What a moment it is when a new life takes birth. Let it be parents or anyone, children carry that magic in them that enchants everyone. Their smiles, their gentle skin, their innocence. Truly, children are the flowers of Allah’s paradise. Can it be imagined, a world with all adults? Sounds weird, right? But guess what is it that the “world” is doing to these kids is. Handing them ice-creams just to see their eyes sparkle with excitement. Randomly passing a smile to a stranger kid with whom eyes meet on traffic signals. And, listening to their same stories a hundred times over and over with the same enthusiasm. Such an amazing place to be in; harmony, kindness and compassion all walking hand in hand. But wait. Something has definitely gone untouched as yet.
Flash forward to the story behind Fabulous Five Fellows. A baby is born. The news reaches his family. They rush in happiness and excitement to the hospital. Can not wait any longer to welcome the newest member of the family. Feeling of holding the new born baby just cannot be explained in words. “He so looks like his father. Prince Charming, he is.” the baby’s Aunt makes a statement. Years pass by and this young boy, who was named Ali Haider by his parents, is now attending school for his pre-primary education. The boy is strong and as his teachers put it “He is the brightest kids amongst his class mates.” Why would not he be that? Ali Haider was a confident boy being raised with all the care and love by his family. Life seemed good. Until one day Ali’s parents were called by his principal for a meeting.
“I am afraid, Mr and Mrs. Uzair. I have a concern to discuss which might upset you both as parents.” As soon as this was heard there was a flash of all the naughty things Ali Haider might have done which injured or hurt his fellows and before the disclosure only they felt guilty. As a matter of fact, breaking the news to Ali’s parents made the principal feel guilty and sad inside of her.
It was suspected that during physical activity, the fresher’s session of Taekwondo, Ali was not able to apply the same pressure with his right hand in comparison to his left hand. This was brought to the knowledge of the principal and conveyed to Ali’s parents. They took it casually but immediately got an appointment with an orthopaedist. To their surprise, Ali Haider’s muscles were weak and few nerves damaged. Erbs Palsy causes muscle atrophy restricting full movement of the hand. Its main cause is mishandling of the baby during vaginal delivery, usually more common in good size babies, which damages the nerves that run from baby’s neck to his shoulders. The same was the case with Ali Haider. Mr and Mrs. Uzair were angered that the maternity staff did not disclose this to them. Had they had disclosed, chances of Ali Haider’s recovery would have been significantly higher. Nevertheless, they both were strong parents just like their son and decided to fight it no matter how intense the therapy sessions may be.
Days passed. Years went by. And there is Ali Haider starting his primary education.
His condition has made his childhood a little different than the other kids. But that was not the case. Every kid was fighting a battle talking about which made their eyes wet and their little hearts broken. School kids hold big secrets but what happens in school mostly stays in school. School walls are every kid’s secret-holder. School over, misery over. But the damage and hurt is lifted by them like school bags all life long.
Confidence being the dominant personality trait of Ali Haider made him make many friends. They all had secrets. Let’s try diving into them. The Fabulous Five Fellows are five school students that, as put by them, were best friends’ goals.
Starting off with Ali Haider who was called names- “toota-haath” being the most common of all other names. Then there was Noor- a very nice but shy girl with just four friends. She was dark-toned and the basis of rejection for friendship by others in the school. Third member of the squad was Raees, the only brother of four sisters. He came from a struggling family and nobody wanted to have a ride in his Suzuki Mehran. Aalo ka paratha was what the other friend of the group, Aaliyah, used to bring for lunch break. It was for this reason that she was called Aalo apart from that it rhymed with her name and her obesity made her look close to a potato. Then comes the last fellow of the squad who was a popular kid at school- Ghazi. He was good in academics and sports. Very generous, he was. His father was a businessman and mother a dental surgeon. Ghazi had two homes, two cars, two care-takers and sadly two fathers and two mothers. His biological parents had separated sharing his custody. “I am just blessed twice.” used to be his response when kids used to ask him regarding his broken house. All these five fellows were strong and brave. Not to anyone except the squad members, they used to open up to. That was part of their pact and they fully abided that.
Their journey of life had been difficult. Let’s just skip how and why. The point to ponder over is that it is the society as the whole that gives birth to such mind-sets that ultimately come out as hurting others emotionally. There are a million of kids like those of Fabulous Five Fellows. There number is growing exponentially and so is their grief. No matter how well they are able to carry their disability, financial instability, medical condition, physical appearance and ace their fields with their hard work, determination and perseverance, there still is a part in them that needs healing. Kids are punished for not fitting in societal norms. Bullying is one of its types. It damages and hurts and has its adversities as long as they may live.
This needs to stop. Narrating the real-life story definitely has not elaborated what it feels like to be a victim of bullying but it surely can augment the awareness regarding the common practise of bullying kids around. To be honest, accepting one the way he is, not forcing and punishing one to be a certain way that is admired by the society would make all the difference. A kid is a kid. Created by the Almighty. There would be His majesty behind the way a kid looks walks, studies and is faced with physical, mental or financial challenges. Remember, everyone is fighting a battle others know nothing about. How about helping one another in their journeys? This world is an amazing place to live after all; let love, kindness, harmony and peace prevail.
