Such houses are uncommon in Pakistan. In this South Asian country, children have the duty to take care of their parents in their old age. They have no honor if they fail in this task.
“Do not ask them a question”, asks Ramz, our guide, “when it comes to their personal history because it is sad.” He recommends that we only talk about ourselves.
The place is clean and tidy. It is in fact a gathering of apartments. Those ‘elderly’ may only be 60. And most of them have heavy eyes. All of them are lucid though and highly educated. “I raised my children, I provided them with a good education and they are now well set for life and yet I’m here now.” Polyglot ex-militaries and other teachers or professors, all “abandoned” by their children. “It sickens me”, says Umar, one of the interns who worked with an organization that helped refurnish the home. The children of those elderly pay a huge sum for their parents’ stay at the home. However, government support are also available so that residents do not have to spend money themselves.
We meet one of the residents in her private apartment. She insists on offering us tea and makes us sit on her bed. The lady must be in her 70s. She is extremely thin and fierce. Her smile widens when she talks about her 32-year long career as an English and Islamic religion teacher and headmistress. “I fought till the end but my age and illness forced me to stop.” When we ask her what advice she would give the Pakistani youth, the retired teacher suddenly lightens up. Her eyes full of life look straight through each of us, in turn. “The youngsters must be professional, work hard and without stopping or giving up, and be honest about their profession. What is missing is morality. They must be guided by morality and the duty to do something for Pakistan. Many young people think about food and money. But they must give to their country too and try to make it stronger. Economically too. Pakistan has a lot of resources and raw materials. They are there for anyone to do something with it but no one does anything because people are lazy. It is a waste ! It is time to start exploiting the wealth of Pakistan so that the benefits can be redistributed to the country.” This awareness that the youth needs to have can only occur on one condition, according to the old lady. “Our youth is not educated because everything is rotten, even our educational system.” She is referring to those teachers who enjoy the status of civil servants and who abuse the system and transform schools into ‘ghost’ schools. These officials, because they are aware of their job security (they were co-opted by government officials), just do not go to school. Schools are thus deserted and the students are the first ones to suffer from this situation. The problem is stagnant and widespread . “Corruption should not exist, especially in education.”
Miss Sufi nevertheless believes in the potential of her country: “We must never stop fighting, even if we are alone and even if the battle is already lost. But I do not think I will see this change for Pakistan. I do not think I’ll be here to see it with my own eyes”, she says smiling, serene. “But I do hope I am still around to see the status of my brothers and sisters in the home get better. We have no medicines, doctors or nurses. We need to go out and pay and it’s expensive. It is not convenient for some of us either.” Her positive outlook stands out when she puts her personal situation within the institution into perspective. “Life is a loop. I had a lot of power, I was a nurse, teacher, headmistress… And now I ‘m here.” No sadness nor resignation in her voice, but the confident tone of one who knows she did everything she could and has no regret. And always that smile and that look that leave a hole in your soul. Before we leave, she refuses to take any picture on the grounds that she has to be in court soon. “The case goes back to 1972, I won it but they have not compensated me yet. I will fight till the end to make them pay what they owe me.”
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Lahore Times.