The Day We Finally Chanted For The Tireless Soul

Contributed by: Rummana Basit Mir

There are 365 days in a year, many of them are celebrated for a particular reason. 1st May is officially celebrated as The Labor day in Pakistan. It was officially acknowledged in 1972. This day is celebrated in the appreciation of the labor, his efforts and hard work that truly is the backbone for the development of a country’s economy. In fact, without this diligent labor, a country can’t prosper. In Pakistan, this day is a national holiday in all the sectors and many seminars are conducted to recognize the efforts of the laborers in the meantime looking for the ways to give them a better lifestyle.

Perceiving from the above discussion, some questions are to be answered practically:

• Why is the laborer doing his labor even on the Labor day?
• Why in a well organized seminars, any of the laborer is hard to see?
• Why the lifestyle of a laborer is still wretched when the whole day is celebrated to acknowledge these great men’s efforts?

In addition, why do we really celebrate this day _ This Holiday?

These questions can be answered if only the ice around our hearts is finally melted.

Above board, isn’t it ironic that the labor in our country is living under the poverty level. The price of his whole day’s diligent work is not even worth a drop of his sweat. We all are very much aware of the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) saying that “Pay the worker his wages before his sweat has dried” How many of us follow this teaching of our beloved Prophet? It breaks my heart to say that very few of us do. It is such a piteous fact that families of the workmen yearn for proper food and reliable shelter. Moreover, most brutally, the child of a laborer is born a laborer without any bright future. We don’t have the answer for the laborer’s family when one has silently disappeared under a mine and has never come back home.

The labor day is celebrated to respect the laborers and to give them their rights. It is clear to see how oblivious a laborer is of his rights when the whole nation is enjoying a holiday in their name while they do their day jobs.

We always accuse the government for it’s inaptness. Although it is important that the government should pay attention to this matter but where are we standing? And what are our responsibilities? What we really do on this day is to serve laborers with our empty words and hollow slogans; but let’s not this time, let us come out and hold a laborer’s hand, give him his daily wage and bring him to that session in which his rights are being declared. Make him aware of his rights so that he  could stand for them for the rest of his days. Let us kindle the light of hope on this day as we do need to remember “ This holiday has been brought to you by the blood, sweat and tears of the Labor Movement.”