Harnai, Balochistan

Lives of people stricken with poverty has only worsened after the quake

KARACHI:

“We only have football which is what brings life to us. We don’t want cars or a lot of money or anything much. Just a respectable enough way to play football and not worry about how our houses will be run and families will be fed,” Ajab Khan Khilji, the captain of Ahwad Football Club (FC) in Shahrag, Harnai explains, as he relates how horrific the earthquake was that struck Harnai on Thursday at 3 am.

Ajab, 29, is adamant that the players all over Harnai District located in the northeast of Balochistan, not just in tehsil Shahrag where he works in a coal mine from morning to afternoon are in dire need of help. The earthquake has only exposed the extreme poverty among the people and especially among footballers as most of them come from very humble backgrounds.

Ajab, who is a striker and captain of his club Ahwad meaning homeland or “Watan”, describes how vulnerable the footballers and almost all the people with limited means in Harnai district are.

“The Earthquake has been devastating, the walls of our houses have fallen, there is so much destruction but we are thankful that at least among our footballers in the club or in Shahrag the damage is only of material things and no one died in the quake,” Ajab told The Express Tribune.

“We unfortunately see people die in many other ways, as we don’t have government hospitals that can even treat minor injuries of our players or if anyone gets shot in a dispute or if we get injured while working in the coal mine. This is because government hospital doctors don’t even want to work in this place.”

“The government hospitals are run by corrupt people so we have to either get the treatment privately or run to Quetta but by that time we lose the patient and even when the ambulance service comes to us, the injured person has passed away. So the well-being of our people is in danger, because there is no system in place.”

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As footballers we only have the sport that we play after our coal-mining work at the Railways ground, where Ajab said that his club players ended up making the goal posts with pipes bought from Quetta.

“All we ask for is a transparent system to be put in place as there is no help from the government,” Ajab said adding that “all the players work in the mines and the club is run on donations from the people.”

“In Shahrag, we are all poor people, we love football because that is our passion and it helps us look forward to something that is outside of the mine. Working in the mines is not easy either and it is now comparatively even more dangerous to go into especially after the earthquake,” explained Ajab. “As a club, we run on donations, for example if we are competing in any tournament, then at least few days before the tournament, we go out in the market and ask for donations, so it all depends on that which helps us buy food and transportation.”

The last tournament Ahwad FC played was in Sibi less than a week ago, just few days before most of them lost their homes in the earthquake. The players of the club collect Rs50 every Friday after their match to have some amount saved for emergency treatment of any player should they get injured.

Ajab said that there is no support from the government or provincial sports bodies or the ministry. “We request the people and the government to change this. Without hospitals, schools, proper systems and unemployment, we are far behind. I request the government to help us, we have suffered in the mines, but our children shouldn’t.” pleaded Ajab, whose team had been topping in regional events for the last five years.

The striker competed in the Chief Minister Diamond Jubilee Cup last month for DFA Harnai. He said that he wanted to play football for the departments too, but mostly opportunities only come to the rich and not poor.

“Playing football is not just a one-off thing -- one needs facilities. For now my request is from the people who can see this, please help us. In my land we need rations, supplies and shelters like tents after the quake,” said Ajab.

He added that from October 20 tentatively they will try to hold a football event in Shahrag depending on the funds, as football is also a way to cope for them.

Ahwad FC secretary Ameerullah said that in more ways help comes from Harnai capital, where more destruction from the quake happened.

Harnai, the town that is the capital of the Harnai District, is 45 minutes away from Shahrag, but it is also the home to Aryana FC, that is another top team in the district.

Their secretary and the District Normalisation Committee head Abdul Razzaq Shah explains that the earthquake has affected everyone including his players who lost their homes.

“It was a night that I can’t explain. I was sleeping when I heard the sounds from the earthquake. It was horrifying, I thought the entire Harnai must have been destroyed when the day broke. I had also seen earthquakes before in 1997 and 2008, but this was worse than ever,” said Shah, who had been working for the Fifa-appointed NC since 2020 on Harnai district level.

He said that there are 15 to 20 registered clubs in Harnai District while his own club is an active part of the local football season. The former player now works for National Bank of Pakistan and added that his own work place is closed for the last two days.

“The rehabilitation is necessary. My own office building is closed, I thought everything is destroyed, but the damage is mostly of material and we have 20 people who have died. None of them have been footballers, but the houses are gone. Most of our players are laborers, they work in coal mines. Some are unemployed too, while only 20-30 percent have jobs in different departments. They need help,” said Shah.

Meanwhile, an Aryana FC player added that his only request from the people outside of Harnai is to send help in any way possible after most of them have lost their houses.