A Vendor's Tale

Karachi...present day

His name is Allah Ditta, a 45 years old man with four children: two sons and two duaghters. He lives with his mother, wife and kids in a jhonpri (shack) near Gilani Station, Karachi.They have no electricity, gas or water as one could imagine, they cook food by burning wood and have to steal water from someone else's well.
Allah Ditta is an illetrate poultry vendor at a roadside stall, that earns him around Rs 2000 per month.

Narrated below is his story in his own words...

I am originally from Bangladesh, but life there was even more difficult and I experianced many hardships. With my income, even one meal a day was not guarenteed.It was under these circumstances that i chose to come to Karachi.

Since arriving, i have done a variety of jobs requiring hard work and labour, but my circumstances have not improved. I have to hand over a significant portion of my earnings to my wife so that she can run the household. It is only by God's grace if I manage to buy enough food to fill myself with the leftover money.

Contuinally rising prices are making life difficult. All we wish for is that the government- any government, whether military or civilian, would reduce the prices of bare essentials and daily necessities. The government should also devise a system so that the children of the poor are eligible for free education; so that they may be literate aswell. Initially my son used to attend a government school, but as times have gotton harder, i could not afford to send him anymore. With my income, if a family member is inclined with an illness, I have to take them to government hospitals. And when we are in great need, the owner of the poultry shop or other people we know help us financially. None of our relatives help us in troubled times. Infact they dont even like associating with us.

I realize that my children are growing up now, I'm especially worried about my daughters. People are bad, corrupt and we just live in a shack. My only wish is that I make enough of an effort and work hard enough to save the money to purchase even a one-room house. In times when i cant provide my children with good food, or an education, the least I can do is give them a protective roof under which they can be safe.

Thousands just like Allah Ditta live similar lives and make up the staggering over 3 Million of Karachiites living in shacks. According to one recent survey almost 30% of Pakistanis can be termed living under or just over the Line of Poverty.