Polio: Can Imran Khan help defeat the ugly villain in Pakistan’s story of survival

PHOTO: AFP

On October 24, 2013 when I saw polio teams entering my colony – Musharraf Colony in Hayatabad – it was the first time I knew what they had come for. They had come to save lives.

I ran home to tell my mother to get my little sister vaccinated.

Polio – the villain

It was only the night before that I had been peeping into one of the community halls where the elderly, adults and children from the colony had gathered because we were told that some goras (foreigners) were coming to deliver a talk. I had seen one of these lectures before but this time it was the sound of laughter that attracted my friends and me to the side where the event was.

It seemed to be a play.

We could see three men inside. One of them had a thick black moustache and was wearing a turban. He looked like a very intelligent man. Another one held a register in his hand and was being referred to as the accountant and the third man kept running around on the stage – he was the ‘worker’.

Just like my father, the worker in the story is the only bread-winner of the family and his ambition is to give his family a healthy life and good education to his children. But in the story the worker was creating a hue and cry because his younger son had been crippled due to polio.

I turned to my friend, Shakir and asked,

“Who is polio?”

“It is the villain!” he exclaimed.

Shakir was my best friend whom I played with all day after school. From his description of polio, I could only imagine a really evil-looking man with a knife or a gun in his hand holding it to the child’s leg to hurt him. But I kept thinking why the child’s father had not tried to stop the ugly villain and help his child. I was sad to think that this child was now crippled for life and he would never be able to play and run like us.

I went back home feeling sorry for the boy and cursing polio for the harm that it had done to the boy. I thought to myself that I would have fought back had Polio attacked me. I would have punched him right in the face and killed him.

Polio – the disease

Over dinner my father inquired about my sad face and my mother replied that I had learnt from someone that an ugly man called Polio had hurt a boy and that the boy was now crippled for life. My father looked at us and laughed. I thought that it was insensitive of him to laugh when the matter under discussion was so serious. He went on to say,

“Polio is a disease. Do you know that this disease attacks your nervous system? It is caused by an unhygienic and unsanitary environment and can cause disability for life. But you are right Saleem, it is like an ugly-looking villain.”

He smiled at me and continued,

“The theatre was arranged by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) team. ILO is a body working for labour rights and the promotion of occupational safety and health programmes. They target prevention from communicable diseases and other occupational hazards that can cause health-related problems.”

He then turned to my mother and told her that she should always clean her hands before cooking or even when handling my younger sister Aasia. He explained that polio attacked children up to the age of five years and until that age a child must have a dose of two drops of polio vaccine during each polio drive.

My father told us that he was going to visit our neighbours the next day to explain to them the consequences of not getting their children vaccinated from this incapacitating disease. He further explained that he, along with other workers from Hayatabad, had voluntarily committed themselves to help the health teams, World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and ILO, in order to promote a healthier Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

He said that they would go door-to-door to spread the message and make sure that all parents were made aware of the ugly villain that polio is and the harm that it could bring to their children. He went onto say that unless we change our own attitudes we would never be able to work towards a healthy and progressive household and community.

I was jubilant to hear all this information and more so, at the efforts that my own father was taking to stop this disease. I said excitedly,

“I will come along with you father and help promote this message!”

International Labour Organisation’s Occupational Safety and Health programme

ILO’s Occupational Safety and Health Programme (OSH) at the workplace engages trade unions and employers and through them, workers and communities in formal and informal situations. ILO mobilises them to raise awareness on prevention of communicable diseases such as polio, HIV and AIDS, and helps to create a responsible attitude in households, at the community level and amongst employers to participate in the elimination of this endemic from Pakistan.

Through the OSH programme, ILO has engaged the Department of Labour (K-P) and the Employee’s Social Security Institute (ESSI) in the social and vocational rehabilitation of people who are affected by polio and have different abilities. Convention 159 of the ILO promotes the mainstreaming of persons with disabilities through vocational rehabilitation.

Recently, the Minister for Special Education, Social Welfare and Women Development in K-P, Professor Mehr Taj Roghani has announced several initiatives to contribute to the efforts of polio elimination in the province. The ministry is working towards improvement of policy and programmatic interventions through legislative and infrastructural reforms. Moreover the ministry has recognised the need to implement the two percent quota for employment of persons with disabilities. While the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in K-P has taken these measures, the PTI leader, Imran Khan has also condemned the threat to the lives of health workers and polio immunisation teams in the field.

Imran Khan’s tireless efforts to make Shaukat Khanam a state-of-the-art facility for cancer eradication has paid off and millions of lives are saved every year. The success of Shaukat Khanam is indeed an encouraging achievement; however, polio eradication requires a much more collaborative effort. If Imran can engage religious icons and other influential leaders by winning their support, this drive might actually lead to fruitful results.

The implementation of the vocational rehabilitation convention of the ILO C159, ratified by Pakistan, is in question. However, the fact remains that it will be the efforts of our leaders, individuals, households and communities that can help bridge this gap and one day allow Pakistan to be a polio-free country.

Million-dollar Picasso won at charity raffle for $140

A man stands in front of a painting by Pablo Picasso. PHOTO: REUTERS

NEW YORK: A million-dollar drawing by Pablo Picasso was snapped up on Wednesday by a 25 year-old American art lover at an online charity raffle for a mere $140.

Jeffrey Gonano said he had been looking for a picture to hang on his living room wall when he read a news article about “L’Homme au Gibus”, translated “Man with Opera Hat”, raffled by Sotheby’s in Paris.

“I was looking for art and I thought I might as well,” the project manager at a fire sprinkler firm told Reuters by telephone.

Despite the enormous value of his new acquisition, Gonano vowed not to sell the artwork, at least for the time being.

His winning ticket 747815 – picked by a computer system on Wednesday – was one of 50,000 put up for sale online at 100 euros each to raise funds for an association working to preserve the ancient city of Tyre, in modern day Lebanon.

Organisers said that buyers from France and Germany to Iran and Kyrgyzstan had taken part, with a particularly large number of Americans.

The small drawing dates from 1914, during the artist’s Cubist phase, and was purchased by the Association to Save Tyre from a New York gallery with the help of a large bank loan. Organizers say they paid slightly less for the work than the one million dollar estimate given by Sotheby’s experts.

The sale was given the green light by Picasso’s grandson Olivier Picasso who said his grandfather would have been thrilled that his work was being put to good use.

“My grandfather was a pioneer in everything, in his love life, in his artwork, so tonight I’m sure he would have helped the cause,” he said.

For the moment the work’s new owner said he still could not believe his luck.

“I’m still in shock. I’ve never won anything like this before… obviously,” he said.

Dhoom 3 breaks Waar's box-office record on its first day

PHOTO:PUBLICITY

KARACHI: In an unexpected revelation at the Box Office, Dhoom 3 featuring Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif  has beaten the first day box office collection record of Waar by Rs8 million.

Waar had gathered a total first day box office collection of 11.4 millions rupees whereasDhoom 3 made a total of a little more than 19 million rupees in Pakistan on its opening day on Thursday.

Waar was released on 53 screens on Eid-ul-Azha whereas Dhoom 3 was released on 56 screens and  made the record on a weekday which indicates its success in the coming weeks.  It is still too early to say that Dhoom 3 will will beat the overall business of  Waar but it will most likely become the highest-grossing Indian film in Pakistan by beating Chennai Express’s total business of approximately Rs100 million.

English Premier League: Mourinho demands focus from misfiring Chelsea

TOP SPOT BATTLE: Chelsea dropped to fourth place in the table on Saturday, three points adrift of new leaders Liverpool and one behind third placed Arsenal. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON: Jose Mourinho has warned his Chelsea stars they cannot afford any more careless lapses in concentration when they face title rivals Arsenal on Monday.

Mourinho is growing increasingly vexed by the misfiring form of Chelsea’s strikers and his defenders’ alarming habit of switching off at key moments.

Chelsea dropped to fourth place in the table on Saturday, three points adrift of new leaders Liverpool and one behind third placed Arsenal.

And, with so much at stake when Chelsea visit the Emirates Stadium, Mourinho has made it clear he will not tolerate more sloppiness from his players.

“If we cannot improve our efficiency in front of the goal, we have to improve in the other end,” said Mourinho.

“We have to improve when we lose possession of the ball. We cannot just let the players hide behind the fact that we are not scoring enough goals and wait for that to happen.

It’s not a personal battle: Wenger

While Mourinho battles to cure Chelsea’s various ailments, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger may never get a better chance to finally beat his old rival.

Wenger has failed to defeat Mourinho in nine previous attempts, including a 2-0 loss in the League Cup earlier this season.

But, whatever the result, Wenger insists there is no longer any hostility between the two managers.

“It is not a personal battle,” said Wenger. “Honestly, we had some big games in the past, but what is important for me is that I am completely focused on my team doing well.”

A victory would ensure Arsenal head into the busy Christmas programme back on top of the table, but Wenger has slipped up too many times against Chelsea in the past to take anything for granted.

“Chelsea are a good side with many good promising players,” said Wenger. “It will be important to have a good defensive focus to stop them going forward.”

Moyes defends Januzaj amid diving claims

Manchester United manager David Moyes has defended young winger Adnan Januzaj against allegations that he could be developing an unwanted reputation for diving.

Januzaj was booked for simulation in the first half of United’s breezy 3-1 win over West Ham United after going down in the general vicinity of James Collins.

However, while Moyes accepted Januzaj’s yellow card was justified, he was more concerned that referee Michael Jones only handed out a booking to West Ham defender George McCartney following a horrendous stamp on the ankle of Javier Hernandez.

“He [Jones] saw a bit of simulation in another one, but didn’t see that,” said Moyes.

“I think Adnan was expecting a challenge from [James] Collins, but if you look at the last two games, he has taken more tackles than any other player.

“So we’ll talk to him about it, but you [journalists] might be picking on the wrong person.

Swann quits Ashes tour midway

‘SWANN-SONG’: A tired and jaded Swann claimed that quitting cricket was really tough as the England team has been his ‘family for seven years now’. PHOTO: AFP

SYDNEY: Graeme Swann shocked the cricket world Sunday by announcing his immediate retirement mid-way through the already doomed series with Australia, sending social media into a frenzy over the timing of the decision.

The 34-year-old off-spinner claimed 255 wickets in 60 Tests in just five years and is sixth on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers for England. England won half the Tests in which he played.

Swann claimed 17 five-wicket hauls in Tests and three times took 10 wickets in a match.

He effectively spearheaded England to an Ashes victory in the previous series earlier this year with his haul of 26 wickets.

But troubled by a chronic elbow condition, Swann knew his time was up on the unresponsive Australian pitches.

He had been under pressure to retain his place in the squad after taking just seven wickets at an average of 80.00 in the first three Tests in Australia.

Swann always played cricket with a smile and was a much-loved figure within the English team. He triggered an Internet sensation by highlighting the England players’ victory jig known as “The Sprinkler” during the 2010-11 Ashes series victory in Australia on his web diary.

But he also ran into trouble occasionally. Last week he was forced to apologise for what he called a ‘crass and offensive’ comment after he compared the third Ashes Test loss to Australia to being ‘raped’.

Tributes flow following Swann’s shock exit

Tributes flowed for the England spinner after his bombshell retirement.

“I don’t know what to say, I thought he’d bowled OK in the series, just without luck I guess,” said Australian fast-bowler Ryan Harris.

“Something’s obviously not quite right with him, or he’s fulfilled whatever he wanted to do, but to me that’s a huge shock.”

Australia Spinner Nathan Lyon said he had been ‘pretty shocked’ by the news.

“He’s someone who I’ve looked up to a lot,” said Lyon.

England teammates took to Twitter to bid farewell to a player they described as one of the greats.

“Congrats Swann on brilliant career will miss playing with the fellow twin,” wrote Monty Panesar.

Tim Bresnan offered his “huge congratulations on a great career in cricket” and said he would miss the jovial and popular Swann’s “constant putdowns and abuse of my mental capacity”.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan said he believed it was ‘too soon’ for Swann to call it a day, describing him as “finger spin out of the top draw”.

US diplomat row overlooks Indian maids' plight

A member of the Student Federation of India (SFI) holds up a poster while shouting slogans during a protest outside the U.S. consulate office in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad December 19, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS

MUMBAI: Americans were shocked at the alleged $3.31-per-hour wage paid to an Indian diplomat’s housekeeper in a case that has sparked global outrage. But to Rupa Thakur, who does the same job in Mumbai, it sounded like a small fortune.

The mother-of-three works 13 hours a day, six days a week for a family in the suburbs of India’s financial capital, taking home 8,000 rupees ($130) a month – or about 38 US cents an hour.

“Life is tough,” said Thakur, 39, who moved to the city from Nepal as an uneducated girl to find work.

“After daily expenses and paying my children’s school and college fees, I can save only around 2,000 rupees. With everything getting costlier every day, it is difficult for people like us.”

India erupted in fury last week over America’s strip-search and arrest of an Indian diplomat accused of underpaying her housekeeper. But the story of the maid herself has received far less attention back home.

Domestic service is a prominent feature of life in urban India, with a maid seen as a stamp of middle-class membership. Many of those who can afford it also have drivers, cooks and nannies.

Such workers often start as young women or girls, like Thakur, who travel from rural areas to try to make a living and support their families, but who often end up working too many hours for too little cash, activists say.

While New York rigidly enforces laws to ensure even the lowliest employees get no less than $7.25 an hour, such legislation is almost entirely absent for Indian domestic workers.

“They need some kind of standardised wage practice in force,” said Mumbai social worker Avisha Kulkarni, who campaigns on the issue.

There are also frequent reports of domestic servants being abused by their wealthy employers.

In November, a New Delhi court ordered an Indian lawmaker and his wife to be held in police custody for allegedly torturing to death a maid at their home.

The case came soon after a teenage maid was rescued from another upscale Delhi home by police and social rights campaigners, who said she had been slashed with knives and mauled by dogs.

The Global Slavery Index, released in October, found an estimated 13.95 million people in India are victims of forced labour – making up almost half of the world’s slave population. Domestic service is a key area of concern.

“The central government has completely ignored the conditions of domestic workers,” said Anannya Bhattacharjee, executive council member of the New Trade Union Initiative, who is based in northern Haryana state.

“It’s part of Indian feudal tradition. There’s always talk of domestic workers being part of the family but they want to be treated as workers,” she said.

But there are also signs of change within the industry.

While demand remains high, Kulkarni said fewer women were willing to serve as live-in maids for one household, preferring to work at a number of homes and charge per task, such as cleaning utensils or washing clothes.

“The standard and cost of living has gone up,” Kulkarni said, adding that many maids had high aspirations for their children and wanted them well-educated.

This was the case for Pushpa Khude, another housekeeper in Mumbai, who financed her two children’s college education and whose son is now a bank manager.

Khude, 45, cleans and cooks in several households and takes home 24,000 rupees ($385) a month – a relatively high sum for her job in India – after starting work at the age of six watering plants for a Bollywood actor.

Nowadays she only works for expatriates, with no desire to take on Indian employers.

“I’m Indian, but I’m disappointed because other Indians aren’t giving us (maids) respect or any responsibility,” she said.

“They treat us so rudely and they don’t trust us or give us holiday.”

US attorney Preet Bharara, the prosecutor who spearheaded Khobragade’s arrest proceedings, wondered why there was little concern in India for the maid and her family.

“One wonders why there is so much outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian national accused of perpetrating these acts, but precious little outrage about the alleged treatment of the Indian victim and her spouse?” he said in comments earlier this week.

Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, points out that millions of mostly women and girls perform “crucial jobs” around the world as domestic helpers, often enabling employers to pursue careers.

But she said that in India and elsewhere, they remain “among the most exploited”, despite a new international treaty adopted in 2011 to improve their rights.

“India should sign the Domestic Workers Convention, encourage domestic workers to organise, and ensure that their complaints of abuse, including sexual abuse, are promptly addressed,” Ganguly said.

“Quite often domestic workers fear reprisals and don’t come forward with their complaints. Proper witness protection systems should be provided.”

Obama tells Congress 'no need' for new Iran sanctions

US President Barack Obama. PHOTO: AFP

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama issued a stern defense of his outreach to Iran on Friday, warning US lawmakers not to derail diplomatic efforts to curtail the Islamic state’s nuclear program.

In an end-of-year news conference, Obama said efforts in Congress to pass tougher economic sanctions could damage recent moves to halt Tehran’s alleged drive to refine nuclear fuel and build a weapon.

And he once again underlined that any break in the diplomatic momentum towards a deal could force Washington into another military conflict with a Middle East power.

Obama said the six-month interim agreement struck last month between Iran and world powers should stand as a test of Tehran’s willingness to come to a deal with the international community.

“It is very important to test whether that’s possible, not because it’s guaranteed but because the alternative is us having to engage in some kind of conflict to resolve the problem with all kinds of unintended consequences,” he said.

“It is my goal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but I sure would rather do it diplomatically.”

The United States and five more world powers – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – met Iranian envoys in Geneva last month and agreed a six-month deal to reduce nuclear tensions.

Iran agreed to place its nuclear plants under UN watch, to halt new uranium enrichment and to dilute moderately enriched fuel stockpiles in exchange for a loosening of Western economic sanctions.

Washington’s goal is to slow Tehran’s enrichment drive while drawing the Islamic regime into talks on a final deal that will end fears, denied by Iran, that it intends to build a nuclear weapon.

Iran insists it never intended to build a bomb, but its main regional foes Israel and Saudi Arabia, traditional US allies with good support among Washington lawmakers, want stronger action.

Some influential members of Congress, from both Obama’s Democratic Party and his Republican rivals, are pushing to pass laws that would tighten already strict US sanctions.

Obama’s Secretary of State John Kerry has warned that this could torpedo the Geneva deal, and Obama himself took the opportunity Friday to warn against any attempt to thwart the diplomatic track.

“We lose nothing during this negotiation period,” he insisted. “There is no need for new sanctions legislation – not yet.”

“Now, if Iran comes back and says, we can’t give you assurances that we’re not going to weaponize… it’s not going to be hard for us to turn the dials back, strengthen sanctions even further,” he said.

“I will work with members of Congress to put even more pressure on Iran.  But there is no reason to do it right now,” he added.

On Thursday, 26 US senators introduced a bill to strengthen Iran sanctions, but it was not clear when it would come for a vote, and the chamber is due to go into recess until the new year.

The White House warned that Obama would in any case veto the bill, meaning that it would not become US law.

Iran is following Washington’s disputes closely and last week had already reacted angrily when the US administration blacklisted a dozen international firms for allegedly evading previous sanctions.