Contradiction

It was one cold night when I was roaming the streets of Bahrain, Sawat, that I noticed this boy walking beside me. He was barely 5-6 years of age, wearing a plain shalwar kameez but was without any sweater in the harsh weather.

Having the features of Indigenous people gave him a different look than any Punjabi kid.

He was constantly chasing me wherever I was going and I felt so in need to do something for him.

I was there to do a lot of window shopping, eat street food, and enjoy the mist pouring from the sky.

I clearly remember it was the 22nd of April, this child was following us the whole time and would stay outside when I was inside any shop.

Then again would follow me without saying a word or raising his hands to beg.

Giving him any money wasn't even an option. I asked him if he wanted anything to eat and if I could buy it for him because I didn't have anything in my bag to eat, but no response came from him.

Only silent eyes on us paired with a modest gait.
The shopkeeper said don't give him anything, he will get used to begging, instead, he should do some work.

He then said something in his local language to shu that child, gesturing him to turn away.

At that very moment, I came to realize that Pashtuns have a strong sense of dignity. They don't like to raise their hands to ask and offer you kehwa no matter if you purchase from them or not.

They want their kids to grow up and earn with their hands yet they are the most hated and oppressed faction in our country.

Anyhow, that child kept following, I don't remember when he vanished in thin air, and I don't know if his parents were aware of what their son was doing there alone at night.

Poor kid.

The next day came, I was leaving Bahrain for Kalam at 8 am, it was one of the most soothing morning sunlight I had had recently.

It was cold in the shade and hot in the sunlight, the kind of day about which Charles Dicken wrote.

An uncle was herding his goats, a river was flowing beneath the bridge surrounded by green mountains, and these two girls were going to their school alone.

I was watching the river attentively but the sight of those girls just clicked something and I recalled how a boy of their age was begging on the road instead of going to the school.

How the fate of every child is different in this country. Some are privileged while others are barely surviving by begging.

What will this education do for these girls when they grow up?
A random person will kill them in cold blood for rejecting them, honor killing, and anything you name it.

Or maybe any country will start a war on your country that only kills innocent children just to show off their uranium storage.

To kill the hope of the children with their weapons of mass destruction.
Children who are meant to live freely, get quality education, and excel in the world waiting for them to dream Big.

But the ugly system doesn't want it.