PAKISTAN

LOSS AND HOPE
in the City by the Sea
Madiha Waris Qureshi
In a coastal
shanty town,
tragedy and
hope live
side by side.
Lined with garbage and plastic waste, Machar Colony’s
broken, narrow roads are enveloped by the smell of rotting
fish. Young children and youth wander aimlessly along
these streets.
Crime and unemployment are rampant; basic amenities
scarce. In most households, men go out to fish while women
and children help make ends meet by peeling shrimp for local
seafood companies, work that pays little but is physically
taxing and a gateway to widespread skin diseases.
The Arabian Sea has been a primary source of livelihood
for the people of Machar Colony for generations. Populating
more than 700,000 people, this Karachi slum is spread
along the coastal belt. A majority of its residents belong
to fisher folk communities that migrated decades ago
from Bangladesh and Burma. Today, their neighborhood
constitutes one of Pakistan’s largest unofficial,
unplanned settlements.
Unfortunately, abject poverty, lack of educational facilities,
and institutional neglect are not the only problems facing
Machar Colony. There are few other places that have also
borne a greater brunt of the endless India-Pakistan conflict
than this slum. Fishermen from the two nuclear-armed rivals
regularly stray across sea borders in desperate search for
good catch, where they are arrested and charged with
trespassing. They are often left languishing in jails without trial
or any contact with their families for years. Many have died in
prison waiting for reprieve according to human rights activists.
Many belong to Machar Colony.
Rubina, a quiet young woman is certain that her missing
husband was arrested by the Indian authorities also. But
despite the hardship of supporting her two children herself,
Rubina is adamant that her children go to school. Her
daughter now studies at TCF in Machar Colony. Although she
struggles to keep a roof over her family’s head but she never
regretted the decision to send her daughter to school. ‘I want
both my children to complete their education,’ she says firmly.
“My daughter loves her teachers. The school’s principal is
also very kind to me. She listens to me with respect, and talks
to me about my daughter’s progress.”
“I have told myself, they may
not have a father anymore,
but they have me.”
Many of Machar Colony’s children are still forced to work due
to their circumstances, but school is first priority. School is
also a refuge, a haven from their daily struggles; one they
leave reluctantly at the end of every school day.
Rubina isn’t alone in her praise for the teachers and principal,
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