‘Mapping Karachi’s goths to save them’

If you ask engineer Salim Alimuddin what he has learnt working at the Orangi Pilot Project, he will tell you that for one, people don’t want to rely on the dole. They don’t want charity, they want to do their own work themselves.

Alimuddin, who worked alongside Perween Rahman of the OPP (she was murdered in March), was presenting at the first international Karachi conference on Sunday at a panel dedicated to her memory. He told the audience about the work OPP has done, especially with its recent mapping of the goths or small village settlements in Gadap and on the outskirts of Karachi. With the evictions of Zobu goth, Perween Rahman had decided to help these people. There are over 2,000 goths on Karachi’s outskirts and as real estate prices rise and road networks expand, these people are being evicted by the powerful. They do not have evidence that they have been living on this land for, in some cases, centuries. Rahman developed the OPP support programme for documentation; so far roughly 500 goths have been mapped. Once the goths are represented on maps, the community elders are empowered, through training, to advocate for the title of the land from the respective government agencies.



“We see their work with due respect,” Alimuddin said, referring to Rahman’s vision. “We then observe their work and analyse it through our knowledge. Then we learn and unlearn from them. Lastly, we teach them what we know with respect to our professions and fields of expertise.” OPP’s vision has been to lend a helping hand to communities which have been largely ignored by the government. The development work is mostly carried out by the residents, especially when it comes to laying sewage lines. What the OPP provided them were the tools, training and confidence. Alimuddin noted that once they have done the work they are less dependent on ‘sarkar’ to come fix their problems, they believe more in working as a community. The people’s outlook on life changes. The community is then in a better position to seek the government’s help for larger scale projects and the provision of amenities.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th,2013.