Opinion | Someone Had to Come Forward To Feed Their Hungry Bellies?

Someone had to come forward to feed their hungry bellies?

By: M S Nazki

It was District Police Poonch that took a step forward as they distributed food packets and ration items to the migrant laborers who just the other day were pleading for the same since there was no work!

These people came here from all over the Nation to work and instead earn money for their livelihood and to save something for the future. They were in distant lands far away from their homes working hard to earn so that they could feed their children and run the household. They are highly skilled and hence they are required by those who go in for construction of houses or any other commercial complexes. They have been instrumental in construction of many great architectural marvels in District Poonch and were involved in many more till the virus struck in ruthlessly hard manner in the second wave and sent everything for a toss because everything came to a screeching halt. It still continues the same way and there is no sign of the virus giving in! With the virus running the show and everything closed down the migrant laborers were once again in an acute angle.

The first time they went home but came back as everything opened up. Even in the wildest of their imaginations they never thought that after a few months the sequence would be the same once again and this time brutally harsh because the pathogen had returned with a deadlier strain. Once again the practice of lockdowns started in J&K as it had to because the caseload was showing a sudden increase and so was the death rate. The health care system was heavily taxed and though the administration was putting up a brave front, the fact was that it was creaking and hence breaking the chain was a necessity. But with the lockdown also came in the closure of the ongoing works and thus no money. The migrant laborers who survive on daily wages did not know what to do. They could not have gone back home and staying here meant spending with no returns. In a hope that everything would start they stayed back but are now feeling the heat.

• The very thought that millions of children and their family members die every year from malnutrition is a scary one.
• Malnutrition as a side effect of a money-nexus world needs challenging, these hungry people and kids need champions. Who will answer their call? Who will look into real pragmatic solutions and put them into action? Who will free them from this torture and give them good health? At least a small and significant step was taken by District Police Poonch.
• If not permanently at least temporarily they intervened till the things open up. Hopefully this gesture is dittoed by some more people with philanthropic ideas and they too come forward with help till these people get back to their work.
• There are many who live among the ridiculous wealth. Consider if you get lost. You worry about nonsense like spirituality and inner health and satisfaction and relationships. You have no idea what it is like to starve, to watch yourself turn to bones. With just a drop of ocean from their accumulation these rich people can come forward with help. At least a small portion of it will feed the hungry and at the moment despairing bellies.
• Some people prefer eating dessert to the main course. These people have never been really hungry. They have never seen what hunger is all about. Just get into one of the houses of these migrant laborers at this moment, you will come to know as to what reality is. When they are earning and everything is fine they work and enjoy. Now they are quiet and are not expressive at all! Their children have learnt the art of living though the harder way!

*The real cause of hunger is the powerlessness of the poor to gain access to the resources they need to feed themselves. These poor people do earn but for that they have to work and there is none available at the moment. They are in our lands and they work for us. Thus they need to be cared about and district Police Poonch did exactly that.

• As a part of initiative ‘ We care for you’ initiative District Police Poonch under the supervision of SSP Poonch Dr Vinod Kumar Mendhar police came forward to provide food and ration items to Migrant laborers.

*Their work has been impeded due to the lockdown imposed in the area in view of the pandemic. If lives have to be saved then this is a necessity but the authorities know the kind of hardships which the people are facing especially so the migrant laborers.

• Police teams of Sub Division Mendhar led by SDPO Z. A Jaffri along with SHO Manzoor Kohli today distributed food packets and ration items to migrant laborers in Mendhar sub division of Poonch district.
• This was a necessity since these people were at the zero end not knowing what to do. This gesture of the Police was highly appreciated because these people have come from far off places to work for us and assist us. Today when they are in trouble they need to be helped and they were by a great initiative taken by District Police Poonch. I will end this one with a small anecdote. It was just yesterday when I met him in our street and he was an artisan from West Bengal. Morning times are the ones when the curfew hours are relaxed for sometime so that people can buy some essentials. Usually the man was chirpy as Bengalis are but today he was sad. I asked him what was the matter, ‘there is no work and money we saved is running out. Hopefully everything opens up and we get back to work.’ By the way he still was smiling. If only you would understand the silent speech and the real pain within the innermost of a man as they suffer in silence, you would never keep silent to their suffering. So many people can’t speak about how they are suffering for the sake of dignity and confidentiality. Though they smile, they smile out of a deep pain within. When you look at someone suffering, just see how he is suffering and in so far as you can, be the joy to the innermost man of the person to the best of your ability. Don’t wait for his words, just look and see! A little help of a nice talk with a little smile gives meaning to human life. After all we all are in the same over flowing river, some of us may not be in the turbulent deep waters as others but our job has to be to pull them along! Maybe we all get out of this mess together! District Police Poonch just showed the way today as to how it can be done!