There was pin-drop silence in the auditorium as Faisal Edhi regaled the audience with anecdotes from the illustrious life of his late father, Abdul Sattar Edhi.
Tribute to a legend
There was pin-drop silence in the auditorium as Faisal Edhi regaled the audience with anecdotes from the illustrious life of his late father, Abdul Sattar Edhi. He spoke in short sentences in a manner which is a far cry from the ostentatious style adopted by most ‘humanitarian workers’ of our country.
Faisal Edhi was speaking as the chief guest at an event ‘Remembering Abdul Sattar Edhi - Tribute to a Legend’ held by the Media Studies Department of Bahria University Karachi Campus. The other speakers at the event were Advocate Zia Awan, a longtime associate and friend of Edhi, and Sarim Burney, another humanitarian worker. In attendance were the DG BUKC, Vice-Admiral (R) Khawaja Ghazanfar Hussain, Director BUKC, Commodore (R) Mohsin Hayat Malik,Head of the Media Studies Department, Ms Maha-e-Darakhshan, faculty members and students.
Gauging the interest of the audience, the moderator, Tehseen Fatima, asked him about the different aspects of the multifaceted personality of Abdul Sattar Edhi.
The event began with a recorded message of Bilquees Edhi, the widow of Mr. Edhi. She praised Edhi sahab for his simplicity and selflessness. ‘Apne liye kabhi kuch nahi manga,’ she said, her voice heavy with emotions.
Abdul Sattar Edhi started his work from a small dispensary in Mithadar’s area of Karachi. ‘In the dispensary he founded, people would often come very late at night with various problems. Papa slept outside the dispensary and the people of the area knew they could wake him up if they needed a medicine. He was not a doctor, but he had learned enough having worked with doctors for years and people trusted him despite knowing that he was not a doctor. They would come after a few days to show that they had recovered after using the medicine he’d prescribed. They trusted Edhi sahab blindly,’ shared Faisal Edhi.
To be the son of the man who had dedicated his life for everyone except his family must have been a hard experience. How did his family cope with it? ‘Bura to lagta tha. Kabhi shikayat nahi ki,’ was Faisal’s reply. ‘We realised that Papa was not for us. He lived for others and we had come to terms with this fact. However, we fought with mummy about this many times.’
Not only did Edhi sahab led an exemplary life, he left an inspiring message for us in his death, too. ‘The day Papa died, the doctors at SIUT had told us a few hours in advance that he wouldn’t survive. We asked them to respect his wish and transplant his cornea to the first person on the list of recipients, irrespective of his/her religion,’ Faisal said. ‘When he had never discriminated against people from different socio-economic backgrounds, how could we?’
‘Abdul Sattar Edhi was an inqilabi,’ said Advocate Zia Awan, remembering how their friendship started during the Zia era. ‘We were protesting against the Hudood Ordinance and fighting cases of couples who were arrested under the unjust law. Sometimes we needed a guarantor in the bail pleas of our clients and Edhi sahab would always agree to become one. He was way above the petty politics of religion and fake morality.’
The event showcased a short documentary prepared by students on the life of Abdul Sattar Edhi. Additionally, a touching speech by Nabil Tariq, a poetic tribute by Maria Mumtaz and skits on the services of Edhi Foundation performed by a group of students were also a part of the event. Ayesha, another Media Studies student, received much praise for her painting of Abdul Sattar Edhi.
While commending the efforts of students and the faculty for organising this event, Director BUKC Commodore (R) Mohsin Hayat Malik said we should follow the example set by Edhi.
