Just a few minutes into a conversation with 21-year-old Maham Ali and it becomes apparent that she’s not an ordinary Pakistani citizen, indifferent to the many crises plaguing her country. Unlike most, Maham does not just sit back and complain or fret. She chooses to rise to the occasion and actually make a difference in these troubling times.

Maham’s recent initiative to raise funds for the family of a poor Christian janitor, who lost his life in the International Islamic University blast in Islamabad a month ago, has won the praise of many. With the help of SMS text messages and the internet, she single-handedly raised a sum of Rs 52,500 for Pervaiz Masih’s family.

‘I think it was the thought of a suicide bomber striking an educational campus that got to me. Initially, I was terrified since I have friends studying there, but later I realised that out of all that chaos and tragedy, a hero had emerged: Pervaiz Masih.’

Masih saved the lives of hundreds of female students at the university by preventing the bomber from entering the girls’ cafeteria, but his family received little attention after the incident. It has been a month since the blast occurred, but the one million rupees in compensation promised by the government has yet to reach the Masihs.

‘I learnt about this oversight through a friend in the media, Ayesha Tammy Haq, who asked me if I could help generate some funds for the family,’ explains Maham.

Within a few days of spreading the word among her friends and acquaintances, Maham received a positive response. ‘You see, people in this country are very generous; it’s just that they don’t know what the right channel is and whom to trust. Once they are sure their money is in safe hands, they do open their pockets.’

This is not the first time Maham’s fundraising initiative has worked. Earlier this year, she managed to generate Rs 100,000 for IDPs from Swat. During that time, Maham worked with Shajar-e-Ilm (Tree of knowledge), an NGO founded by a group of students and activists within and outside Pakistan to educate girls in the Swat Valley, where militants blew up over 200 girls’ schools.

Currently doing her bachelors in Social Sciences from Bahria University in Islamabad, Maham says it was not long ago when she became ‘politically charged’ and decided to raise her voice against injustice.

‘It was about two years ago [in March 2007] when my interest grew in the country’s politics, particularly with the lawyers movement against General Pervez Musharraf’s military rule,’ recalls Maham. ‘And there has been no turning back since then.’ For a girl her age, it would be unusual to participate in the heated political debates and protests surrounded with tear gas, but Maham says ‘she has seen it all.’

‘The country has not really been at peace since March 2007,’ she observes. ‘We are in a state of war. Our people are dying every day, children are becoming orphans and mothers are losing their children. But we still have politicians giving statements to the media that this is America’s war and not ours. We need to stop this useless debate and start looking for solutions.’

Perhaps Maham’s fundraising initiative could be the first step towards channelling people’s efforts in the right direction. In spite of the tough times, she says she has a lot of hope and faith in the people of Pakistan, especially the youth.

‘We have relied on the government for too long. We have cursed them enough. I think it’s our turn now. It’s time we took charge and acknowledged our responsibility in this time of terror and crisis if we really want to see things change.’

The question is, are we ready to take charge? Or should we wait for more Masihs to sacrifice their lives so a new Maham is born? (Sourced: DawnNews)