Plight of the Sewer Workers
No work can be dirtier and stinkier than that of sewer workers commonly known as Jamadars in Pakistan. Can you ever imagine descending into the gutter lines full of human waste and filth to clear the choked ones – and that too without any protective gear? You cannot even imagine yet someone out there is doing the job for you to keep your sewage flowing.
In our country, these sewer workers, spread across every city and village, have no one to speak for them. They have no face and no voice. Who is even aware of their existence? Has anyone ever thought for a moment about how difficult is the work these workers do for us? Who is it that keeps the underground sewerage lines flowing – lines filled with human waste and other such filth? When there is a blockage in them, who is the one that descends into the gutters to clear it? The bitter truth is that the work of these workers begins by entering the places that we feel disgusted even to look at!
On the contrary, instead of their fellow human beings being grateful to them, or at least sympathizing with them and acknowledging the difficult nature of their job, people feel disgusted by them. They have been placed on such a low rung of humanity where no one even thinks about them, let alone talks to them. Perhaps they are considered some lesser creation of God – probably subhuman beings!
Don't look far; look within your own conscience – how aware are you of their existence and the hardships they face?
And what would happen if they don’t do their work?
Piles of garbage would accumulate, gutters would overflow, stench would spread, and diseases would break out.
The developed world had realized long ago that descending into gutters and cleaning sewerage lines filled with human waste physically is tantamount to the degradation of humanity and exploitation of their financial compulsions. Now, as much as possible, they have machines do this work. And if ever there is no option but to send someone into these lines, they are provided with protective gear that covers them well from head to toe. They wear masks to remain safe from poisonous gases and the stench. They are given prior and timely vaccinations to prevent them from becoming victims of any disease. In case of illness, disability, or accident, they are compensated through insurance. Their salary matches the nature of the hard work, and a sanitary worker can also lead a decent life. Above all, society is not disgusted by them and considers them an integral part.
All such countries understand that every penny spent on sanitation is not wasted. In fact, the more spent on these matters, the healthier the nation becomes. And the nations that avoid this expenditure remain prone to physical and mental illnesses.
In Pakistan, on the contrary, the situation is such that financial difficulties and physical illnesses aside, by living in this filth and seeing the hateful attitude of other people towards them, these sewer workers also become psychiatric patients. They begin to consider themselves utterly worthless and constantly suffer from a sort of inferiority complex. So much so that if they go to a public place, they hesitate to sit on a chair or bench alongside others and settle on the floor instead. The grip of poverty and filth keeps trapping one generation after another – a cycle which at least they cannot break on their own. And worse still, they become victims of accidents in these sewer lines, and even die by inhaling poisonous gases, every now and then, yet no one seems to care. The media is also not much eager to carry their stories.
The plight of sewer workers in Pakistan came to fore when Irfan Masih met a tragic death in 2017. He didn't die because the poisonous gases affected him fatally while he was trying to open the blocked sewerage line in Umerkot on one of those fateful days. He didn't die because he couldn't get timely medical aid. He also didn't die because the cylinder that was put to his mouth while he was taking his last gasps was empty of oxygen. In fact – though unconscious – he had been transported to a hospital well in time. He died because the doctors – on seeing him drenched in filth – refused to touch or treat him!
When this tragic – rather shocking – incident came to our notice, not only we raised a potent voice, and took up the matter in national media, but also held an event to commemorate the services of Irfan Masih and the like, just to raise awareness on the issue. Many years later,we again reminded the nation that the plight of the sewer workers still needs to be attended to, in earnest.
We will continue to fight the war for better conditions for these sewer workers of our homeland, and we are committed to make a difference.
