Rest in peace, our hero

A pall of gloom seems to be blanketing the Regional Blood Donor Centre (RBDC) of Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) these days. It is so thick, as one feels it the moment one steps into this state-of-the-art Centre.

The staff are glued to their computer screens feeding data to the hard disks with quick strokes or busy operating the lab equipment religiously, but they all look sad, disheartened and distraught.

A visible feeling of loss is writ large on their faces. This feeling has its reason – they have just loss a colleague, who was so dear to them. For them, Muhammad Amir Nisar, 40, was a brother full of the milk of human kindness, a lodestar, a role model, and a bankable person, who would leap to their help and stand in for them during crisis situations. He would always be in the forefront and willing to help colleagues at the drop of a hat.

Amir went the way of all flesh on July 24 after losing an almost month-long tough battle with the COVID-19 pandemic. He was on duty on Thursday, June 25 and was taken to Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Hospital (BBSH) on June 26 when his condition deteriorated.

He was admitted the same day and shifted to the ward. As his condition worsened, he was put on the vent. He was shifted back to the ward after his condition stabilized. However, his condition began to deteriorate again and he was put on the vent where he stayed until death on Friday, July 24.

Wide-shouldered, deep-chested and a man of decent height and shy demeanor, Amir died with his boots on, as even after running temperature and labored breathing after catching the virus, God alone knows when, where and how, he was seen working like a Trojan arranging blood donation camps and motivating donors through his speeches to make beeline for donations, as the life of thousands of patients was hanging by a thread due to blood shortage in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak.

His motivational lectures – packing force and logic – would work wonders and those dreading needle prick or avoiding donating blood for misplaced fear of contracting some infection would willingly line up to make donations.

Colleagues advised him against working so hard and beseeched him to go for tests, but this eager beaver would not listen. It was as though he knew he had very little time left and he wanted to clear the decks as fast as he could before saying us all good-bye. The colleagues’ beseeching had no effect on him – it fell like water off a duck’s back.

“No big deal – it’s just a bad chest and slight temperature. I will get well soon … but let me first deal with these urgent things,” he would say to his colleagues standing around him upset and worried. For him, it was a nonissue, but his flirtation with the infection cut him off in the prime of life when he was struggling for a safe, prosperous future of his family.

During his 12-year association with the RBDC as Office Assistant/Data Entry Operator, colleagues never saw his hands still or empty. They would see him scurrying from one office to another with files tucked tightly under his sleeves, or feeding data (on the blood units and its products) to his computer. He personified kindness, calmness, integrity, endurance, humility, and patience.

Amir has been laid to rest in his hometown Chakwal. A grieving wife and four children survive him. His death has knocked the bottom out of the family. It was the hardest thing they ever were exposed to, and has drained them physically, mentally and emotionally. In him, the wife has lost an ever caring, faithful, and loving life partner and the young kids a doting father, a friend, and a playmate.

A few days back, I visited the Centre and met the entire staff. They were all full of praise for Amir and said he was an unforgettable part of their memories and they will ever keep their fingers crossed for his spiritual elevation in the Jannah for he died a martyr.

Program Officer RBDC Dr Wasifa Muttasim said she was yet to convince herself that Amir was no more. Dr Wasifa said after Amir’s death, she SMSed him many a time out of force of habit, as she relied on him a lot. Failing to blink back tears that welled up in her eyes, she said Amir would take care of her like a brother, and it never occurred to her even once that he was someone out of the family.

He had a very strong bond with her and would often discuss offices issues with her. Dr Wasifa says Amir was an indelible part of her memories as a faithful and loyal colleague and a caring brother.

“Things don’t stall but keep moving – it’s natural; it’s the rule of the world, but the death of someone so dear to the family, friends, and colleagues cuts them so deep. Amir’s death is a huge loss to us; it has left a huge void that will take time to fill,” Dr Wasifa choked.

Muhammad Atif Awan, motivator, said Amir was like brother to him, who treated his work as pure worship. He said Amir would always be in the forefront and at the beck and call of his seniors. Such was the spirit of volunteerism, selflessness and altruism that he would volunteer himself for any task. During the October 8, 2005 devastating quake and Sabzi Mandi, Islamabad blast in April 9, 2014, he played an important role in arranging blood donation camps.

Similarly, during the December 16, 2014 terrorist attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar, Amir took 250 blood bags and handed them over to the authorities concerned. He worked beyond the duty hours. He was amiable, sociable and a source of motivation for the colleagues.

Mir Badshah, vaccinator, said Amir was a good human being and a thorough professional. He was kind-hearted, humble and God-fearing. He never saw Amir sitting idle and his professional approach goaded his colleague to work with more force, vigor, and commitment.

Bibi Khalida, educator, said she worked with Amir for 12 years. He was caring, cooperative, and faithful. Whenever she sought his help, he would do it immediately. If he could not do it there and then, he would place both his hands on his heart as a gesture of respect and humility and say apologetically, “Baji, I am busy doing an important task. Let me get over with it. Rest assured, I will do what you have commanded – your wish is my command.”

Bibi Khalida said it never occurred to her that Amir was someone out of family. She said Amir’s bond with his colleagues was so strong and enviable.

It is heartening to note that in recognition of Amir Nisar’s matchless services, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society and Turkish Red Crescent Society have committed a handsome financial support to his family, which will help them live a decent, honorable life. Chairman PRCS Abrar ul Haq, TRC Head of Delegation (HoD) in Pakistan Ibrahim Carlos and I visited Amir’s family and parents and informed them about the decision.

Amir Nisar is among scores of healthcare professionals (HCPs) who fell victim to the COVID-19 pandemic while on duty. Sacrificing their personal comfort, staying away from their loved ones and taking their lives in their own hands, these healthcare professionals worked almost round the clock performing the assigned tasks until the cold, icy claws of death took them away. HCPs like Amir and scores of others are an important and unforgettable part of the nation’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were sure to lose this battle had our HCPs not risen to the occasion. They are still out in the field, as the final battle is on to push the pandemic far beyond the borders of our motherland.

We owe our success against the pandemic mainly to these HCPs and our government and the nation should treat them as our national heroes, give them and their families a hero’s welcome wherever they go, reward them like we reward our heroes in other fields and reassure them that the nation owes them a debt of gratitude.

The writer is Secretary General Pakistan Red Crescent Society.