“About five million tonnes of trash…!”

“Who’s ever even going to care about this?” Ahmed whispered to Adil.

It was 1:15pm. Ahmed set his gaze on the clock, ready to shoot out the exact moment the tip of the clock hands touched 1:30pm. It was a guest speaker session in school and the topic was environment.

Ahmed didn’t bother to listen to anything, though today’s session would have benefited him greatly. As you can tell, Ahmed was careless kind, he would rather be out playing a sport than understanding or trying to listen to a single word.

Of course, in Ahmed’s mind, life was just fun and games, he never thought about the problems around him. So the speaker’s words about taking care of the environment and how it was the vital source of our healthy living left him feeling bored. This was not really his fault; the mind-set of the whole society works this way. Our surroundings are extremely polluted and many people just keep adding to the problem by throwing out junk from their car windows, spitting around and not properly disposing of their garbage.

Therefore, as young minds are very impressionable, Ahmed observed this and started following these habits. Of course, his parents occasionally stopped him, but it did not make much of a difference. It was only a few days later when Ahmed realised that waste also needed to go somewhere and that even on an individual level, he should work to save the environment from the pollution.

One day, when he was walking home from school with his driver in front of him, the chilly late November breeze sharply cut through Ahmed’s layer of sweaters and his coat. His house was only about four minutes away so often times, his mother would send their driver to bring Ahmed by walking back home.

On the way he was constantly thinking about the assignment his teacher had given about the guest speaker session and he had hardly listened to a word of it, yet the beauty of the day mesmerised Ahmed. He decided that he would figure out the homework at home and enjoy his walk right now.

The hazy afternoon blended well with the blue-coloured sky. Ahmed’s shoe scrunched over the crisp leaves which had fallen off from the trees on the side-walk. The usual gloomy foggy weather had subsided and one could clearly see the sun amidst the sky merging into colours of orange, pink and yellow. Its rich golden light over the earth spread a lovely warm glow everywhere.

Ahmed inhaled the refreshing smell of cardamom in the air, and remembered one of their neighbours had planted it! It bloomed in winter so it was time for it to spread a fragrant fresh aroma around.

Ahmed flicked out a candy’s plastic wrapper on the road, not caring about it. Today, they were taking a slightly different route, as Ahmed’s driver had some more errands to run, so they took a shortcut. Ahmed’s train of thoughts about the beautiful day were immediately interrupted by something stinking. He looked around and sniffed, while passing a huge barbed wire fence on the side of the road. He stopped to see the other side of the fence.

He noticed mounds of trash. The smell and look made him want to throw up. It smelled so horrid that he held his nose as tightly as possible, ready to get out of there as soon as possible. But then his eyes caught two girls sneaking up to the piles of trash. Their clothes were worn out, ripped and ragged. Their hair was tangled up and dirty, they were bare feet.

The girls were holding garbage bags, filling them with bits and pieces of cardboard, plastic bottles and whatever salvageable waste they could find.

This immediately picked up Ahmed’s curiosity. Why would anyone want to pick up garbage? And many other questions such as was this the place where garbage was dumped? How do they get rid of it, is it too much to burn? The mounds of trash swarmed with flies, rats and disease smelling like a toxic wasteland.

Ahmed’s driver called out to him to move fast. Ahmed caught up with the driver and asked several questions regarding the garbage he saw and those girls. The driver answered some of them while many he could not. Ahmed’s curiosity grew even more and he vowed to come back the next day to find out what those girls were going to do with the selected waste.

The next day, Ahmed showed up to the same spot and saw the same girls skimming through the garbage, swiftly sorting the required stuff. While carelessly getting into the garbage and picking out the stuff, the smaller girl who was not more than six or seven years old, cut her hand as she accidentally grabbed the broken glass piece which was also mixed with other garbage. Blood oozed from the cut and she burst into tears. Her sister tried to calm her down and looked around worriedly when she saw the wound.

Though Ahmed was irresponsible and naughty, he was good at heart and offered help to the girls. Often in our society, we do not think much of those who are weaker than us, but Ahmed’s parents had brought him up to be respectful to everybody.

He reached out to the girls and offered them help. The girls were reluctant, but finally agreed. He took out a bandage from his pocket which he usually kept in case he hurt himself during his football practices. Now that Ahmed was up close he could really see what bad condition they were in. Their eyes were yellowish and scared. He saw them shiver as the chilly breeze blew through their clothing.

Ahmed slowly tried to gain their trust and asked what they did with the garbage they were collecting at such a young age.

The older sister replied, “We get some amount of money when we give the paper, cardboard and bottles to a factory, where they recycle it. My sister and mother are suffering with lung conditions. Doctors say that it’s all because of the smoke that comes out from burning the garbage, pollution and smog. The prescribed treatment is too expensive and my father is already working hard at a factory.

“Sometimes, I get some reusable waste things with which I make other stuff and try to sell,” she disclosed. She then showed him a beautifully handmade bird from yarn that could be used as a keychain. Ahmed was dumb but smiled in awe and asked how much was it for.

“Sixty rupees,” the older sister relied hopefully.

Ahmed searched his pockets and pulled out a Rs500 note. Without hesitation, he gave it to her even though that was the money he had been saving to buy a new soccer ball.

The girl was shocked at the kind gesture and said thank you many times before going away. Ahmed smiled, but his thoughts turned to gloom as he thought of the girls’ condition.

Ahmed felt extremely guilty for his own actions and how he took advantage of the good things in his life. These small girls were working so hard while trying to make sure they provided for their family.

That day, Ahmed learnt a big lesson and decided to take action. He decided that he would never throw trash on the roadside and take care of the environment, since a clean environment is essential for the good of everyone. Even though it was just the initiative of one boy, the smallest step can make the biggest difference.

Pollution and lack of proper garbage disposal create problems in Pakistan, as well as in the whole world. Often it was the poor families who suffer the consequences of it the most. However, whether collectively or individually, make sure you are doing your part, and not harming or destroying mother Earth in any way.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 22nd, 2023