It’s been a mixture of triumphs and trials for Pakistani children these past few weeks.
Two-hundred-and-thirty children from 19 countries competed for 10 days at the recently concluded Street Child World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Pakistani team came in third place. The tournament is associated with the global movement Save the Children, which aims to provide street children with protection and opportunities.
The young footballers from the town of Lyari, Karachi, were lauded for their excellent overall performance, but particularly for their stupendous victory over the Indian team (13-0). Overnight heroes, the children were showered with adulation and cash prizes, including 200,000 Pakistani rupees (Dh7,600) from the Sindh Assembly and 100,000 rupees each from Pakistan People’s Party – the leading political group from the province of Sindh.
Though these don’t seem to be big amounts, for those children living below the poverty line, it goes a long way. Perhaps even more important than the monetary reward is the recognition they have received and the doors their victory has opened for their future. The Pakistani government has already committed to taking responsibility for the children’s education – a luxury that could hardly be afforded by their parents. It’s been heartening to see the little athletes get their due.
On the other hand, there are children whose plight has highlighted the sad state of affairs when it comes to children’s rights and child protection laws in the country.
Earlier this month, Amanullah, from the small town of Chichawatni, Sahiwal, took his 11-year-old daughter, Musarrat, to the hospital where she had typhoid diagnosed. When she didn’t get better in a few days, a neighbour suggested taking her to the local cleric for “spiritual healing”.
Sarfaraz wanted 1,500 rupees to exorcise the demons he claimed possessed the little girl. The trusting father paid up and left the girl with the cleric. Little did he know his daughter would be severely beaten and her feet doused in kerosene and set alight.
The girl’s screams brought the neighbours to the scene, who reported seeing the girl’s feet on fire. The cleric, of course, fled and is still at large.
And last week in Lahore, a 9-month-old was arrested and presented in court on charges of attempted murder.
Baby Mohammad Musa was accused of trying to kill police officers during a neighbourhood clash. In a series of bizarre events that drew the country’s – and the world’s – attention to Pakistan’s severely flawed legal system, the baby was even fingerprinted and presented in court, where he sat in his grandfather’s lap drinking milk from a bottle. The police later decided not to pursue the allegations and the judge dismissed the charges. This may be a first, but what is the guarantee that this will be the last? And what’s next? That such allegations can be made and entertained in a court of law is farcical.
So while the government lauds the little footballers, let them also take a look at a system that lets a 9-month-old be accused of attempted murder and fails to apprehend a man who beats and burns a child in the name of spiritual healing.
The writer is an honest-to-goodness desi living in Dubai
artslife@thenational.ae
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
How Beautiful this world is!
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The%20specs
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WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
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