Memory of His Work: What You Want to Know About Who Abdul Sattar Edhi Was?
Abdul Sattar Edhi (29 February 941 B.C. – 8 July 2016) was a Pakistani philanthropist, ascetic, and humanitarian who founded the Edhi Foundation which runs hospitals, homeless shelters, rehab centres, and orphanages across Pakistan.
Born in Gujarat, British India, Edhi moved to Karachi where
he established a free dispensary for Karachi's low-income residents. Edhi's
charitable activities expanded in 1957 when an Asian flu epidemic swept through
Karachi. Donations allowed him to buy his first ambulance the same year. He
later expanded his charity network with the help of his wife Bilquis Edhi.
Over his lifetime, the Edhi Foundation expanded backed entirely
by private donations, including establishing a network of 1,800 minivan
ambulances. By the time of his death Edhi was registered as a parent or
guardian of nearly 20,000 children. He was known as the 'Angel of Mercy' and was
considered to be Pakistan's "most respected" and legendary figure.
In 2013, The Huffington Post claimed that he might be "the
world's greatest living humanitarian. In
his obituary, The Daily Telegraph described Eidhi as the "Father
Teresa' of Pakistan.
On what would have been his 89th birthday in 2017, Google's
Doodles in 11 countries celebrated him for his "super-efficient"
ambulance service.
Edhi maintained a hands-off management style and was often
critical of the clergy and
politicians. He was a strong
proponent of religious tolerance in Pakistan and extended support to the
victims of Hurricane Katrina and 1985 famine in
Ethiopia. Edhi was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Malala Yousafzai in 2016. Eidhi died on 8 July 2016 after
suffering from kidney failure.
Early life
He was born in Bantva in
the Gujarat, British India into a Memon family. His mother would give him 1 paisa for
his meals and another to give to a beggar. When he was eleven, his mother
became paralysed from a stroke and she died when Edhi was 19. His personal
experiences and care for his mother during her illness caused him to develop a
system of services for old, mentally ill and challenged people. The partition of India led Edhi and his family to migrate to Pakistan in
1947.
He then
shifted to Karachi to
work in a market at a wholesale shop. He initially started as a peddler, and
later became a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in
Karachi. After a few years, he established a free dispensary with help from his
community.
He told NPR (National Public Radio) in 2009 that
"I saw people laying on the pavement ... The flu had spread in
Karachi, and there was no one to treat them. So I set up benches and got
medical students to volunteer. I was penniless and begged for donations on the
street. And people gave. I bought this 8-by-8 room to start my work.
Charity work
"People have become educated, but have yet to become human."Abdul Sattar Edhi
Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over
the next sixty years, he single handedly changed the face of welfare in
Pakistan. Edhi founded the Edhi Foundation. Additionally, he established
a welfare trust, named the Edhi Trust with an initial sum of five thousand rupees which
was later renamed as Bilqis Edhi Trust.
Regarded as a guardian for the poor, Edhi began receiving numerous donations,
which allowed him to expand his services. To this day, the Edhi Foundation
continues to grow in both size and service and is currently the largest welfare
organization in Pakistan. Since its inception, the Edhi Foundation has rescued
over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and
has trained over 40,000 nurses. It also runs more than 330 welfare
centres in rural and urban Pakistan which operate as food kitchens,
rehabilitation homes, shelters for abandoned women and children, and clinics
for the mentally handicapped.
The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest
ambulance service (operating 1,500 of them) and offers 24-hour emergency
services. It also operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women's
shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals. It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe, and the United States where it
provided aid following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. His son Faisal Edhi, wife
Bilquis Edhi, and daughters managed the daily operations of the organization
during his ill health. He was referred as Pakistan's version of Mother Teresa, and
the BBC wrote that he was considered "Pakistan's most respected figure and was
seen by some as almost a saint
Quotes
·
"Ao mil ke bachay bachain”
“I do not have any formal education. What use is education when we do not become human beings? My school is the welfare of humanity.”
“Never take anyone’s death to heart Bilquis. Remember God by the equality with which He implements it. Nobody is different, the richest to the poorest, from here to the end of the globe face it equally. What an example of equality.”
“So, many years later there were many who still complained and questioned, ‘Why must you pick up Christians and Hindus in your ambulance?’ And I was saying, ‘Because the ambulance is more Muslim than you’.”
“Empty words and long praises do not impress God. Show Him your faith by your deeds.”
“Chasing after desires creates inner turmoil. When the devil becomes guide, dacoits and gangsters are manufactured. He makes men fight against their souls to survive expensive items and most lose everything in the face of his strength. The internal enemy can only be overcome by a personal revolution.”
“The dead has only one place to go… up. Wherever you bury them, they will go the same way, up.”
“The Holy Book should open in your souls, not on your laps. Open your heart and see God’s people. In their plight you will find Him.”
“Those who believed in changing the world were either hungry by circumstance or practiced deprivation by choice.”
“Appearance is a distraction, surrendering it develops truth and humility in abundance.”
Travel issues
In the early 1980s, Edhi was arrested by Israeli troops while
entering Lebanon. In 2006, he was detained in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for 16 hours. In
January 2008, U.S. immigration officials interrogated
Edhi at the John F. Kennedy
Airport in New York City for over eight hours and seized his
passport and other documents. When asked about the frequent detention Edhi
said, "The only explanation I can think of is my beard and my dress.
Personal life
Edhi was married in 1965 to Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the
Edhi dispensary. The couple had
four children, two daughters, and two sons. Bilquis
runs the free maternity home at the headquarters in Karachi and organizes the
adoption of abandoned babies including those born out of wedlock. Edhi was known for his ascetic lifestyle,
owning only two pairs of clothes, never taking a salary from his organisation
and living in an apartment next to his organization's office. Edhi stated that he had "never
been a very religious person.
Illness and death
On 25 June 2013, Edhi's kidneys failed; it was announced that he
would be on dialysis for
the rest of his life unless he found a kidney donor. Edhi died on 8 July 2016 at the age of
88 due to kidney failure after having been placed on a
ventilator. His last wishes included the request that his organs were to be
donated but due to his ill health, only his corneas were
suitable. He was laid to rest at
the Edhi Village Karachi.
Edhi reportedly declined an offer for treatment abroad, saying
he would be treated only in a government hospital in Pakistan.
On what would have been his 89th birthday in 2017, Google's
Doodles in 11 countries celebrated him for his "super-efficient"
ambulance service.
Reactions and funeral
Reactions to his death came from several high-ranking Pakistani
officials. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said
"We have lost a great servant of humanity. He was the real manifestation
of love for those who were socially vulnerable, impoverished, helpless and
poor. The country's head of the
army, Raheel Sharif, called him a "true humanitarian”.
Prime Minister Sharif declared national mourning on the day
following Edhi's death and announced a state funeral for him. He was the third
Pakistani, after Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Zia ul Haq, and the only Pakistani without
state authority or a state role, to receive a gun carriage funeral. According
to Inter-Services
Public Relations, state honours were given to Edhi by a guard of honour and a 19-gun salute. The attendees at his Salat al-Janazah (funeral prayer) included dignitaries
such as Mamnoon Hussain (President of Pakistan), Raza Rabbani (the Chairman
of the Senate), Ishratul Ibad (former provincial Governor of Sindh), Qaim Ali Shah and Shehbaz Sharif (the Chief Ministers of Sindh and
Punjab), Raheel Shareef (Chief of
Army Staff), Muhammad Zakaullah (Chief of
Naval Staff) and Sohail Aman (Chief of Air
Staff), at the National Stadium,
Karachi.
Honors and awards
International awards
·
Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (1986)
·
Lenin Peace Prize (1988)
·
Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International (1993)
·
Peace Prize from the former USSR,
for services during the Armenian earthquake disaster (1998)
·
Hamdan Award for volunteers in Humanitarian Medical Services
(2000), UAE
·
International Balzan Prize (2000)
for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood, Italy
·
Peace and Harmony Award (2001), Delhi
·
Peace Award (2004), Mumbai
·
Peace Award (2005), Hyderabad Deccan
·
Gandhi Peace Award (2007), Delhi
·
Peace Award (2008), Seoul
·
Honorary doctorate from the Institute
of Business Administration Karachi (2006).
·
UNESCO-Madanjeet
Singh Prize (2009)
·
Ahmadiyya
Muslim Peace Prize (2010)
·
Honorary Doctorate by the University of
Bedfordshire (2010)
·
Google paid tribute to Edhi with Doodle on
his 89th birthday.
National awards
·
Silver Jubilee Shield by College
of Physicians and Surgeons (1962–1987)
·
Moiz ur rehman Award (2015)
·
The Social Worker of Sub-Continent by Government of Sindh (1989)
·
Nishan-e-Imtiaz,
civil decoration from the Government of
Pakistan (1989)
·
Recognition of meritorious services to oppressed humanity during
the 1980s by Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Government of
Pakistan (1989)
·
Pakistan Civic Award from the Pakistan Civic Society (1992)
·
Jinnah Award for Outstanding Services to Pakistan was conferred
in April 1998 by The Jinnah Society. This was the first Jinnah Award conferred
on any person in Pakistan.
·
Shield of Honor by Pakistan Army (E & C)
·
Khidmat Award by the Pakistan Academy of Medical Sciences
·
Bacha Khan Aman (Peace) Award in 1991
·
Human Rights Award by Pakistan Human Rights Society
·
2013 Person of the Year by the readers of The Express Tribune
Commemorative coin
Per directive of the prime minister, the State Bank of
Pakistan will release
a commemorative coin in honour of Edhi.
Proposals
In 2011 Yousaf Raza Gilani the then Prime Minister of Pakistan
recommended Edhi for a nomination of Nobel Peace Prize. Again in early 2016, a petition signed
by 30,000 for a Nobel Peace prize to Edhi was moved by Ziauddin Yousafzai, the
father of Malala Yousafzai. In her condolence message on
Edhi's death, broadcast by BBC Urdu Service Malala quoted that "as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, I hold the
right to nominate people for the prize and I have nominated Abdul Sattar Edhi"
.
About the Nobel Peace Prize, Edhi said: "I don't care about
it. The Nobel Prize doesn't mean anything to me. I want these people, I want
humanity.
Najam Sethi, a
governing board member of Pakistan Cricket
Board proposed to
rename Gaddafi Stadium after Edhi.
posted by Dr. Mohamed Y. Dualeh @ February 28, 2017
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