AS winter takes over, many people are left to sleep on pavements in freezing cold without having any shelter. Trash, dirty water, and crawling insects surround them, creating a dangerous and unhygienic environment. With no blankets or warm clothes to fight off the cold, they endure unimaginable hardships.

These are the people who have been abandoned by a system that has failed them. They can hardly afford one meal per day. They have no safe space, no education, and no way out of their endless cycle of poverty and neglect.

It is easy for us to walk past such people and ignore their suffering. These people are not invisible; we have chosen to look the other way.

Every winter, charitable souls distribute blankets and food for a few nights. Some of them even take pictures and post them on social media. These acts of charity, while helpful, are like pouring water into a broken pot; they do not address the root cause of the problem.

As we sit in our homes this winter, let us ask ourselves a simple question. What kind of society allows its most vulnerable to suffer like this? The homeless do not need our pity, our hashtags, or our viral posts; they need action, empathy and commitment from the government to provide them shelters. Their survival should not depend on the generosity of a few; it should be guaranteed by the state.

Wania Rauf
Lahore

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2025