NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
Feature
Cover Story
Death in a bottle
WHITE GOLD
Consumption of locally manufactured moonshine might be easy on the pocket but weighs down on your health
How salt sweetens our world
18
Featuree
Tray me awayy How the traditional serving platter has transformed into an expression of personal style
32
24
4
Regulars
6 People & Parties: Out and about with the beautiful people 38 Review: Prisoners 42 Health: Fight for life: Thalassemia
Magazine In-charge: Sarah Munir and Sub-Editors: Dilaira Mondegarian, Sundar Waqar and Manahyl Khan Creative Team: Amna Iqbal, Essa Malik, Jamal Khurshid, Samra Aamir, Munira Abbas, S Asif Ali & Talha Ahmed Khan Publisher: Bilal A Lakhani. Executive Editor: Muhammad Ziauddin. Editor: Kamal Siddiqi For feedback and submissions: magazine@tribune.com.pk Twitter: @ETribuneMag & Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ETribuneMag Printed: uniprint@unigraph.com
Anam Saeed, Varda Javaid and Mahwish Ishtiaq
Shoaib and Hina
Zara and Sahar Sheikh
People & Parties The lifestyle store KHAS holds a ‘Meet and Greet’ with interior decorators and architects in Lahore PHOTO COURTESY BILAL MUKHTAR EVENTS & PR Amina Saeed
Sam and Amna Khurram
Sadia Rasheed and Omer Nabi
SEPTEMBER 22-28 2013
Qamri
Muhammad Irfan and Umar Farooq
Ifran Chaudhry
Ayaz Waris and Maryam Ayaz
Erum, Mubeena, Mehreen and Shahnaz
Nadia Hussain
People & Parties New York Avenue, a multi-label designer outlet, opens in Karachi PHOTOS COURTESY IDEAS EVENTS PR
Shazma
Rida
Samia
Sarah and Wajeeha
SEPTEMBER 22-28 2013
Fatima and Tazeen
Samina, Malih, Faakhir, Jam and Shehzad
Nida Yasir and Zaheer Abbas
Waleed and Cybil
Obaid Sheikh and Zeba Ali
Fauzia
Tabesh Khoja
People & Parties Asimyar Tiwana holds his first bridal week in Karachi PHOTOS COURTESY QYT EVENTS
Shabnam and Ayesha Omar
Nabila
SEPTEMBER 22-28 2013
Maha
Mahtab, Meera and Jugnu
Noor & Rahim Shah
Amna, Sanam and Afifa
Uzma Safdar
Shafia Agha
Wajiha Shahid
People & Parties Pantene launches its Pantene Pro-V Nature Fusion line in Karachi PHOTOS COURTESY XENITH PUBLIC RELATIONS Afsheen Qaiser
Uzma Mazhar
Iram Noor and Maria Shirazi
SEPTEMBER 22-28 2013
Maheen Khan
Nina Lotia and Hassan Fawad
Sumeha and Khalid
FEATURE They meet every night and follow the same ritual: purchase liquor, clink glasses, compete boisterously to out-drink each other until the alcohol helps them drown into oblivion and then they stumble home at the end of the night. More than often, men who can’t afford to get their hands on Johnny Walker or Absolute Vodka consume cheap, low quality, locally produced alcohol on a regular basis, putting their life and health at a serious risk. Commonly known as tharra or kacha sharab, this acidic, white moonshine tastes pleasant to the tongue, making it a popular choice. Most local liquor manufacturers claim that the methodology to produce this concoction was smuggled from India during the 1970s, when alcohol consumption and sale was banned in Pakistan. Initially it was just bottled whiskey that was snuck in by smugglers, but the cross-border migration eventually bought in those who knew how to make it as well. They were mostly immigrants from Kachh Bhuj and the Rajasthan area that brought the formula for making kacha sharab with them, which eventually spread all across the country. The local version is a concoction of various low-priced ingredients such as gurrh (brown sugar), orange peel, acacia bark, paneer dodi (a medicinal herb botanically known as Withania Cougulans) and noshader (a type of inorganic salt). These ingredients are fermented in unhygienic conditions and sold in the market at a throwaway price of Rs300 a bottle,
compared to the branded alcohol being sold through bootleggers and officially licensed shops, which costs nearly ten times more. Not only is the local moonshine more affordable but its demand particularly shoots up during times of a shortage. Lapses in supply often open up space for counterfeit products to flood the market, with bootleggers tampering genuine alcohol with the local version to stretch inventory. But the cheap price tag conceals huge health hazards, as it is known to cause blindness and even lead to death. The effects of consuming inferior quality liquor can take up to five days to become noticeable. If the heart or liver is damaged, the body releases SGPT (serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase) into the blood. This may cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve, making it one of the most common after-effects of drinking adulterated alcohol. In December, 2011, two journalists in Karachi were blinded while three others lost their lives, after consuming dry gin that was spiked with moonshine, The Express Tribune reported. Instances like these are fairly common across the country but according to officials at government hospitals, monitoring the number of people who fall prey to the moonshine is difficult as families brush it under the carpet to avoid police investigation. While most doctors lament the harmful effects of consuming this liquor and have deemed it unsuitable for human consumption, the manufacturers disBY AAKASH SANTORAI agree. A local producer who has been inDESIGN BY ASIF ALI volved in the business for the past 28 years claims that he is an expert at determining the
Death
in a bottle Consumption of locally manufactured moonshine might be easy on the pocket but weighs down on your health
18 Decomposed ingredients used to make the moonshine are steamed in extremely unhygeinic conditions, making the cocktail injurious to health. NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
Recipe To prepare one litre liquor Old Gurrh
1,000 grammes
Accacia bark
500 grammes
Paneer dodi
250 grammes
Noshader
100 grammes
Orange
250 grammes
Noshader
Gurrh
Grapes, apple, sapodilla (chikoo), banana and fennel are occasionally used to give the liquor a distinct flavour.
Method to the madness Old gurrh, acacia bark, paneer dodi,
Paneer dodi
noshader and orange rind are placed in a clay jar (matka) and covered. The clay pot is placed in a pit in a way that half of it remains buried into the soil while the other half remains above the surface. The process exposes the jar’s contents to heat from the soil, allowing it to decompose. The decomposition takes about five to seven days, during which the manufacturer keeps checking g regularly. Once the decomposition is complete, lete, the mix is carefully removed from the e clay pot and transferred into a metal container. The metal container is sealed d and placed over fire, snuggled between n two pots. The pot below serves as a bain n marie while the pot of cold water placed above helps condense the vapour. The alcohol ohol is then collected drop by drop using a pipe, and transferred into bottles.
Decomposed ingredients are ready for fermentation
quality of his product. He says that the test is simple. “You just take a matchstick and dip it into my sharab [liquor]. If the matchstick catches fire, it means the quality of this sharab is excellent and acceptable for buyers.� He further claims that the alcohol becomes even stronger, almost as good as wine, if bottled for a month. Despite being banned, the production and sale of kacha sharab flourishes throughout the country, being far more prevalent in the countryside. While the usage is far more common among men, a small proportion of women are also known to be regular consumers. According to the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, drug and alcohol usage is becoming increasingly common in Pakistan. A report on drug usage launched during the Commission on Narcotic Drugs this year revealed that 5.8 percent of the population in Pakistan used drugs in the past 12 months. Being addicted to substances is dangerous, but resorting to cheap substandard alternatives to satisfy those urges can be lethal. Hence, it is no surprise that in a country where almost a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line and peace of mind is scarce, what starts out as a cheap distraction for some, often culmi19 nates in death instead. NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
COVERSTORY COVER STORY
White Gold How salt sweetens our world BY MUHAMMAD ADIL MULKI DESIGN BY ESSA MLIK
The night was dark and the patrolling sentries on the check post vigilant as ever. The smugglers pushed slowly against the razor-sharp barbs that inflicted great pain, but they kept silent to avoid detection. In their gunny bags, they carried the booty that the guards were supposed to keep from going undetected — a white substance. Cocaine had not been chemically isolated back then but nevertheless, the substance being smuggled was a valuable commodity. Salt (also known as sodium chloride) — the grainy white substance we lavishly sprinkle over our sunny-side ups every morning has been used as a currency, taxed, created towns, led to wars and even carved trade routes on world maps long before the Silk Route was woven. And the smuggling scene is not drawn out from a jungle in Colombia but what could very well have transpired here in the Indo-Pak subcontinent during the latter half of the nineteenth century. PHOTO: REUTERS/ADREES LATIF NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
25
COVER STORY
Salt reserves in Pakistan.
A highly valued commodity, salt was even used as currency in some parts of the world In Ethiopia, salt was used as currency, around the mid 19th century. Amoles are slabs of salt that are 10 inches long and 2 inches thik
3 amoles = a horse 1 amole = 8 to 10 chickens
1 amole = 5 kkilograms of tobacco
1-2 amoles = a wife
1 amoles = 1-2 a pig
From ancient times well into the industrial age, this crystalline condiment was much sought after and not easily available. It was only as recently as the twentieth century that modern geology and extraction techniques tapped into the virtually inexhaustible salt sources and made it widely available. A highly valued commodity, salt was even used as currency in some parts of the world. It was standard barter tender in parts of Ethiopia until the 1970s, something the Ethiopian Airlines also marketed as a tourist attraction. Currency or not, its past influence on financial matters survives today in many modern terms. According to some, the terms salary is derived from the word salarium, the allowance Roman soldiers were paid to purchase salt. Another version states that the word is derived from the fact that Roman soldiers protected the salt roads leading to Rome. A theory even states that the word ‘soldier’ itself is derived from salt, meaning ‘the ones who were paid in salt’. The Hebrew Bible refers to acceptance of salt from a person as being in their service. Thus it is no surprise that the influence of salt on financial matters gave rise to phrases such as ‘being worth one’s salt’ in the West and also to our own namak khaya hai (accepted payment for a service) and namak halali (being loyal to one’s master for the payment received) in the subcontinent. The necessity of the substance to sustain life was not lost on imperial rulers and it was taxed from China to Europe during ancient and medieval times. A salt tax existed in India from the time of Chandragupta Murya to the Mughal era, though the rate was low and collection was sporadic and inefficient. Rulers often used it to provided relief to their subjects in times of famine and distress. Later, the British East India Company resurrected the salt tax by increasing land rent and imposing transit charges in 1759. The rate of tax was higher in the Bengal region where they had control over the salt-manufacturing operations. Roy Moxham, a British historian, writes in his book “The Great Hedge of India” that, “The Salt Tax was born out of British greed: first, out of the individual greed of the servants of the East India Company; later, out of the greed of the Company itself, and its shareholders; finally, out of the greed of the British government, its parliament, and its electors.” In order to ensure collection of tax on all salt trade, a system of customs houses was established across the subcontinent. This line of customs posts ensured that any salt travelling from the production areas in the south and present-day Pakistan, into the Bengal region would be taxed. In order to curb smuggling through the customs line, a great hedge of thorny bushes was raised. The hedge was so thick and tall that passage through it was not possible without the risk of injury and without inviting attention of the patrolling customs personnel. At its prime, the customs barrier was an astounding 2,300 miles (approx.) in length. It is thus wholly understandable that in 1857, during the War of Independence, segments of this hedge were set on fire. However, as the British Empire engulfed smaller states, a virtual monopoly over salt production was established. This meant that it could be taxed at the point of manufacture and maintaining a costly customs line (or parmat lane, as the locals called it) was not necessary. The line was abandoned on April 1, 1879. However, a new system of salt chowkies was established around the manufacturing areas to ensure an outflow of taxed salt only. Even though a few maps show two such chowkies, located east of Jatihat, which ensured collections on salt coming from Gujrat, none of the locals or travelers know anything about it. The French might love their pretzels but salt was only starting to taste sweeter to British taste buds. The India Salt Act of 1882 established government monopoly over salt and prohibited anyone from illegally manufacturing or hoarding it. In March 1930, the salt tax was challenged by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi who led a 24-day march to the coastal village of Dandi in Ahmedabad and “illegally” picked up salt from the ground. The movement lasted for a year and triggered other similar uprisings by the masses, bringing the issue into international spotlight, but it failed to result in any
Gandhi picking salt on the beach at the end of the Salt March, April 5, 1930. PHOTO: ISABEL HOFMEYR
During mid-19th century, the British established monopoly over salt and prohibited any one from illegally manufacturing or hoarding it. In March, 1930 this hegemony was challanged by Gandhi who led a 24-day march to the coastal village of Dandi in Ahmedabad and ‘illegally’ picked up salt from ground
major concessions from the British. And the British had good reason for wanting to maintain their hegemony over the salt reserves — food security being one of the primary factors. Before the advent of modern preservation techniques and refrigeration, the ability to store food for longer periods often meant the difference between life and death. Salt has been in use for the preservation of food for millennia. Meat and fish are cured with salt and then dried in the sun. Salting extracts excess moisture, thus preventing bacterial growth. In Pakistan as well, the method is widely used by households that cannot afford refrigerators to preserve meat collected on occasions such as Eidul Azha for later use. For the more affluent, meat preservation through the salting and drying technique is often tried as a delicacy. Vegetables fermented in brine (a saturated solution of salt) have been consumed across the globe for ages, commonly referred to as achaar or pickles in the Indo-Pak region. Interestingly, salting is also carried out during mummification and Mark Kurlansky writes in his fascinating book “Salt — A world History” that, “In the nineteenth century, when mummies from Saqqara and Thebes were taken from tombs and brought to Cairo, they were taxed as salted fish before being permitted entry to the city.” Perhaps to the customs officials on guard, it was easier to believe in human-shaped salted fish rather than ancient preserved human bodies, which of course was not a good enough basis for tax exemption. A decent level of salt in the system is as important for a living being as it is to preserve a dead one. Found in blood, sweat, tears, urine and other body fluids, it provides the body with vital electrolytes that help transmit impulses. The body has to keep its concentration of salt at a desired level, as a shortage can result in inadequate water retention, leading to a dangerous drop in blood pressure. On the contrary, excess salt in the system can cause high blood pressure, which can lead to heart and kidney diseases, stroke and heart failure in extreme cases. According to the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), nearly all Americans consume more salt than they need. Natural salts in food account for about 10 percent of total intake in an average American diet while salt added at the table or while cooking increases it by another five to ten percent. About 75 percent of total salt intake comes from salt added to processed foods by manufacturers and salt added to food at restaurants and other food service establishments. The prognosis also stands true for most urban Gandhi during the Salt March, March 1930.
27
PHOTOS: ISABEL HOFMEYR NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
COVERSTORY
Inside the Khewra salt mine, Pakistan. PHOTO: FAHEEM AHMAD Pakistanis as well, for whom processed food items and restaurant food have become an inescapable lifestyle. According to the FDA, the general population should not consume more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium (about a teaspoon of table salt) a day. However, it should be remembered that some people are more sensitive to the effects of salt than others and medical history, genetics and age should be kept in consideration when determining one’s 28 optimum salt intake. NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
Perhaps it was because of its indispensability that salt was associated with health, prosperity and by extension, peace in ancient times. The Roman word for these saline crystals (sal) is derived from Salus, the goddess of health. Hence, the greeting ‘salut’ or ‘salute’ in European cultures has literal and conceptual connections to salt and the Hebrew ‘shalom’ and Arabic ‘salaam’, both refer to peace, prosperity and health. World over salt is commercially produced from three
Salt pans in Mumbai are a major cash cow for developers. PHOTO: AFP natural sources: underground deposits, salt lakes and seawater. All three modes of salt production are found in Pakistan. It has reportedly been mined for over two millennia from the Salt Range. According to popular legend, it was the horses from Alexander’s army that discovered the salt there. If there is any truth to that myth, Khewra, often quoted as the second largest mine of the world, appeared on European maps when they licked the Salt Range rocks to fulfill their craving. According to the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, production during 2011-12 was a whopping 441,553 tonnes. A beautiful tourist resort is operated inside a portion of the mine where visitors can observe natural formations and manmade attractions. A clinic for asthma relief that boasts having treated patients from Britain to Saudi Arabia was also set up inside the mine in 2007. The antibacterial salt particles in the mine are known to loosen up mucus and clear the lung passages, helping asthma patients breathe better. Small quantities of high-grade salt are also scraped off from small salt lakes around Khipro in the Thar Desert region in Sindh. Lastly, saltpans around the Indus delta and the backwaters of Karachi’s beaches have fulfilled much of the local requirement for a long time. But the escalating presence of pollutants and metals from industrial discharges in the seawater used for extraction might affect the palatability of sea salt internationally in the near future and also lead to a sharp rise in its prices. So, the next time you see the seemingly invaluable white substance lying inconspicuously on the dinner table, take a moment to reflect in its glory. Place a pinch of the saline crystal on the tip of your tongue and relish the taste while recapping its glorious history in your head. I assure you, it will taste a whole lot sweeter.
Local villagers spread salt over the body of a female elephant for it to decompose during the burial near Panbari railway station. REUTERS/ UTPAL BARUAH
To preserve, sea food is salted and dried in the sun . PHOTO: AYESHA MIR
FEATURE
TRAY AWAY me
How the traditional serving platter has transformed into an expression of personal style BY SUNDAR WAQAR
With its hair coiffed neatly in a bun and a sparkly diamond tiara perched on its head, a black cat is plopped at the center of a matte, gold spraypainted rectangular tray. Strands of hair fall neatly on her forehead and her whiskers curl outward. She sits gracefully, in a black dress and a pearl and diamond necklace around her furry neck. For a market that does not see much innovation, such designs for a tea tray are a breath of fresh air. As style dictates, concepts change over the years, infusough ing new into the old. Trays too, have gone through sensimilar innovation and the ordinary platter essenortial for everyday use has transformed into extraordinary pieces of art, to express personal style. “I feel that the style of trays has evolved as people are more willing to express themselves through design,” says Maira Chinoy of Maira Chinoy designs. “Everyone is looking for someerns althing unique — colours, images, and patterns en tra ays low for this expression.” Handmade wooden trays gn and nd are Chinoy’s specialty, each distinct in design wn as limited in stock. A French technique known decoupage is used for the tray’s paint and finng ish, which Chinoy learnt while completing m her Masters degree in interior design from e Florence, Italy. To make her trays look like paintings brought to life, Chinoy is strict about the quality and imports her raw materials from Italy and Canada. From stacking cosmetics and jewelry to organising letters or simply being used to serve drinks and food, the trays are multi-purpose. ophy reflects in the An Andy Warhol-inspired design philosophy
32 NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
Maira Pagganwala Each tray costs Rs3,500 and are available at Karachi Tee Party exhibitions. PHOTOS: ARIF SOOMRO AND MANAHYL KHAN
Taneez Available in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Toronto. PHOTOS: TANEEZ
w work of both Chinoy and Maira Pagganwala , the M d designer behind the neon ttrays sold under the Karacchi Tee Party label. Pagg ganwala, who has previo ously designed t-shirts, r recently introduced her e eccentric line of trays, “ “I’m always on the looko out for funky home acccessories and I love things th that pop,” she says. “Unforttun tunately, there aren’t many options available in Karachi so I Maira Chinoy decided to experiment and make some trays. I took some Orders can be placed of my favorite images and had them painted on bright through Maira Chinoy’s backgrounds.” official Facebook page. Salina Taqi is a client and fan of both designers’ crePHOTOS: MAIRA CHINOY ations. “I like the subtle elegance in Maira Chinoy’s trays t and the added in Maira Pagganwala’s trays,” she says. She us uses her funky Karachi Tee Party tray as a decorativ ve p tive piece in her drawing room and uses Chinoy’s tray t stack s to cosmetics in her dressing room. T The contemporary twist to the traditional tray de designs is not just limited to these two but can be se seen all across the market. Zeenat Ahmed, the o owner of Taneez, one of the largest repository o silver-plated home accessories in Pakistan of u uses metal, a traditional medium for her trays b adds her own touch to it. Ahmed’s trays are but als one of a kind, some molded in the shapes of a also a apples and butterflies. “We use an age-old process known as n naqsheen, [in which] each piece is handmade wi w with engraving and cutwork,” she says. The inttric intricately designed trays are also adorned with semi-p pre semi-precious stones like agate, lapis lazuli, turand marble, making them more suitable as decquoise and piiec and presents. “Our trays serve as popular oration pieces g f gifts for ambassadors and heads of states,” claims Zeenat “[But] they can also be used as cake trays or Z Zeenat. p platters at weddings.” From bright neon to hues of gold and white, these l limited collection trays come with everything from l lips and moustaches to more subtle designs like butt terflies and flowers. So be a little experimental this s season and serve your goodies with a tinge of your p personal flavour. T NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
33
FILM
NO RIGHT WAY TO DO WRONG
Prisoners will place you in morally murky situations and force you to make a choice BY NOMAN ANSARI
There is no escaping from Prisoners. This masterfully directed psychological thriller from auteur Denis Villeneuve is so intense that its haunting melancholy will hold you captive long after the film ends. This will especially hold true if you are a parent, in which case the film may leave you in a temporary state of paranoia. The film forces you to think about uncomfortable questions such as the twisted depths to which a parent will sink, in order to save their abducted child. The answers are so uneasy, and the stakes so high, that it may break a lot of your convictions. The film stars Hugh Jackman (Keller Dover) as a religious carpenter in a powerful performance that is truly magnificent, and easily the best of his career. The film begins with Keller, a loving father, who alongside his wife Grace (Maria Bello), son Ralph (Dylan Minnette), and daughter Anna (Erin Gerasimovich), is visiting family friends and neighbors, the Birches, for Thanksgiving dinner. After dinner, Anna asks her parents if she can leave with Joy Birch (Kyla Drew Simmons) to play at the Dover home. Anna’s parents reluctantly agree on the condition that the kids be chaperoned by their elder siblings. What follows is a parent’s worst nightmare, and a plot ripped straight from American headlines. After both children fail to return after some time, Keller discovers to his alarm that they left unescorted. Alongside Joy’s father, Franklin Birch (Terrence Howard), Keller frantically combs the neighborhood until he realizes the children are truly missing. The only clue the two families have is an RV, spotted outside of the Birch home while the girls were playing outside. Coming to the aid of the desperate families is Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal), who backed by the local police, manages to locate the RV. Unfortunately, the RV
carries no evidence that it was involved in the abduction. Complicating the entire situation is the fact that the driver of the RV and the primary suspect, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), is a grown man with the I.Q. of a ten-yearold. Moreover, he provides Loki with no solid reason to suspect him. After he is released, however, he tantalizingly hints to Keller privately that he knows more than he has been letting on. Keller, frustrated with the release of Alex, kidnaps him, and later with Franklin’s assistance, tortures Alex using elaborate techniques. With his nostrils often flaring, Hugh Jackman is stunningly convincing as a desperate father who must channel his inner psychopath in order to find his daughter. You feel torn between being sympathetic towards Alex and yet being able to relate to Keller’s agony, who is also held hostage by the situation. Gyllenhaal, playing a detective so burdened by his job that he develops a very noticeable eye twitch, delivers a particularly powerful performance. The chemistry between Jackman and Gyllenhaal is also strong, with the detective looking to rein in the impatient father’s aggression, as the two main characters engage in a tug of wills. Prisoners is a complex multi-layered film that does justice to its multiple themes. Matching the darkness of these layers is the film’s visually intoxicating cinematography, sporting simple backdrops that are given a suitably grim look by the gritty camerawork. Prisoners’ narrative twists and turns like a maze, featuring surprises that will leave you guessing as often as the film’s principal characters. Disappointingly, some of the major set-pieces are foreshadowed a little too well, leaving little room for surprise. That being said, after a terrorizing ride, a little cheap satisfaction is somewhat welcome.
For more on Criminal takedown, watch
38
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Se7en (1995)
Zodiac (2007)
Starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, the film won five academy awards, and put Hannibal Lector on the map as one of the greatest villains ever seen on film. The film started a trend, and established a blueprint for other psychological thrillers to follow.
Starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, the film featured a richly dark narrative, and an ending that blew cinemagoers away. However what most people don’t know is that the director, David Fincher was initially sent the wrong script by mistake, but he remained adamant that the producers stuck to it.
Also directed by David Fincher, the film is based on a true story of a series of complex and perplexing murders which law enforcement officials to this day have not been able to solve. The killer, Zodiac, sent taunting letters to both newspapers and the police during his horrifying killing spree.
NOVEMBER 3-9 2013
Cousin marriages are the biggest cause of thalessemia. Thalassemia major is a condition in which patients need blood transfusions to survive where as thalassemia minor is a carrier state. The root cause is the marriage between two thalassemia minor carriers, making it an inherited genetic blood disorder.
(Source: Dr Nasreen Qaiser, head of Community Medicine Department at Nishtar Hospital)
Doctors urge people to take the thalessemia carrier test, also known as a trait study before marriage, to prevent the rise of thalessemia majors. Every couple about to tie the knot will now have to undergo a blood test for thalessemia before their nuptials, according to a law passed in the Sindh Assembly on September 19, 2013.
OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER NOVEMBER 3-9 2013 2 2013
Currently, 10,000 Pakistanis suffer from this genetic disorder but a few precautions can help reduce the number
Ayesha Mehmood, spokesperson for FAiTh — Fight Against Thalassemia)
BY MANAHYL KHAN
THALASSEMIA
To be safe, the antenatal test, known as the chorionic villous sampling, should be done after every 14 weeks of pregnancy to save the child from the possibility of thalessemia.
Dr Mahwish Taj at NIBD)
For a bone marrow transplant, doctors prefer children under the age of 10 with a complete HLA (Human leukocyte antigen, a key part of the human immune system) matched donor.
Fight for life
Around 5% of the population is a carrier of thalessemia minor. (Source:
The estimated cost of an uncomplicated bone marrow transplant ranges from Rs1.8m to Rs2m. On average, the National Institute of Blood Disease & Bone Marrow Transplantation (NIBD) performs 3 bone marrow transplants a month. (Source:
42
At the Fatimid foundation, a blood transfusion can cost anywhere between Rs1,000 to Rs2,000. At other hospitals, the rates can go up to Rs5,000 to Rs10,000.
Nearly 4,000 children in Pakistan are born with thalessemia major each year and currently there are 100,000 people suffering from this condition. (Source: Fatimid Foundation)
For a thalessemia major, regular blood transfusions are required after every two to three weeks to survive. But a bone marrow transplant is the only complete cure. Thalassemia minors require less aggressive treatment or no treatment at all. They live a normal life and do not experience any particular symptoms. Due to a lack of both symptoms and awareness of the disorder, carriers do not normally have themselves tested.
Hospitals offering bone marrow transplants Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi National Institute of Blood Diseases & Bone Marrow Transplantation (NIBD), Karachi Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad