FAISAL EDHI: DONATING TO THE GOVERNMENT'S COVID FUND

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/04/18/faisal-edhi-donating-government-covid-fund/

There is a process involved in donating money. Most people give tips and the odd few hundred to someone who appears to need it without much thought, but larger sums of money always involve an assessment of whether or not the person genuinely requires it; while donating to an organisation is definitely based on which organisation you trust– and which you don’t.

It is not right therefore if the organisation you donated to because you trusted it passes the money on to another one, because there is a possibility that the donor did not donate to that other one because he did not trust it.

There is a good reason for example why many people did not donate to the damn fund, sorry, the dam fund, remember it? The one that was renamed ‘The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dam Fund,’ when Imran Khan the then newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan jumped in in 2018 – as he does, into this, yet another example of judicial activism by the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar. Those who did not donate to that fund obviously did not consider the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dam worth supporting. Perhaps they took into account expert opinion, an opinion that was ignored by the authorities and which said that such large dams were actually counter-productive and were not the way to deal with the issue of water shortage. Others did not donate to the fund because they did not trust that the funds would be used as they were meant to be.

On the other hand several people and organisations did donate. Even so, the target of some Rs 1.5 trillion needed for building the dams was never reached and only Rs 9.8 billion were ever collected, which is a tiny fraction of the amount required. And then the Chief Justice sahib said, when questioned about ‘what next,’ that the fund was never meant to be for the dam really, it was only to ‘raise awareness’ of the issue. That response came as an unpleasant surprise for the donors.

Since then the fund has been in limbo, while the good judge has been too busy marrying off his son in a ceremony so lavish it boggles the mind, and makes you wonder, putting two and two together and coming up with much more than four.

It is never a good idea to cover everyone with the same blanket. There will always be exceptions to the rule. But the general rule in Pakistan appears to be that its governments are rarely to be relied upon to function honestly. There has never been a government that was an exception to that rule, not even the one currently in power, seeing that it is composed greatly of people who rolled over and into it from the previous one and the one before that. There have been wheat scandals, and sugar scandals, and questions as to whether the frontispiece is actually the person named or someone else pulling the strings.

Therefore, when Faisal Edhi donated Rs. 10 million to the Prime Minister for the government’s coronavirus relief fund, it was not appreciated by those who donate to Edhi.

Faisal Edhi’s father Abdul Sattar Edhi, helped by his wife Bilquis Edhi, was one of Pakistan’s─ and even the world’s─ greatest philanthropists. People donated to the Edhi Foundation, a non-profit charity organisation, knowing that the money they give was safe and would reach the people it was intended for. Edhi set up the world’s largest fleet of ambulances, homes for the destitute and other things that have benefited millions in this country over the years.

Abdul Sattar Edhi kept his charity organisation to itself with good reason. He helped whoever was in need of a helping hand regardless of the recipient’s religious belief, and was criticized by some so called religious figures for this. He retorted that he did not believe in discrimination. People put obstacles in his way and maligned him, but he never let them deter his good work, determinedly remaining independent because he wanted no strings attached to his work.

Perhaps Faisal Edhi has not understood the reasons behind his father’s refusal to ally with other groups, much less the government. Faisal has said that “if all stakeholders don’t work together and if they maintain gaps, the public will face problems.” He has urged “critics, opposition, the Centre and other parties to forget their difference and stop criticizing each other,” saying that “if we don’t form a consensus then it will benefit the coronavirus, not us.” He is also quoted as saying that “he is full and gratitude and very happy that the Edhi Foundation is working with the government.”

Well he’s very right about cooperation. But there is a difference between ‘working with’ and cooperation, at least in the context that Faisal has used it. Cooperation does not have to be monetary. Everyone, individual and organization, can and should forget their difference and work together towards a common good. The Edhi Foundation could loan out its ambulances where required, it could provide quarantine facilities and food for those infected with the virus and many such things. But money? How do you track where money goes? Take this seriously, because money very often can and does go walking where it shouldn’t. One hopes most ardently that Faisal will come to realise that his father had it right all along, before the Edhi Foundation falls victim to a lack of trust. What a huge pity that would be, given the lifetime of extreme hard work, self-denial and commitment put into the organisation by Abdul Sattar Edhi. May God bless him.