Lyari’s got talent: Struggling to break free, Lyari’s children find respite in ABC

Give these children a chance and they will outshine their peers in every field, say their teachers.

KARACHI:

Eleven-year-old Waqas Baloch paints the picture of a child who has been born amid conflict and is desperately trying to make his escape. The resident of Nawa Lane, Lyari, reflects what children of his age feel when gangsters wage war and all social, economic and educational activities are forced to shut down.

"Don't give me pocket money," he says. "I don't want toys or money. I need books. Let me attend a school where it is not a constant struggle to be able to study."

The young boy steps forward and makes eye-contact with his audience. "Sir, these are my feelings. I have seen blood and bullets all my life."

Waqas emphatically claims this is not just a speech. He has seen what he wishes others may never have the misfortune to see.

"Sir, I have heard desperate cries for help as people burn in fires. I do not know the difference between right and wrong but I do know that the way to escape from all this is to study."

Waqas's father owns a donkey cart which he operates with the help of his brother. Like other students of his school, the Noble Academy, Waqas struggles to put behind the days and nights when the conflict between the two notorious gangs of the area - Uzair Baloch and Noor Muhammad alias Baba Ladla - was in full swing. The fourth-grade student remembers full well the time when students of one area were not allowed to go to a school in the rival's area.

During the speech at his school, Waqas says matter-of-factly that he has no time to indulge in extra-curricular activities. "I have no interest in soccer and cricket," he says. "I want to study." He dreams of becoming a doctor one day.

The boy's talents and determination to succeed have surprised his teachers and even the school's principal, Ramzan Bamri. "I haven't seen such a talented child in my life," exclaims Bamri, predicting that the boy would make the country proud one day.

Not just Waqas, even his female peers at the school ooze confidence, knowing full well the value of their talents. "We were afraid of the law and order situation. The fight made us scared. It made us mentally sick," says a ninth-grade student, Rijha. "En zalim jabir logon ko sabaq sikhana hoga — jitne zulam keay hen un ka qarz chukana hoga [These tyrants will have to be taught a lesson. Their cruelty will have to be repaid in kind]," she reads out a couplet.

"I still remember the gunfights and the battle between the gangs in February," recalls one of Rijha's classmates, Ansa, who was knocked unconscious from the explosions outside her school building on February 25. "I fear history will repeat itself."

A similar situation prevailed in all the public and private schools in the vicinity before the Jhat Pat Market tragedy. Attendance was decreasing with each passing day; fear, increasing with every explosion. The students' confidence and willpower was shattered and they were unsure whether they would be able to carry on their education.

"A teacher is a symbol of hope for students," remarked the students' favourite teacher, Mussawar Ali. "They learn confidence, commitment and courage from their mentors. If I am afraid, my students will never be able to grow."

Ali is also a poet whose couplet on the recent situation and the role of the Pakistan Peoples Party has received much acclamation. "Ek beemari bana ke chhorr diya, dil ko Lyari bana ke chhorr diya [You created a disease and left us, you made Lyari your heart and abandoned it]".

"My children [students] are afraid of gunfire and explosions. They jump out of apprehension if a utensil falls down in the kitchen. We are trying to rebuild their lost confidence," he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2014.