Accompanied by his two young daughters and a colleague, Hamza Notiyar travels around 30 kilometers from his village Taar Khowaja to Jati for begging.
Visually impaired Hamza, 32, has been begging in the streets of the coastal town of Jati for the past seven years after he lost his eyesight. Hamza was a healthy young man who used to do different jobs to earn livelihood for his family and was known for his dignity.
“People would give an example of my bravery, courage, and ability to do hard jobs with ease until I was stuck by misery seven years back,” said Hamza as he shared his story with Minute Mirror on Saturday. He further said that he begged to keep his household afloat and feed his two daughters.
Narrating the heartbreaking incident that led to his visual impairment, he said that around seven years ago, he was coming home when he saw a group of people gathered near his house. When he approached the group he was asked to carry a heavy sack of potatoes in return for Rs2000.
“Since they challenged my ability, I lifted the sack and carried it on my back. I walked a few steps carrying such heavy burden. People present there praised my courage, but I never knew that I was going to pay heavily for that demonstration,” said Hamza out of regret. That night he described feeling a headache and neck pain but slept after taking some painkillers. “But the next day when I woke up I found myself completely blind,” he recalled.
It was a heat of the moment that compelled him to do that act that led to his blindness, he said while wiping his tears with the cuff of his shirt.
