Want to Change Pakistan? Change your habits Please!

Saba Waqas |

I always wonder what kind of education we are giving our kids if they don’t possess basic hygiene manners. I see in schools, kids throw garbage in the recess which makes me aches; if we can’t teach them at school, then obviously they are prone to throw litter everywhere. Garbage is and will be a massive predicament in the near future to which our government has closed its eyes. But we can’t always blame the government, there are few things which we can amend ourselves. As citizens, it’s our duty to consider and treat our country as our Home.

Real Patriotism is more than dancing at dharnas

What kind of patriotism is this that we claim when we are at Dharnas or processions. We are there with full zeal and zest and we protest for a change but then when we leave that place, there’s uncontrollable mess, rubbish, and litter everywhere! But we can’t always blame the government, there are few things which we can amend ourselves.

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While going on Motorway, kids sitting in their luxurious cars throw wrappers outside.

Our CDA sweepers are better performers than us in regards to cleanliness. We should have mercy on them, every day they pick garbage which we so unruly to throw them with no guilt. I just sometimes ponder where does this garbage go? To add more misery to this situation some people just throw garbage outside the bin which never reaches the bin and maybe they think it will fly away automatically the way we assume our country will progress automatically.

I cringe at this horrific display of illiteracy! While going on Motorway, kids sitting in their luxurious cars throw wrappers outside. Why can’t we teach them some patience and guide them to wait for a little while to throw them in proper bins?

People will take a time to follow this lifestyle but if we can train our pets then we can also teach citizens to tidy up.

I don’t know how people find crevices and little-hidden places to dump garbage, even the little puddles are not saved. We fill every pond and river with filth and expect rubbish will vanish away but in actual it will prove more hazardous unknowingly to us.

Hazardous tourist sites

On a trip to Katas Raj, an iconic heritage site, to our bewilderment, trash was speckled everywhere which made us leave in utter disappointment. What we saw on the internet was entirely opposite in naked eye.

garbageSame was the case when we took our kids to site seeing the tour of old Lahore. There were juice and chips wrappers everywhere. Bottles were thrown so dishearteningly. We love to explore our own country but such eyesores are the biggest hindrance in recreation. We have everything in our country from amazing mountain views to lush green fields to clear blue seas but almost all are bombarded with garbage.

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We have everything in our country from amazing mountain views to lush green fields to clear blue seas but almost all are bombarded with garbage. This along with the lack of investment in the tourism sector are big differences between abroad and our country.

Don’t restrict yourself to just your personal surroundings, rather expand your horizon of cleanliness.

If we have kept our places clean then by God, people like us who are craving for recreation would never go elsewhere. We could make so much money out of this by just providing a neat and clean environment to the citizens and teach them to maintain it that way. Don’t restrict yourself to just your personal surroundings, rather expand your horizon of cleanliness.

We could make so much money out of this by just providing a neat and clean environment to the citizens and teach them to maintain it that way. Don’t restrict yourself to just your personal surroundings, rather expand your horizon of cleanliness. Broaden your mindset, it’s for our own betterment.

This attitude is creating a disastrous impact on the environment especially plastic bottles and shopping bags. Even hospitals don’t follow a proper waste disposal regime. Diseases are spreading rapidly due to this filth.

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Small changes make a big difference

It’s high time now, we should take some serious measures to bring a meaningful change. This begins with more emphasis in schools on personal and communal hygiene. Run awareness campaigns to educate mothers about the negative impact of littering. Put more garbage bins in accessible places. Bins should be labeled properly distinguishing them with names like plastic, food etc. There should be fines in place for people throwing stuff outside bins.

People will take a time to follow this lifestyle but if we can train our pets then we can also teach citizens to tidy up. In Sweden, the government uses garbage to generate electricity. We should learn from such references and encourage young entrepreneurs to come up with sustainable programs recycling garbage for producing energy. We just need determination and persistence. Remember; big changes require little changes!

Saba Waqas lives in Islamabad. With interests in cooking, traveling, and exploring various cultures, additionally, she writes articles regarding social matters.