Life below the poverty line

Islamabad

‘Poverty line’ is the estimated minimum level of income needed to secure the necessities of life, we have been taught and we all know that even this level is unattainable for many of the underprivileged who live in Pakistan – and to be fair, in many other third world countries.

In our case, living below the poverty line is the lot of quite a large segment of the population and if you look around, you can notice the abject conditions in which these people live in all corners of the country. As an example to prove the point, drive down Murree Road any day early in the morning and you will see whole families occupying space under the overpass or flyover because they have nowhere else to go – you cannot see them so well later in the day because of traffic and probably because they have all gone to beg as that is how they feed themselves. 

In your wildest imagination you cannot guess in what filthy conditions they live and how dirty they are. Matted hair that has not been washed or combed in years; body and head lice in thriving numbers and the few belongings they have covered in grease and grime. The older ones use the side-lanes as bathrooms (public toilets are rare as no one thinks of them when ‘development’ is taking place) while the children go with them or do their business wherever they can sit or stand on the main road. When you walk up to them they stare with blank faces and eyes devoid of hope or any other expression but have their hands outstretched or in a beseeching position, for alms. 

All this low life is going on right under the noses of elected representatives who are supposed to look after the welfare of the community from where they have come to power.  While they raise their salaries and add extra perks and privileges to their take home bundle, these poor people remain homeless and hungry – how they can sleep with a clear conscience is anybody’s guess! Many NGO’s who are genuinely concerned try their best to do something about the situation but most of them are cash strapped and have limited resources. In any case, it is up to the government to see to the welfare of its citizens and any neglect on its part should not be accepted.