“If you can’t change your fate, change your attitude.” – Amy Tan

Horrors of organ harvesting

According to a horrifying report stated that Pakistan is among those countries where sale of human organs is on the rise. Such practices are thriving specially in Punjab and Sindh with most of the business depending upon labours who used to sell their organs at very nominal price and from children who were kidnapped by human traffickers. Fueled by a cycle of poverty and debt, this black market has flourished for years with traffickers preying on the poorest – many of them laborers who have helped the region prosper but have been paid a pittance in return. There is no official data on the number of people who have sold their kidneys in Pakistan, but some officials estimate that there could be at least 1,000 victims every year. This grave matter is not only the concern of the Health Minister or the Human Rights Minisiter, infact every member of the government is vested with the accountability to delve into this heinous crime.

Jameela Hanif,
Karachi

The forgotten national sport

Ask any Pakistani what their favourite sport is and the answer will always be cricket. But loving one sport does not mean we completely eliminate the interest, hype and focus on other national teams. Hockey may be our national sport and once when Pakistan was known to own the hockey fields has become an area of dying interest. The poor performance in the recent tournament was a wake-up call to improve team selection, training and more. The management despite pocketing hefty salaries is not showing any concern for improvement and that is also due to the lack of public interest in the sport. It is about time the national hockey team was given more exposure at home.

Muzna Arif,
Karachi

Deforestation Vs water conservation

Last year’s commendable initiative “green-gold” planted hundreds of millions of trees to combat the deadly heat wave and fight deforestation in the land. With this, scores of eucalyptus plants were planted in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwan’s Hero Shah union council, and the act was lauded by many. In taking a giant initiative like this, some knowledge of basic botany would have done the authorities well. Many don’t know that eucalyptus, albeit being fast-growing, are water-intensive trees; they need a lot of water to thrive. In the long run, this will most definitely lead to serious issues because water conservation is a huge problem in the country, currently. With a dearth of a proper irrigation system and grave scarcity of water, this fast-growing water consuming tree is in direct contradiction of our water conservation drive. We can’t fight one problem, only to give birth to another.

Mehak Zubair,
Karachi

Pets for children

Generally, most parents discourage and even prohibit their children from keeping pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits and other tamed creatures. They back this prohibition with concerns for their children’s hygiene and health. While their concerns are in the right place as parents, they are often wrong about the adverse affects of keeping pets. With careful supervision and care, keeping pets can be a healthy and refreshing experience for the whole family. There are several life lessons you can impart to your children just by getting them pets; such as sense of responsibility, caring for others and harbouring sensitivity and love for nature. But one should understand that maintaining pets is an added responsibility which shouldn’t be taken lightly. But the overall of experience of having pets is so fulfilling that it trumps any negative aspects it may bring.

Zarmeen Khan,
Lahore