Expat brings out power of social media
For many, social media is just a tool to express their emotions. But Pakistani expat Mariam has converted it into a tool for her humanitarian efforts and her political activities.
It was in May 2018 when a Dubai-based Pakistani man, Nadeem, seemingly disappeared from the radar. He was neither reachable on his cell phone nor were his social media accounts active.
A couple of months later, Mariam, a friend of Nadeem and an active tweep with 50,000 followers, noticed his absence and tried to reach him several times, but to no avail.
Finally, she found his roommate in Dubai who told her Nadeem had a stroke and was taken to Pakistan.
“He had some loans in Dubai and had been stressed out,” said Mariam. She also got to know that he was hospitalised in Dubai for a month and half and eventually left for Lahore after a struggle in July.
Mariam then got in touch with his wife, Erum.
Nadeem had a brain haemorrhage and was in a vegetative state. The family was also in dire straits. Two of Nadeem’s kids had been taken out of school and the family had been starving. Rent had not been paid for eight months.
Mariam was too affected and the only thing she could think of was to seek help from her Twitter followers. She then tweeted an appeal.
The next morning, Mariam was woken up by the constant sounds of WhatsApp messages from Erum who was sending her snapshots of messages of credit being deposited in her bank. In 24 hours, the family had received Rs785,377 (Dh20,587) and in a week the amount totalled Rs1.2 million (Dh31,436).
“People had donated whatever they could, from Rs200 to Rs150,000 and I was overwhelmed,” said Mariam.
Nadeem’s kids are now back in school and he is back on his feet after getting physiotherapy.
The overwhelming response in Nadeem’s case reinforced Mariam’s belief in humanity.
Earlier this month, she put out another appeal to help a fellow Pakistani who has been stuck in Dubai along with his 72-year-old father due to financial issues. Tanveer Ahmed Gull had put out a tweet asking for help, saying that his father, Muneer, was disabled and they were living without water and electricity since November 2018. However, no one had responded.
Mariam first tried to help them going to different offices but failed to get a positive response. But when she tweeted about the duo’s plight, people from the UAE responded and a total of Dh10,000 was raised.
“No one asked me for proof ever and simply helped as much as they could. I am so overwhelmed with the gesture,” said Mariam. Muneer will now fly to Pakistan on March 22.
No one asked me for proof ever and simply helped as much as they could. I am so overwhelmed with the gesture.”
Mariam, expat