This is the picture of a little boy who is the conductor of a passenger van. He spends all his day running after the passengers to get them in his van. For him, there is no sun, no rain, no summer, and no winter. He has to work in all weather and all seasons.
He is not a single boy who does work. There are many other girls and boys like him who are working to bring food for their families. They have to sacrifice their childhood to feed their family. We look at them and pass by them like it is normal. Yes, it’s normal, but normal in our country only. Have we questioned who is responsible?
He is at the age when other boys like him get an education, get the love of their parents, they play with their friends, but he is working all day. When I talked to some people about him and asked “who is responsible”, they took an interest in talking about them. Then comment on different reasons and then forget about them. One of my respondents replied, “his family is responsible”.
According to him, there are families who are poor, but they work by themselves and send their children to schools. This perspective is somehow true. There are many families who sacrifice all their things to give their children a good education. But is this enough?? Let’s suppose his family sends him to school. No doubt, they can send him to an average school. What will he do after getting an education? Can he defeat those who are enjoying the benefits of inequality and discrimination? Can he get a better job to support his family? In my opinion, the answer is “no”. In Pakistan, where unemployment is at its peak, those who have a solid background can get a “good” job (we also have different definitions of a “good “job). They take their parents ‘positions and so on. Then why would his parents make an effort for him? If he has the same future as other unemployed educated people.
One of my respondents replied after watching that Pic “no government”. I think this term is true to some extent. We have a government system in which everyone wants to get authority and nobody is talking about the rights of the poor. They (government authorities) are just ignoring them as if they are not human beings. But this is not a new thing, this has been happening for years, and its result is that now middle-class families became a lower class. And this inequality has shaken the roots of the poor.
Then there came the role of society. We blame his family, and we blame the government, but what are we doing? Are we playing our role? We are only looking at them like they are a live film. We go shopping, we eat in a 5-star hotel. Not because it’s our need, it’s because to show others our status. Furthermore, we pass by them as if their poverty is their fate. And in the end, we blame the government as it is responsible only.
Let’s go ahead from reasons and talk about the consequences. What will happen if he does not get an education? Is this the problem of one person only? Will it affect only one person or one generation? No, he is the future of Pakistan. If he does not get something in his life, he will not be able to give anything to the coming generation. In this way, his whole generation will be destroyed. He is working for his family to feed them due to poverty at that age. Maybe he also has dreams of playing like others. To be a doctor or engineer. And it’s also possible if he gets a proper platform, he can be the best doctor or engineer or best leader.
