" When Little Sparrows Fly The Nest
Who Will Catch Them If They Fall?"
The following encounters took place on 25 April 2010 during a space of 2 hours.
The children encountered are broken even before their lives have begun.
Their plight is not the fault of any individual and yet the blame lies collectively with all of us. Handing them a few rupees is not the answer, for these children documented here it’s almost certainly too late but what about the future generations? A network and a system are required to provide them with education or training and a safe environment to live at the same time.
YOU CAN HELP US SET UP THE MEANS TO HELP THESE CHILDREN
IF YOU HAVE CHILDREN OF YOUR OWN
SURELY YOU WILL FEEL THE PROBLEM AND WANT TO DO SOMETHING
TO HELP THEM.
Case Studies
Naeem and his brother Faeem (13 and 10 years old maybe):
We spotted them sifting through rubbish at the back of Badami Bagh Bus Stand. We ask them where their parents were they told us they were in Lahore alone and came to Lahore some months back to clean shoes. A fat man befriended them and took them to his rooms, he told Naeem he would have to take Faeem to hospital the next day as he did not look well and Naeem would have to stay in the rooms and wait. Naeem was suspicious and in the night took his brother away from the man while he slept. They had to leave their shoeshine equipment behind. They have been sleeping rough ever since and survive by begging money or scraps of food and sifting through rubbish, the latter they were advised to do by some gypsy children. We asked them if they wanted to return to their parents Naeem shook his head, his little brother nodded yes. We gave them a little money and left them, they returned to sifting through rubbish without even looking up to watch us go.
Shafiq (15 years old):
We saw Shafiq leave the bus at Badami Bagh looking lost and a bit bewildered, he sat on the kerb. He was immediately approached by a man who quickly went away when we came up to them. We asked him where he was going in Lahore he replied he was from near Dina and was looking for work and he did not know where he would go in Lahore. We ask him where he would sleep that night he replied I do not know but I will sleep in a park if I have to as I only have 300 rupees for food until I find work. We gave him our office telephone number and told him to phone us if he needed assistance. We advised him not to put too much trust in strangers who may befriend him. He was still sitting there when we left him.
Amir (16 years old looks 26)
Amir arrived in Lahore city just over 2 years ago. He worked in a workshop for 6 weeks after which time he asked the owner for some wages, the owner and other workers threw him out on the street calling him a “dirty dog”. He was too afraid to go back there for the few belongings he had so he slept rough and ate almost nothing for a week. He met a boy who told him he could make good money by giving sex to men, the reality was very different because of his dirty clothes he could only attract rough clients who would only pay him between 30-50 rupees(about 40 pence UK currency)and sometimes afterwards refused to pay him at all but he had slipped into a life trap he could not escape from., he has never heard of HIV or Hepatitis B, C. Amir started crying when asked why he said "one time I saw my father near Data Sahib, I was sure he was looking for me, but I was too ashamed to approach him and let me see me this way. We put some rupees into Amir’s pocket and left him sobbing into his arms.
Irfan (12 years old):
Asked us if we wanted “hashish” when we refused he became suspicious thinking we were police or some type of government officials. After we convinced him we were neither he chatted to us openly although refused to confirm if he was from Lahore or not but indications were it is likely he came from elsewhere as he said he ran away from home because his father and brothers were always beating him. Irfan admitted he existed on criminal activities selling hashish and stealing and that some “older boys” protected him although they also beat him if he did not produce money daily, but that the alternative on his own was worse. Irfan’s eyes habitually looked from side to side we ask him what he was looking for he replied: “the police or anything”. He then asked for 500 rupees and we told him we would consider it if he took us to the place to meet the people he was staying with, he replied he dare not and quickly moved off looking back to make sure we were not following him.
About Al-Nasr
Established in the United Kingdom in 1992.
Charity Commission No. 1042265
E-mail: info@al-nasr.org
Website - http://www.al-nasr.org
Al-Nasr is a grass roots Muslim organisation independent of any government, international or national organisation. From its very beginning Al-Nasr has provided practical solutions to problems faced by Muslims in the UK. Al-Nasr Trustees at their own expense have now established this office in Lahore, Pakistan to use its vast experience in the voluntary sector to work towards the development, education and long term welfare of poor young people and children in Pakistan.
The Problems
The causes for under-development in poor young people and children are many and Al-Nasr cannot with it’s limited resources deal with all of them so it has decided initially to concentrate it’s efforts initially in the area of Lahore and on those young people and children who voluntarily or are ordered by their family to seek work in Lahore.
A fortunate few do find work (albeit for very low wages) but the reality for most will be exploitation, sexual and physical abuse, begging, sleeping rough, lured into drug addiction and prostitution or the worst scenario sold into slavery or just disappear
Some will claim we are being over sensational, we are not, you are invited to come and see for yourself. Despite efforts by governments and NGO’s large numbers of youngsters pour into Lahore every year from across the country and are immediate prey for criminals, paedophiles and others who wish to exploit these children. The end result is continued generations of poor with no hope of rising above circumstances they are forced into through no fault of their own.
The Strategy
We aim to slowly break this cycle of abuse by raising funds to achieve the following:
- Establish a team of people who will monitor bus stations with literature and other means to persuade these children to initially place themselves in a safe environment.
- Establish a “safe house” hostel for young people and children where they can be monitored and we can establish contact with their families to ensure contact is not severed.
- Build a network of private schools willing to take on a limited number of younger
children
at reduced fee or no fee basis so these children may continue their education
- Build a network of reputable employers who would be willing to offer valid training/apprenticeships and a limited salary so these children may assist their parents.
We intend to create an environment where people can see it is possible with some help to give these children safety and hope for the future.
We "Pull No Punches"
Who cares? - We do ..
We have already committed time and money and ordinary people who
can ill afford it will donate and we appreciate and salute their goodness. But there are many of you out there who own so much, like Horse Racing empires, European football clubs, Formula 1 racing teams, to get it into perspective it is one mediocre racehorse, one players monthly salary, part of a Formula 1 car, so do you care enough to donate to help these poor children?.
Maybe because these young people are thousands of miles away and out of sight and out of mind it’s not your problem but these young people and children may well be the future criminals and terrorists and no one is immune to the these elements. Our set up target is 25,000 UK pounds so please help us get this project off the ground (your donation does not necessarily have to be money it could be a property you own which is vacant which you could loan or lease to us (rent free) and please remember these children have no hope - no voice.....you can help us give them both.
Contact Us and Donations
You are WELCOME to visit
our PAKISTAN or UK OFFICE for more information
Al-Nasr Trust Tel: 042 38594784 |
Al-Nasr Trust Tel: 01753 550788 |
Please note:
DONATIONS should be made to our UK OFFICE where PROJECT FUNDS will be administered according to UK CHARITY COMMISSION Rules.
The bank details are as follows:
Al-Nasr
Barclays Bank PLC,
240 Whitechapel Road,
London,
E1 1BS
Account No: 43530809
Sort Code : 20-57-06
DONATIONS from PAKISTAN should be made direct to our LAHORE OFFICE.
