Armed with a book and a pen

You cannot study in our institution!” These words devastated the confidence of young Ghazala who dreamt of becoming a doctor. Ghazala applied for admission at a medical college but she was out rightly refused by the officials of the institute as she hails from Lyari. “After this I had become really depressed and I used to think that I would not be able to do anything in life. In short I thought my future had been destroyed,” says Ghazala.

However, all was not lost. “One of my school teachers who runs a school encouraged me to focus on my future. She said if they stop you from doing one thing, take up another. She said I should prove to them that they cannot crush my spirit. I slowly emerged from my depression and I joined teaching. I realized if I couldn’t achieve my dream, I could support students to achieve theirs,” shares Ghazala.

This seems to be a familiar story for a large number of youth belonging to Lyari, who have no use for education and talent. They are being punished for a fault that is not theirs.

Violence seems to have become a part of the life of people living in Lyari. Like other areas of Karachi, Lyari also has its unique stories about crime, gore and violence but nothing stops, children still go to school and adults go to work.

“Not everyone is a criminal in Lyari,” states Seema, a young teacher who has been teaching for almost a year in a local private school in Lyari. “When you hear the opinions of people abroad, you think Karachi is burning and everyone is holding everyone up on gunpoint. But the reality is different. The same is with Lyari. Things are very bad but still we have pockets of peace and normalcy.”

According to Seema, the majority of Lyari is peace loving. “People want to improve their lives by getting education. However, the authorities seem to be indifferent of their plight. So, the young educated people have taken the responsibility of imparting education to other youngsters to protect them from falling prey to gangs,” she explains.

These people brave the lawlessness in the area in order to go about their daily routine, at times even at the cost of their lives. “We are deprived of all our basic needs, and are cordoned off from the rest of the population. The mere mention of Lyari is like a disease,” adds Seema.

Madam Tanvir, who has been teaching for many years says, “I had taken a group of teachers and students to participate in a week-long event. We performed very well and got a lot of support and applause from the other teams. But when they found out that we were from Lyari, their attitudes became cold and they ignored us. It was very hurtful.”

This is not the only issue that the people of Lyari face. Most of the people claim that they have been overlooked when applying for jobs, merely because they belong to Lyari. It is quite disappointing to see that people are rejected on the basis of the area that they live in.

Ahmed, a student of masters and a teacher tells, “Despite all the problems, the educated people of Lyari continue to teach the youth to keep them from falling with gangs. It is a tough job to convince not only them but ourselves to continue since we all know there is no future.”

Many youngsters said they had faced the same problem. Shazia, who holds a Master’s degree and teaches at a private school in Lyari, has also faced this discrimination. “I had been selected at a bank and was hoping to get an appointment letter soon, but I was clearly told that I had all the credentials and was suited for the job but because I lived in Lyari, I would not get the job.

The only reason I was given was that my area was violent and I would have to take days off because of the situation in that area. If people from my area are rejected like this, many, mostly men, will have no option but join a gang,” laments Shazia.

Only those who keep hope alive continue to be positive for the sake of the youngsters of the area. Education has always been important for the people of Lyari and there is a strong network of schools in Lyari both private and public. Even before this network was set up, Lyari Street Schools filled this need in the 1980s and 1990s. As the name reveals, these schools were set up in the streets and run by locals who were educated.

Zahid is an administrator at two schools. He received his education in Lyari Street schools and later acquired higher studies from institutions of Lyari. Regarding the importance of education, Zahid is of the view, “Our priority is to give quality education to low income sections. Before the network of private schools, in the early 80s until 1997, there was a Lyari Street Schools system that was established by boxers, athletes and journalists of Lyari who wanted to keep the people out of drugs - a major problem then - and give quality education to the masses. The schools had to be closed due to the increase of violence and spill out in every street.

“Schools and teachers of Lyari play a vital role in engaging the children in studies and keeping them out of gangs. Most of the teachers are young students themselves, who are giving back to the society by educating the youngsters.”

As Lyari people are not given jobs, many young children, as young as 10-12 years join gangs to earn some money for their families. And once someone falls into a gang, there is usually no return.

“I have been teaching for three years,” says 20-year-old Sakina. “It is sad to see young children getting stuck in gangs. There was a young student -  almost 12 years old - in my school who joined a gang for money and power. When his family tried to get him back, they faced a lot of problems and threats. They couldn’t get him back, even when he left the area.”

According to another teacher Rana, who has been teaching for the past 20 years, “Those who leave the gangs usually get killed. However, there are incidents where some come back into the society. One or two of them took up teaching and they played a positive role in keeping kids out of the gangs. Children respected their word, as they knew that these people knew the truth.

“Such people also commanded respect with the gangsters and managed to keep peace while they were around, at least for the schools.”

These teachers who have dedicated themselves to education are doing their part, but due to no jobs, they fear that the educated lot from Lyari may lose the battle to keep youngsters out of trouble. They hope the authorities wake up to this problem and treat the educated majority of Lyari with compassion and provide them opportunities for higher education and employment.

- All names have been changed to retain privacy