Struggling for a meal, struggling to feed their families, dejected, wearing a desolate look on the streets with a handful of items to sell which has got no buyer’s during this pandemic, is what defines a poor and hungry in the present times of crisis.
We are too focussed on the pandemic for genuine reasons though, but another pandemic that is claiming lives, that too has stigma attached to it – the hunger – that seemingly is the most neglected public emergency in present testing times.
The man in the picture apparently doesn’t care about the raging pandemic that has brought the world on its knees, but a myriad of reasons has forced him to come out and take a risk of his life and technically, the life of his family members.
The reason deserves an attention and an explanation too.
We have hundreds and thousands of poor families who deserve the support of our NGO’s and social workers who have been on toes to help those who needed medial attention, those who needed oxygen to breathe when the supplies in goverment hospitals were not enough to cater to the demands.
Those NGO’s too need to invest a little on the street vendors and those who suffered a great deal during the lockdown.
Though it is quite unfortunate that we as a Muslim society have to rely on NGO’s and social workers when our so called Baitul Maal’s are well financed.
The amassed money in the Baitul Maals is used to build mosques decorated with fancy decorations, fitted with AC’s, ponds with multicoloured fish in it and many more unnecessary items that cannot be of any help when it comes to feeding the hungry.
The fact cannot be ignored that many such NGO’s and social workers have taken a break from the pandemic and have started helping the poor by feeding them, but they (poor) deserve more because no one talks about their plight as to how such people manage without earning a penny.
Our local Awqaaf committees should come forward, identify the needy ones in their respective areas and lend a helping hand to them.
Our youth should organise Mohalla committees to identify those who are in no position to marry off their daughters. Youth can prove to be the messiahs for them.
May be this pandemic is nothing but a test that God wants us to go through.
