Big dreams: With a week left, little people still trying to get their tickets to San Diego

Khan received an invitation to attend the Little People of America conference.

KARACHI: Kamran Ahmed Khan has spent the last couple of weeks hanging around government offices. He even went to ask some NGOs for help but got nowhere.

He was waiting to talk to an official at the culture department and told The Express Tribune it was a matter of great urgency. Khan, 28, is one of the two men from Pakistan who received an invitation to attend the Little People of America (LPA) conference taking place in San Diego from July 4 to July 10. The problem is that Khan has a visa but no money to pay for his ticket.

"Only two people were invited to attend the conference and I am the only one who got the visa," he said. "It took a lot of time and effort but I, eventually, became a part of the LPA. Unfortunately, they cannot bear the travel or accommodation expenses." He added that one of the reasons he wanted to attend the conference was to learn how to improve the quality of life of little people in Pakistan.

Khan is also excited to show a presentation he has prepared for the conference on little people of Pakistan.

Making a difference

Khan lives with his parents and six siblings in Gulistan-e-Jauhar. No one in his immediate or extended family is like him - less than four feet tall.

He has studied BTech computer sciences and has launched a welfare association for the little people of Pakistan. He said that the conference he was going to attend was on dwarfism.

"Some say it occurs due to a bone disorder but there is no treatment for it," he said. He added that his organisation had started a survey in Pakistan to register every little person.

While talking about the conference, he said that more than 5,000 people from all over the world were going to attend and it would be bad if no one was there to represent Pakistan. He added that the entire trip would cost him around Rs0.6 million.

While waiting for his turn at the culture department's office, Khan was accompanied by his friend, Shahid Rana.

Rana, 45, is also a little person and is a resident of Liaquatabad. He was also invited to attend the conference but did not get the visa. "We are being humiliated," he said. "Instead of helping us, everyone here is taunting us."

While talking to The Express Tribune, Rana said that they were tired of peoples' behaviour, especially when they thought of little people as disabled. He added that they had talent and people just need to give them a chance.

"Several of our friends are qualified professionals but face discrimination when it comes to employment," he said. "They can't get jobs even though they have the skills just because society isn't ready to accept them." He added that if people googled the term little people in developed countries they would see that they are treated as equals. "Their government facilitates them," he said. "But in Pakistan it is not so. We face ridicule in our childhood and discrimination as adults. We are not asking for a job on the disabled quota, we just wanted to be treated as equal and get things on merit."

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2014.