In a country where people do not often have basic necessities of life, dreams are often a luxury. In such a situation, it is tempting to question the value of saving someone’s life who has no dreams, crushed under the weight of poverty. Being a regular donor to a cancer hospital, I faced with this dilemma when I came across the story of a cancer patient. He was a father of five children, including four daughters and one disabled son. His first-born, physically and mentally challenged, requires special attention and care by his parents. He works as a labourer and cannot afford to send his children to school. His second son, who is still a young boy, accompanies his father daily to work so they can earn enough to put food on the table for the family.
In 2019, he was diagnosed with cancer and successfully treated at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Lahore. I should have been happy to learn about this cancer survivor but I felt weighed down by a question: we are working so hard to save lives of people who are deprived of having the luxury to be able to dream for themselves or even for their children. However, then I realized that saving a life is not a means to an end, it is a good in itself. We are no ones to judge if a person’s life is worth saving based on his ambitions or dreams. Every life that God has created on Earth, deserves to be loved, respected and saved. As the month of Ramzan is coming up and we will be blessed with the opportunity to help others, we must remember that the act of saving lives is a good in itself.
Sheikh Saleem
Lahore
