Empty hallways and deserted classrooms greeted the 20 boys and two girls who mustered the courage to attend Askari Foundation School and College in Shabqadar on Thursday, a day after a grenade attack killed one of their teachers and injured two girls.
Even the police deployed to protect the institute—which is divided into sections for boys and girls—was nowhere in sight and all the women teachers chose to remain at home.
Khanzada, who came to retrieve his daughter’s bag and books, said Ghazala was traumatised by the blast. “She left her belongings at the school in all the chaos.”
The boys section principal, Rehman Khan, said all 16 women who taught at the school were absent from duty and just over 20 of the 1,000 enrolled students came to attend classes.
With more left to lose
However, students were determined to let nothing stand in the way of their education. “We cannot desert the institute in its hour of need and let the fear of blasts take over,” said Kamran *.
“One of our beloved teachers lost her life and we are all grieving, but this cannot stop us from coming to school.”
Other pupils were equally determined and even overlooked their parents’ advice. “They were not willing to send us, but we insisted on coming” said Manzoor* of class eight. “We love this school and cannot let such attacks stop us from gaining knowledge. After all, knowledge is power.”
Those who stay behind
The neighbourhood of Pahalwan Qilla mourned the loss of teacher Honey Javed.
Having done her masters in botany after completing her FSc, she wanted to become a lecturer at a recently-established government college in Shabqadar. “The relative of some local MPA was appointed for the job and my sister was most unhappy over the blatant nepotism,” her brother Waqas, an engineering student, told The Express Tribune.
Honey then found a job with Askari Foundation and went above the call of duty as the head of the girls’ college section. “Her aim was to educate and she never even took additional fees from those girls who came to for after-school tuition,” said her father Javed Khan, a sub-engineer in the FATA Communication & Works department.
The father said he has two sons and three daughters. He added one of the girls was married and the second one was to tie the knot on October 19. “Honey was looking forward to her sister’s wedding, but now she will not be there to celebrate the occasion,” he said in a sombre tone.
Breaking down as he spoke of his daughter’s considerate nature, Javed said, “She was the eldest and always looked after her parents and her siblings. She was everything to my family,” he wept.
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2014.
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