Abdul Sattar Edhi

Abdul Sattar Edhi
عبدالستار ایدھی
Born 1928[1][2]
Bantva, Bantva Manavadar, Gujarat, British India[1]
Died 8 July 2016(2016-07-08) (aged 88)[3]
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Cause of death Kidney failure
Resting place Edhi Village, Karachi
Nationality Pakistani
Other names Angel of Mercy[4]
The Richest Poor Man[5]
[6]بابائے خدمت
Known for Social work
Simple lifestyle
Humanitarian[7]
Spouse(s) Bilquis Edhi
Parents
  • Abdul Shakoor Edhi (father)
  • Ghurba Edhi (mother)
Awards Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize (2010)
Lenin Peace Prize (1988)
Nishan-e-Imtiaz (1989)
Wolf of Bhogio Peace Award (2005), Italy[8]
Website Official website

Abdul Sattar Edhi (Urdu: عبدالستار ایدھی‎; c.  28 February 1928 – 8 July 2016)[1][2][3] was a Pakistani philanthropist, ascetic, and humanitarian who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance network,[9] along with homeless shelters, rehab centres, and orphanages across Pakistan.[10]

Born in Bantva, Gujarat, British India in 1928, Edhi moved to Karachi where he established a free dispensary for Karachi's low-income residents. Edhi's charitable activities expanded in 1957 when an Asian flu epidemic swept through Karachi. Donations allowed him to buy his first ambulance the same year. He later expanded his charity network with the help of his wife Bilquis Edhi.[10][11]

Over his lifetime, the Edhi Foundation expanded backed entirely with private donations including establishing a network of 1,800 minivan ambulances. By the time of his death, Edhi was registered as a parent or guardian of nearly 20,000 children.[2] He is known as Angel of Mercy and is considered to be Pakistan's "most respected" and legendary figure.[4][12] In 2013, The Huffington Post claimed that he might be "the world's greatest living humanitarian",[13] while on 28 February 2017, Google celebrated Edhi with a Google Doodle hailing his "super-efficient" ambulance service.[14][15]

Edhi maintained a hands-off management style and was often critical of the clergy and politicians.[16] Edhi was a strong proponent of religious tolerance in Pakistan and extended support to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 1985 famine in Ethiopia.[17][18] Edhi was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, including by Malala Yousafzai.[19][20] Eidhi received several awards including Gandhi Peace Award and the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize.[21]

Early life

He was born in Bantva in the Gujarat, British India into a Memon family.[22][1][23][24] In his biography, he said his mother would give him 1 paisa for his meals and another to give to a poor child.[25] When he was eleven, his mother became paralysed from a stroke and she died when Edhi was 19. His personal experiences and care for his mother during her illness caused him to develop a system of services for old, mentally ill and challenged people. The partition of India led Edhi and his family to migrate to Pakistan in 1947.[12][26] He then shifted to Karachi to work in a market at a wholesale shop. He initially started as a peddler, and later became a commission agent selling cloth in the wholesale market in Karachi. After a few years, he established a free dispensary with help from his community.

He told NPR in 2009 that "I saw people lying on the pavement ... The flu had spread in Karachi, and there was no one to treat them. So I set up benches and got medical students to volunteer. I was penniless and begged for donations on the street. And people gave. I bought this 8-by-8 room to start my work."[27]

Date of birth

Edhi in his autobiography himself revealed that he didn't know his date of birth.[28] But according to media reports published following his death, he was born on 1 January 1928.[29][30][31][32][33][34][22] However, in 2017, Google Doodle marked his date of birth as 28 February 1928 following which several reports emerged in favour of 28 February 1928.[35][36] The Sun noted "Google says Edhi celebrated his birthday on February 28, however reports suggest he was in fact born on January 1."[37] Metro noted "There has been uncertainty about when his birthday is. Some have reported it as 1 January in the past – however, now it is widely believed to be 28 February."[38] Wired noted that "Previous reports, including those surrounding his funeral, state Edhi was born on January 1. An obituary in The Guardian doesn't list a birthday date, simply putting circa 1926. The date January 1 can, at times, be used in place of a specific date when only a year is known, but this tends to be avoided due to the confusion it can cause. The Wikipedia entry was then updated following the release of the Google Doodle referencing various places which use January 1 as the date. However, Google has since told WIRED it got the February 28 date directly from Edhi's family."[39]

The Nation reported that Bilquis Edhi, the wife of Edhi in an interview to a TV channel said 'We never even celebrated his birthday while he was alive. We were unaware of the day he was born."[40][41] Daily Times reported "There is some confusion over his actual birth date as Edhi himself was unsure and believed he was born between 1926 and 1928."[42]

Charity work

"People have become educated, but have yet to become human."
— Abdul Sattar Edhi[43]

Edhi resolved to dedicate his life to aiding the poor, and over the next sixty years, he single-handedly changed the face of welfare in Pakistan. Edhi founded the Edhi Foundation. Additionally, he established a welfare trust, named the Edhi Trust with an initial sum of five thousand rupees, the trust was later renamed as the Bilqis Edhi Trust.[44][45] Regarded as a guardian for the poor, Edhi began receiving numerous donations, which allowed him to expand his services. To this day, the Edhi Foundation continues to grow in both size and service and is currently the largest welfare organisation in Pakistan. Since its inception, the Edhi Foundation has rescued over 20,000 abandoned infants, rehabilitated over 50,000 orphans and has trained over 40,000 nurses.[46] It also runs more than 330 welfare centres in rural and urban Pakistan that operate as food kitchens, rehabilitation homes, shelters for abandoned women and children, and clinics for the mentally handicapped.[47]

The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service (operating 1,500 of them) and offers 24-hour emergency services. It also operates free nursing homes, orphanages, clinics, women's shelters, and rehab centres for drug addicts and mentally ill individuals.[48] It has run relief operations in Africa, Middle East, the Caucasus region, eastern Europe, and the United States where it provided aid following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. His son Faisal Edhi, wife Bilquis Edhi, and daughters managed the daily operations of the organization during his ill health.[46] He is often referred to as Pakistan's version of Mother Teresa,[49] and the BBC wrote that he was considered "Pakistan's most respected figure and was seen by some as almost a saint."[12]

Travel issues

In the early 1980s, Edhi was arrested by Israeli troops while entering Lebanon. In 2006, he was detained in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for 16 hours. In January 2008, U.S. immigration officials interrogated Edhi at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City for over eight hours and seized his passport and other documents. When asked about the frequent detention Edhi said, "The only explanation I can think of is my beard and my dress."[50]

Personal life

In 1965 Edhi married Bilquis, a nurse who worked at the Edhi dispensary.[51] They had four children, two daughters and two sons.[4] Bilquis runs the free maternity home at the headquarters in Karachi and organizes the adoption of abandoned babies including those born out of wedlock.[52] Edhi was known for his ascetic lifestyle, owning only two pairs of clothes, never taking a salary from his organisation and living in an apartment next to his organization's office.[12][53][54] Edhi stated that he had "never been a very religious person."[55]

Illness and death

On 25 June 2013, Edhi's kidneys failed; it was announced that he would be on dialysis for the rest of his life unless he found a kidney donor.[56] Edhi died on 8 July 2016 at the age of 88 due to kidney failure after having been placed on a ventilator. His last wishes included the request that his organs were to be donated but due to his ill health, only his corneas were suitable.[57] He was laid to rest at the Edhi Village Karachi.[58]

Reactions and funeral

Reactions to his death came from several high-ranking Pakistani officials. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said "We have lost a great servant of humanity. He was the real manifestation of love for those who were socially vulnerable, impoverished, helpless and poor."[12] The country's head of the army, Raheel Sharif, called him a "true humanitarian."[4]

Prime Minister Sharif declared national mourning on the day following Edhi's death and announced a state funeral for him. He became the third Pakistani to receive historical state gun carriage funeral after Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Zia ul Haq. He is the only Pakistani without a state authority or a state role to receive a state funeral. According to Inter-Services Public Relations, state honours were given to Edhi by a guard of honour and a 19-gun salute. The attendees at his Janazah (funeral prayer) included dignitaries such as Mamnoon Hussain (President of Pakistan), Raza Rabbani (the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan), Ishratul Ibad (provincial Governor of Sindh), Qaim Ali Shah and Shehbaz Sharif (the Chief Ministers of Sindh and Punjab), Raheel Shareef (Chief of Army Staff) along with Muhammad Zakaullah and Sohail Aman (the Chiefs of Staff of the Pakistani Navy and Air Force), at the National Stadium, Karachi.[59][60]

Honors and awards

International awards

National awards

Commemorative coin

Per directive of the Prime Minister, State Bank of Pakistan will release the commemorative coin in honour of Pakistani philanthropist through a special condolence reference for Edhi.[71][72]

Proposals

In 2011 Yousaf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister of Pakistan recommended Edhi for a nomination of Nobel Peace Prize.[73] Again in early 2016, a petition signed by 30,000 for a Nobel Peace prize to Edhi was moved by Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala Yousafzai.[74] In her condolence message on Edhi's death, broadcast by BBC Urdu Service Malala quoted that "as a Nobel Peace Prize winner, I hold the right to nominate people for the prize and I have nominated Abdul Sattar Edhi".[75][76]

Najam Sethi, a governing board member of Pakistan Cricket Board proposed to rename Gaddafi Stadium after Edhi.[77]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ala, Mustard; T.A.N.S. (12 November 2006). "Honorary Doctorate Degree byIBAA awarded to Abdul Sattar Edhi". DAWN. Archived from the original on 4 January 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016
  2. 1 2 3 Boone, Jon (13 July 2016). "Abdul Sattar Edhi obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Celebrated humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi passes away in Karachi". DAWN.COM. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ahmed, Munir (8 July 2016). "Pakistan's legendary 'Angel of Mercy' Abdul Edhi dies at age 88". Toronto Star. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  5. ↑ "The richest poor man – The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Prime Minister Declared A Day Of National Mourning". Geo News. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  7. ↑ "Revered humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi passes away". ARY News. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  8. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi: A life in pictures – The Express Tribune". tribune.com.pk. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi: Why Google honours him today". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  10. 1 2 Dawn.com, AFP (8 July 2016). "Celebrated humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi passes away in Karachi". Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Masood, Salman (8 July 2016). "Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan's 'Father Teresa,' Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pakistani philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi dies aged 88". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  13. ↑ The World's Greatest Living Humanitarian May Be From Pakistan, The Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 March 2016
  14. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi: Why Google honours him today". Al Jazeera. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Gemma Mullin (28 February 2017). "Who was Abdul Sattar Edhi and why is Pakistan’s ‘Angel of Mercy’ being honoured with a Google Doodle?". The Sun. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "Dailytimes | Edhi: the ordinary man who was extraordinary — II". dailytimes.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  17. ↑ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Abdul Sattar Edhi – A life bigger than accolades | Asia | DW.COM | 08.07.2016". DW.COM. Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  18. ↑ "Edhi Foundation gave $100,000 for Katrina relief efforts: US ambassador". Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  19. ↑ Dawn.com (2016-07-09). "No one deserves Nobel Peace Prize more than Abdul Sattar Edhi, says Malala". Retrieved 2016-08-14.
  20. ↑ Desk, Monitoring (2016-07-10). "No one deserves Nobel more than Edhi, says Malala". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  21. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan's 'Father Teresa' who 'adopted' 20,000 children". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  22. 1 2 "Name the new airport after Edhi". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  23. ↑ Boone, Jon (13 July 2016). "Abdul Sattar Edhi obituary". theguardian.com. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  24. ↑ "Conversations with a Muslim saint". The Blade. 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  25. ↑ Lorenza Raponi & Michele Zanzucchi 2013.
  26. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi, legendary Pakistani social worker, dies at 88". CBS News. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  27. ↑ Julie McCarthy, Pakistan Philanthropist Cares For Karachi's Forgotten, NPR, 28 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  28. ↑ Tehmina Durrani 1996.
  29. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi laid to rest in Karachi". Radio Pakistan. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  30. ↑ "Nation mourns Abdul Sattar Edhi's demise - Pakistan - Dunya News". dunyanews.tv. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  31. ↑ "US condoles death of Abdul Sattar Edhi". The Nation. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  32. ↑ "Significant people born on 1st January". Aaj News. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  33. ↑ "Dailytimes | Late Abdul Sattar Edhi’s Qul held amid tight security". dailytimes.com.pk. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  34. ↑ "The gems world lost in 2016 – Pakistan – Dunya News". dunyanews.tv. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  35. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi: Why Google honours him today". www.aljazeera.com. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  36. ↑ "Who was Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan's humble 'Angel of Mercy' who founded a charity empire from a Karachi slum?". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  37. ↑ "Google Doodle celebrates celebrates humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi". The Sun. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  38. ↑ Metro.co.uk, Imogen Groome for (28 February 2017). "Who is Abdul Sattar Edhi, the man who dedicated his life to helping the poor?". Metro. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  39. ↑ Woollaston, Victoria (28 February 2017). "Google Doodle celebrates 'Angel of Mercy' Abdul Sattar Edhi". WIRED UK. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  40. ↑ "'We never even celebrated his birthday while he was alive,' says Bilquis Edhi". The Nation. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  41. ↑ ""I pray for him every day," Bilquis Edhi on the humanitarian's 89th birthday | Pakistan - Geo.tv". www.geo.tv. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  42. ↑ "Dailytimes | ‘Pakistan’s Father Teresa’: Abdul Sattar Edhi". dailytimes.com.pk. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  43. ↑ Masood, Salman. "Abdus Sattar Edhi, Pakistan's 'Father Teresa,' Dies at 88 - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  44. ↑ Ke. Ec Aʻvān 1987.
  45. ↑ Robert Baer & Dayna Baer.
  46. 1 2 Web Desk (July 9, 2016). "ABDUL SATTAR EDHI LAID TO REST IN KARACHI". Radio Pakistan. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  47. ↑ Web Desk (July 9, 2016). "Serving from cradle to death". The Nation News Paper. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Pakistan's saviour of the desperate". BBC News. 15 March 2001. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  49. ↑ India Today, Volume 15, Part 2 1990.
  50. ↑ Khan, M Ilyas (29 January 2008). "Pakistan aid worker stuck in US". BBC News. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  51. ↑ Richard Covington (2 September 2008). "What One Person Can Do". In David Elliot Cohen. What Matters: The World's Preeminent Photojournalists and Thinkers Depict Essential Issues of Our Time. Sterling Publishing. pp. 309–323. ISBN 978-1-4027-5834-8.
  52. ↑ Far Eastern Economic Review 1996.
  53. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi: He was a hero to Pakistan's poor and needy". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  54. ↑ "Renowned Pakistani Philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi Dies at 88". voanews.com. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  55. ↑ The Telegraph (July 21, 2016). "Abdul Sattar Edhi, philanthropist known as the 'Father Teresa' of Pakistan – obituary". The Telegraph. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  56. ↑ Edhi suffers from kidney failure, to stay on dialysis rest of his life. The Express Tribune. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  57. ↑ "Abdul Sattar Edhi passes away". The Express Tribune. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  58. ↑ Times, The Sindh (9 July 2016). "Abdul Sattar Edhi laid to rest at the Edhi Village Karachi – The Sindh Times". thesindhtimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  59. ↑ Parvez Jabri (9 July 2016). "19-Gun Salute presented to Edhi's Coffin". Business Recorder. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  60. ↑ "Army Chief, President, Senate Chairman, others offer Edhi's funeral". Dunya News. 9 July 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  61. ↑ "Citation for Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilqis Bano Edhi". Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. 31 August 1986. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  62. ↑ "Pakistan's humanitarian Abdul Sattar Edhi dies". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  63. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Awards". Edhi Foundation. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
  64. ↑ "UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize – Laureates". UNESCO. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  65. ↑ "UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence (2009)" (PDF). UNESCO. 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  66. ↑ "The Ahmadiyya Muslim Prize for the Advancement of Peace". The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  67. ↑ "Video Speech by Edhi at the receipt of Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize". YouTube. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  68. ↑ "Dailytimes – US expresses sorrow over Edhi's death". dailytimes.com.pk. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  69. ↑ H. Merchant, Liaquat (12 July 2016). "Jinnah Award". Dawn. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
  70. ↑ Tribune person of the year 2013: Your vote, our hero. The Express Tribune. 1 Jan 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2016
  71. ↑ Talqeen Zubairi (July 13, 2016). "Special Edhi coin to be issued by State Bank". Dawn News. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  72. ↑ Kazim Alam (July 13, 2016). "State Bank to issue special coin to honour Abdul Sattar Edhi". Express Tribune. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  73. ↑ "PM recommends Abdul Sattar Edhi for Nobel Peace Prize nomination". Express Tribune. November 29, 2011. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  74. ↑ "Campaign for Abdul Sattar Edhi to receive Nobel Peace Prize launched by father of Malala Yousafzai". Birmingham Mail. January 13, 2011. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  75. ↑ "No one deserves Nobel Peace Prize more than Abdul Sattar Edhi, says Malala". Dawn News. July 9, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
  76. ↑ "No one deserves Nobel Peace Prize more than Abdul Sattar Edhi, says Malala Yousafzai". BBC Urdu. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  77. ↑ "Najam Sethi for renaming Qaddafi stadium after Edhi.". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 22 July 2016.

Bibliography

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