Raza started taking part in hockey in 2003, competing professionally till 2019. (File)
Pakistan:
For the household of Shahida Raza, the Pakistani former hockey star feared to be among the many dozens of migrants who drowned off southern Italy this week, the look ahead to her physique is piling on the agony.
Raza competed in worldwide championships with the Pakistani ladies’s workforce in 2012 and 2013, and was as soon as described because the “linchpin” of the aspect.
However a wave of tragedies in recent times left her desperately looking for the cash and alternative to get life-saving therapy for her three-year-old son, who was recognized with a situation that causes paralysis.
Her choices in Pakistan exhausted, she left her youngster at residence and made her method legally to Turkey final yr, her household instructed AFP.
On Sunday, she boarded the ill-fated wood boat carrying some 150 passengers on the central Mediterranean migrant route, the deadliest on the planet.
“Shahida was always in contact with the household and I even spoke to her at 6:30 within the morning on Sunday, round an hour or so earlier than the tragic incident,” her elder sister Sadia Raza instructed AFP on Thursday on the household residence within the metropolis of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan.
“She instructed me that she was advantageous and on a ship.”
The overloaded vessel broke up and sank in stormy seas, with our bodies, sneakers and particles washing up alongside an extended stretch of shoreline. Almost 70 persons are confirmed lifeless.
With the assistance of an acquaintance who lives in Italy, Raza’s physique was recognized utilizing pictures and a treasured pendant that was nonetheless round her neck, her household mentioned.
They’ve but to obtain official phrase about her loss of life from Pakistani or Italian authorities, or when her physique shall be repatriated.
“The entire household, notably our previous mom, is experiencing agony with each passing day,” her sister mentioned, her fingers tracing the handfuls of medals, trophies and workforce pictures that adorn a cupboard of their residence.
Raza’s marriage had damaged down within the years following her son’s start. He’s now along with his father’s household.
Tragedies
Raza started taking part in hockey in 2003, competing professionally till 2019 when she turned to teaching.
It’s nonetheless uncommon for girls to play sport in deeply conservative Pakistan the place households typically forbid it.
However Raza discovered solace in hockey, away from the troubles confronted by her marginalised group, the Hazara.
The primarily Shia Muslim ethnic minority has confronted frequent assaults — together with suicide bombings — by Sunni Islamist militants, particularly in Quetta.
“Shahida was a kind-hearted individual, talkative, jolly and at all times had a smile on her face,” mentioned her buddy and fellow hockey participant Sumiya, who didn’t need to give her final identify.
“However the tragedies of her private life, her son’s sickness, her divorce and unemployment modified her. She grew to become silent and appreciated to be alone.”
Raza had appealed to the federal government and Pakistani sports activities federation for monetary assist, and visited prime hospitals within the nation.
However medical doctors instructed her there was no therapy obtainable within the nation.
“After that, Shahida was decided to have a look at prospects in European international locations to get her son handled,” Sumiya mentioned.
“She began dwelling for her solely son with an purpose to get him handled and in that mission, she misplaced her life.”
Pakistan is within the grip of a gargantuan financial downturn, with hovering inflation and widespread manufacturing facility shutdowns.
An official from the human trafficking process pressure at Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Company instructed AFP this week that 40,000 individuals attempt to enter Europe illegally yearly.
“The numbers are growing with every day as a consequence of our deteriorating financial state of affairs and lack of jobs,” the official mentioned on situation of anonymity.
There are roughly 2.2 million Pakistanis in Europe, and Italy is the popular vacation spot for migrants from the South Asian nation, in line with a 2022 survey by the Combined Migration Centre.
Most use smugglers to transit by way of Iran, Turkey and Greece on their journey, the report mentioned.
Italian police have arrested three “alleged smugglers” following Sunday’s wreck, together with two Pakistanis and a Turkish nationwide.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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