Ali is a very sweet and intelligent child, he listened to and noticed everything very carefully. Though he was very young, he was worried about everything — why everyone littered the streets, why they threw garbage in the park, and so much more.

As August 14 was coming closer, the teacher asked everyone to write a speech on any interesting topic. Everyone started thinking, including Ali. Suddenly, he got an idea and he smiled to himself.

So after school, when he came home, he wrote a speech and showed it to his mother. She made a few corrections and appreciated his effort. He then wrote the speech on a new sheet of paper and showed it to the teacher the next day. She also appreciated him for writing so well and told him to practice it well as she had selected him as one of the participants to present it in the school function.

On August 14, there was big function in the school, some children had to sing national songs, some had to present a tableau and some had to give a speech.

It was a fabulous day. Everyone was wearing green and white, and there were Pakistan flags all around. The atmosphere was jubilant. The students were going on the stage and presenting whatever they had prepared especially for this day.

Finally, Ali’s name was called out for the speech. Ali confidently walked up to the centre of the stage, stood in front of the mike and started the speech.

“Dear all, on this day we celebrate our freedom every year with great joy and respect for our dear country, Pakistan. We decorate our houses, schools and cars with flags and banners. But after August 14, we move on with life, forgetting that our responsibility is not over, and there is work to be done even after a celebration. We never think of taking down the flags and banners respectfully. As a result, we see flags in the garbage and on the ground, where many come under our feet.

“Is this the way we are supposed to respect our dear land? Is this the correct way of celebrating independence? What does this behaviour of ours reflect? It only shows that we are selfish and unaware of the true meaning of freedom. If we respect our country, we must respect our country’s flag. We need to ....”

Ali kept on speaking to the audience, pointing out all that was wrong with our behaviour. He then went on to discuss the solutions to the problems that we all face in everyday life, but very few of us are willing to take up the responsibility to do anything about it.

When Ali ended, the audience was sitting in silence for a few moments. His words had made a great impact on everyone, and they felt embarrassed that they were all guilty of doing many of the wrong practices that Ali had pointed out.

As he started to move away from the podium, everyone started to clap loudly for him.

At the end of the speeches, the principal came on the stage and said that Ali’s speech was very good as he not only pointed out the problems, but also offered the solutions to make us better citizens of our country. After all, he added, a country is good or bad because of the behaviour of the people who live in it.

The principal then went on to repeat the message given by Ali, “We should not only decorate our houses with the flags, but also respect everything related to it. I would also like to appreciate this young boy Ali, who wrote his speech himself and gave such important reminders. So I call Ali once again on the stage and I want to ask him to tell us how he came up with these thought-provoking points. Ali, please come to the stage.”

Ali came on the stage and thanked everyone and said, “When the teacher asked me to write a speech, I remembered that last year it rained on August 14, which damaged all the flags. I was hurt to see them lying around in such a bad state. So I thought I should draw everyone’s attention to this in advance so that we can be careful this year and remember to take the flags down before they are torn or discarded in the garbage.”

All the children and adults there vowed that they would definitely take care of the flags and banners this year and be more respectful citizens of the country. Long live Pakistan!

Published in Dawn, Young World, August 13th, 2022