Lost glimmer: A fallen guardian of humanity

Philanthropist Abdul Waheed saw education for all as the key to prosperity.

KARACHI: The halls of Naunehal Secondary school in SITE Town are uncharacteristically silent. Save for the summer breeze which gently rocks the windowpanes and the distant spluttering of rickshaws, nothing stirs.

A small sign has been pasted at the entrance of the school, stating that classes have been cancelled for a couple of days. Venture further into the school’s foyer and you see teachers with sombre expressions lost in thought. Conspicuous by absence is Abdul Waheed, the amiable owner of the school. The six-foot-tall, well-built man could often be seen roaming the school’s halls, beaming as he observed classes in progress. Now he lies buried in the midst of the people whose lives he struggled to improve. Three unidentified men gunned him down on May 13 as he stood outside the school with his one-year-old daughter Pareesha and his elder brother Naseeb Taj. A bullet also pierced Pareesha’s hand.

As law enforcers try to track down those responsible, some of the residents of SITE and Orangi are trying to come to terms with the fact that a “glimmer of humanity” has been snuffed out. Nazeer Khan, Waheed’s close childhood friend, felt that Orangi and SITE had been “orphaned” by his death. “He was a peace-loving man who wasn’t harsh to anyone. His only crime was that he tried to help humanity,” said Khan. “Waheed believed that all the problems the residents of SITE and Orangi faced were linked to illiteracy. He felt they will continue to be manipulated until they get educated.”

It comes as no surprise then, that Waheed opened a small roadside school in Islamia Colony back in 1993. Over the next two decades, the enrolment swelled and it expanded from a single room to a four-storey structure which stood out from the sea of semi-pucca structures it was surrounded by. Waheed was keen to open the school’s door to even those who couldn’t afford an education - tuition fee had been waived for 40 per cent of the students. A total of 600 students are currently enrolled in the school.

A beacon of light

The school itself was a microcosm of diversity where children from Pakhtun and Urdu-speaking families learnt together while politically backed ethnic violence raged outside.

In the summer of 2011, when Karachi witnessed one of its bloodiest summers, parts of Organi and SITE were particularly affected by the wave of ethnic violence. Waheed’s school was situated close to the infamous Kati Pahari, where it rained bullets. Many teachers in the area stopped going to school even after the violence petered out, putting the future of hundreds of children in jeopardy.

Waheed launched a campaign to pressure the education department to take action. “He was the first person to set up good educational facilities for the children in these areas without discriminating on the basis of religion or ethnicity,” said Sajid Hussain, who worked with Waheed for more than 10 years. “Our team will carry on Waheed’s mission.”

The fight for humanity

The school wasn’t the only philanthropic project Waheed was involved in. Waheed partnered with Rotary International to assist in eradicating polio. Some residents of Orangi and SITE abandoned their homes during the polio drives which they labelled as haram (proscribed). But Waheed realised the lives which would have been ruined by this and quickly formed a team of elders from the community to convince people to see vaccinations in a positive light. He went as far as informing the people about fatwas issued by religious scholars who viewed the vaccinations as being legal.

Waheed had also worked closely with Perween Rahman, the Orangi Pilot Project director who was gunned down on March 13. He was a foot soldier who knocked on people’s doors to collect funds for improving sanitation in one of Asia’s largest slums. Waheed had also served as the programme manager of OPP’s Orangi Charitable Trust. Bacha Hussain Shakir, Waheed’s colleague, said, “His death will affect the 60 families which received free food twice a day from his project.”

Law enforcer says Waheed had complained of threats

Abdul Waheed’s 12-year-old son, Wasif, pointed out that his father didn’t have any enmity with anyone and never spoke of receiving threats at home.

“He was killed even though he didn’t commit any crime,” said the boy, struggling to hold back tears. He was at home when his father, a philanthropist, was killed on May 13 but could hear the gunshots as the school was located just a stone’s throw away. Waheed is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.

Most people who attended the philanthropist’s funeral blamed militants for his death. Pirabad SHO Abdul Moeed said that Waheed had submitted an application against unknown men who were calling and threatening him.  “He took the application back the day he submitted it,” he recalled. “Waheed had a good reputation in the area.” He added that the police will trace the culprit soon.

Amarnath Motumal, the vice chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) Sindh chapter issued a press statement in which he expressed grave concern over Waheed’s murder. HRCP has demanded the government to initiate immediate and thorough investigation into the killing of human rights defenders and assure that rights defenders should perform their human rights activities without any worry of retaliation and threats to their lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2013.