Pakistani shipwreck sufferer sought assist for disabled son

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani nationwide soccer group participant who died in a migrant shipwreck off of Italy’s southern coast launched into the voyage to seek out medical therapy for her disabled 3-year-old son, her sister and a good friend stated Saturday. Hospitals had advised her that assist abroad might be her solely possibility.

Shahida Raza, who additionally performed for Pakistan’s nationwide area hockey group and was from Quetta in southwestern Baluchistan province, was one among at the least 67 individuals who perished within the shipwreck. The overcrowded picket boat they have been touring in broke aside in tough waters within the Ionian Sea off of Calabria earlier than daybreak final Sunday.

The boat that set sail from the Turkish port of Izmir carried individuals from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and different nations in search of a greater high quality of life in Europe. In response to survivor accounts, the vessel had 170 or extra passengers earlier than the tragedy occurred.

Raza’s sister, Sadia, stated Shahida’s makes an attempt to to migrate had one motive: “She solely wished her three-year-old disabled son to maneuver, chortle and cry like different kids,” Sadia advised The Related Press. “Shahida’s sole dream was the therapy of her disabled little one. She risked her personal life after hospitals in Pakistan advised her that abroad medical help might be the one possibility.”

The boy, Hassan, was not on the boat and remained in Pakistan. He suffered mind injury as a child and can be paralyzed on one aspect of his physique, from head to toe. It was not clear how Shahida supposed to assist him by touring abroad and leaving him behind.

“She was a courageous lady, as robust as a person,” stated Sadia. “My sister obtained her son handled on the Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi. She was advised that if he was taken overseas, there may probably be good therapy.”

Aga Khan authorities have been unable to touch upon Shahida’s case. Sadia stated Shahida additionally approached Quetta’s Mixed Navy Hospital, which additionally stated it may do nothing for her son.

“What a mom does for her kids, no person else can. Shahida at all times wished to deal with issues on her personal,” she stated. We’re happy with our sister.”

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Pakistanis have paid tribute to Shahida throughout the nation and in her village.

Pictures of her donning the nation’s nationwide colours and sporting accolades have appeared on TV screens and social media, though it was reported that most individuals got here to know of her after her loss of life as ladies’s sports activities are usually not extensively televised in Pakistan. Native media additionally quoted her household as saying she had beforehand spoken concerning the lack of acknowledgement and recognition for her achievements.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi on Friday stated Raza’s tragedy had “deeply moved” him because the nation had failed to offer her son with medical amenities.

The president, who was talking at a global convention on cerebral palsy, stated the skilled coaching of well being consultants and an inclusive strategy from society was important for accommodating individuals with disabilities.

Shahida’s good friend, Sumiya Mushtaq, stated the 29-year-old athlete typically expressed her concern about her little one’s well being.

“The lack to get cured of the illness at native hospitals compelled her to discover a higher future for her son overseas,” she stated.

Her household in Pakistan on Saturday was nonetheless awaiting the repatriation of her physique.

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Related Press author Adil Jawad contributed to this report from Karachi, Pakistan.