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Hepatitis grips Christian colony in Pakistan

Four Christians have died in Youhanabad in Lahore city due to the waterborne disease since Christmas
The son of Qadir Raja, a Catholic shopkeeper who died on Jan. 22, holds his picture at their home in Youhanabad in Lahore, Pakistan

The son of Qadir Raja, a Catholic shopkeeper who died on Jan. 22, holds his picture at their home in Youhanabad in Lahore, Pakistan. (Photo: Kamran Chaudhry)

Published: January 25, 2023 12:08 PM GMT
Updated: January 25, 2023 12:08 PM GMT

Rojar Randhawa’s family uses bottled water to rinse their toothbrushes and wash their dishes, a luxury they can ill afford in Youhanabad, the largest squatter settlement of poor Christians in Lahore, Pakistan.

“Nobody here is safe anymore,” Randhawa told UCA News referring to the deaths of four Christians in the locality since Christmas due to suspected hepatitis infections.

A 19-liter water container from a filtration plant costs around 140 rupees or half a dollar, which can buy a kilogram of rice. "But there is no choice," Randhawa says.

The father of two is presently looking after his 41-year-old wife, a registered nurse who is slowly recovering from hepatitis A and E. His younger brother is also on medication after developing jaundice, loss of appetite and abdominal discomfort.

“Earlier, we would use the water sparingly, mainly for drinking purposes. But now even guests are served tea made with such costly water” he says.

Randhawa blames the local government’s negligence for the acute situation, which is hurting everybody in Youhanabad “medically, psychologically and financially.”

Soon after Christmas, the residents including activists like him raised the alarm when hundreds of cases of severe liver inflammation were reported in the locality housing more than 150,000 Christians.

Most of the men are factory workers or day laborers while a majority of women are housemaids in this "kacchi abadi" or squatter population whose water needs are fulfilled through two tube wells managed by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) set up by the Lahore Development Authority in 1976.

Transparent Hands, an online donations charity organization that helps people with healthcare in Pakistan, ranks the residents of Youhanabad among the most vulnerable groups at risk of contracting Hepatitis A because they are “constantly exposed to chemical substances and contaminated water.”

The latest deaths caused by water-borne illness only confirm the worst fears among people in this low-income locality.  

Mourners were lined up outside the house of Qadir Raja who used to run a roadside grocery shop behind St. John’s Catholic Church. The Catholic father of two died on Jan. 22.

The family blames the death on the poor quality of the water supply — a layer of black sludge had settled at the bottom of the plastic tubs in the bathroom.

“Before taking a bath, we wait for the filth to settle down. We cannot afford filtered water for our daily baths,” said Hizkiel Raja, his bedridden father who is also gripped by fever.

The grief-stricken elderly man laments that his grandchildren have become orphans for no reason.

“At least 30 people are suffering from hepatitis in our street. But despite repeated complaints, the WASA workers refuse to do anything except clean the sewers with a vacuum laden on a truck. It’s a horrible response. There is no progress on our demand for new pipes,” Raja said.

Areez Irfan, a sub-divisional officer, acknowledges receiving complaints from only one of the seven blocks in Youhanabad. He said WASA is only responsible for maintaining the main line, not the network of user connections. 

“These connections pass through underground channels and are often worn out and dirty. The poor families do not get them repaired or cleaned,” he said.

Irfan claimed that the main lines are flushed on monthly basis and even the quality of water is routinely checked at the consumer end.

“However, the routine checks are affected due to power outages and the resultant low supply pressure,” he conceded.

In 2021, the Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs, Ijaz Alam Augustine, initiated a 30 million rupee project to transform Youhanabad into a model settlement with proper roads, sewerage pipes, and the provision of electricity to every household. 

The locals including Father Akram Javed, parish priest of St. John’s Church, said most of the funds were spent on resurfacing the main streets and bylanes.

“There was no focus on repairing the damaged water lines. And given the current political and economic instability in the country, there is no hope left for that now,” the priest said.

As a precaution, the parish house has started serving only homemade meals and parishioners are reminded daily after morning Mass to equip their school-going children with water bottles and avoid street food, Father Javed added.

Youhanabad which translates as "John's Land" was settled by Capuchin Father Henri, an Oxford graduate from Belgium, on a 40-hectare plot he brought in 1961 and offered to local Christians at a subsided price.

Today it’s a huge warren of irregular, shabby dwellings with overhanging electric wires that emerge from poles stuck with colorful posters of Christian politicians and Church ministries.

There are no health centers, children’s parks, or vocational centers in the locality. Government schools are located a couple of kilometers away in the adjacent Asif Town and Nishtar Colony.

Despite being a constituency of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who once served as the chief minister of Punjab province, the largest Christian settlement in Pakistan remains a picture of neglect with little hope of relief.

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