|
|
 |
 Bilquis
Edhi is a humanitarian and a social worker. She has been working with the Edhi
Foundation since the early 60's. Edhi Foundation which was started by Abdual
Sattar Edhi with the mission to provide aid to Pakistan's poor and down-trodden
has become Pakistan's major relief organization under the leadership of the
husband and wife team of Adbul Sattar and Bilquis Edhi. Today, in addition to
services provided in Pakistan, Edhi foundation is a major resource for assisting
victims of disaster internationally... more on Bilquis Edhi.
Interviewer's note: This interview was conducted at The Edhi Centre at Mithadar
(old city district of Karachi) in November 2003. The conversation was in Urdu
and has been translated into English by the interviewer.
What prompted you to join the Edhi Foundation? What were the conditions
(of Edhi Foundation) like when you first joined?
I was in school at the time and had recently sat for my 8th grade examinations.
I wasn’t too fond of studying so I left school and joined the nurses training
course at the Edhi Nurses Training Centre. Later, Edhi Sahib proposed to me, and
we got married in April 1966.
Edhi sahib’s sole possessions at the time were a broken old car and a small
dispensary. There was a maternity home on the first floor with 6-7 beds, a small
room – 6’ X 6’ on the ground floor which served as an office and a similar
room on the first floor. There wasn’t much else but even in those days when we
had very limited resources, people used to leave their kids with us. I used to
look after them.
What was your first major experience at the Edhi Foundation - something
that left an impact on you early on in your career?
During the 1965 war with India, the bombings resulted in a number of
brutally mutilated bodies which we had to wash for burial. At times only an arm,
leg or head was recovered. We were about 60-70 workers including voluntary
workers collecting and then washing these bodies.
What are your current responsibilities at the Foundation?
My current responsibilities include looking after the ladies section, giving
away children for adoption – mostly looking after women-specific and children
related sections throughout Pakistan. My two daughters also work closely with
me. We regularly visit our centres all over Pakistan to monitor their activities
and give suggestions and recommendations on how we feel the work should be done.
We also call our centres on a daily basis to ask if our help is needed with
anything.
With regard to child adoption, what is the criteria that you use to
approve / disapprove of couples who want to adopt a child?
Couples who want to adopt a child are interviewed by me. My criteria for
adoption are as follows:
• Even after 10-12 years of marriage the couple is still childless.
• Prospective father’s salary should be reasonable.
• Prospective father should not have alcohol or drug-related problems.
• Prospective mother’s age should be younger than 50.
• Couple should own a house
I don’t give children to couples who keep changing their house – keep moving
from one place to another.
Kids who are physically or mentally disabled are cared for by us. We have a
separate section for them where we clean them, feed them, play with them etc.
They remain with us for the rest of their lives.
Aside from the disabled children, what about the other children who don’t
get adopted?
This is not a problem. We have over 4,000 applications in hand. We don’t have
enough kids to give to people. So we can be careful in selecting prospective
parents. We have a shariatnama in place which we make the parents sign where it
is explicitly mentioned that in case of separation between the parents, the
Centre will reclaim the child or let the child stay with the mother.
Edhi Foundation keeps expanding by adding new welfare services every now
and then. How do you see Pakistan's future in view of the services that are
being rendered by you?
When we go abroad we come back with lots of ideas. My husband dreams of
the day when welfare facilities here would be comparable to those you find
abroad. But right now this seems like a distant dream. We don’t even have
clean drinking water here. Load shedding is an ongoing problem. After the recent
oil spill [in Karachi] when the oil tanker broke in half, people were saying
that our country had gone back 20 years in time. As far as I am concerned in the
last 55 years we have not moved forward. We are still where we were 55 years
ago.
[Edhi sahib and I] both think of things for the future. Edhi Sahib, when he
comes up with an idea he writes it down. In 1976 we were involved in an accident
which took place near a village with no airport or landing strip nearby. Around
this time a building collapsed in Karachi - Bismillah Building. This was the
time Bhutto Sahib was in power. Noticing Edhi sahib’s absence from the scene
of the disaster he inquired as to his whereabouts upon which he was told of the
situation. Bhutto sahib immediately dispatched a small airplane to pick us up.
Edhi Sahib was admitted to the Civil Hospital in Karachi where shortly after
gaining consciousness, he remarked that he would also like to buy a plane. I
asked how will you be able to afford a plane – your current situation is such
that when you put your hand in your pocket for some loose change, thread comes
out instead. He was not disheartened and pushed on. Alhamdulillah we now have a
plane, helicopters everything.
What has it been like being Edhi Sahib’s wife?
He is a good man. A little short tempered but good at heart. He still
hasn’t built his own house yet. For the first 4-5 years after marriage, I used
to live on the roof. Later, after the birth of my four kids, we moved to my
mother’s house. My mother looked after my kids. On a daily basis I used to
shuffle between her house and the Edhi Centre. After the kids grew up and got
married, my mother passed away. Edhi Sahib spends most of his time at the Edhi
Centre. Even when we were with my mother, he mostly spent his time looking after
the affairs of the Edhi Foundation. In our 36-37 years of marriage there may
have been at least 36 occasions where Edhi Sahib never even came home at night.
He practically lived at the Edhi Centre here in Mithadar. Even now when our
children want to see him, they bring lunch from their home and come and eat with
us.
Have you ever taken some time out from work? Have you ever vacationed
with Edhi Sahib?
We have never taken any time out from work but we have spent some good time
together on the job. In the last 34-35 years there have been many occasions
where we have had to drop off patients and deceased people to far off villages.
After dropping them off, on the way back we have stopped over in villages and
rural areas where we have been treated to lassi, chicken in gravy among other
delicacies and looked after extremely well by the people of those areas. We have
also sat on charpoys with our feet in the water – fresh cold water streams
abound in these areas. So we have had some good times together. On these trips
we used to feel like we were extremely rich people with cars of our own. Others
who lived around us didn’t have any cars so they used to request us to take
them along whenever we went on such trips. We used to take one or two of them
along with us.
Has the government of Pakistan been supportive of your cause?
The Government of Pakistan has never created any obstacles for us. We never
faced any resistance. In fact we get a lot of moral support from ordinary
citizens, government agencies including the police. Only last night a child was
found by the police – they straightaway brought the child to our centre.
Have international organizations approached you for donation purposes?
Have you ever accepted donations from them?
International organizations such as the World Bank have offered us millions of
dollars but we refuse all such offers. We only take money from Pakistanis
residing in Pakistan or abroad. We have Edhi Centres in England and the US where
again donations are only accepted from the expatriates residing there.
 In
the wake of Hakeem Said's and Dr. Ghulam Murtaza's murders, a lot of people are
thinking that Edhi sahib and you are also prime targets. Does this situation
bother you?
We have been receiving death threats from the outset but we are not
afraid. Death will come at an appointed time, and when its time we won’t be
able to do anything about it. So we are not afraid.
Who will look after the Edhi Foundation after both you and Edhi Sahib
have retired?
Faisal, Kubra, Zeenat and Almas – all my children are educated, bright young
people. After us, they will look after the Edhi Foundation.
|
|
<<<Back
|
