Surgeon Dr. Azam Bangalzai worked as a labourer for medical fees in the same college where he received his education.
Dr. Muhammad Azam Bangalzai, a surgeon from the Kalat district of Balochistan, received his medical education from Bolan Medical College, Quetta.
But he also worked as a laborer in the construction of the same college buildings and later served as a surgeon in the hospital attached to it.
He said he attended college in the morning and then went to an under-construction building in the evening where he posed as a labourer.
He said that in the same way, after working hard till late in the night, he used to rest a little, and then again in the morning he would reach class and the library.
He recalled that his daily wage was 30 rupees and thus a good amount of money was made to meet the education expenses.
He would always carry his books even during labour
“Since labour was my compulsion and a lot of my time was spent on labour, I used to try to read something even during labour, so I used to take my books with me,” he said.
Dr. Azam Bangalzai said, “One day when I was carrying a spine full of sand and cement mixture to the building, the spine fell from my hand.
Unfortunately, the contractor was also there at that time. The contractor got angry after seeing the spine falling and the cement being destroyed ۔‘
He added that “The contractor angrily told me that you don’t know how to work, so you leave. I tried hard to convince him and said it won’t happen again but he still fired me. ۔‘
According to Dr. Azam Bangalzai, he requested the contractor to at least allow me to complete the daily wages for that day, but he was so furious with the loss of cement that he did not allow me to complete the daily wages. ‘
Dr. Azam said that later he got the opportunity to read the news on Radio Pakistan and along with the radio, PTV also asked him to translate and read the news, which kept meeting his expenses.
The contractor came to surgeon Azam Bangalzai as a patient
Surgeon Azam Bangalzai said that after completing his MS in General Surgery, he was appointed as a surgeon at Bolan Medical Complex Hospital.
One day when I was on duty in OPD, I saw that the same contractor came to me with a slip with his son.
The contractor had grown old. I recognized him but he couldn’t recognize me. I called him to me by his name, it surprised him and I had him worried into thinking who could I be.”
He said that when the contractor came to him, Surgeon Azam Bamgalzai gave him VIP protocol, and the astonished contractor asked him how he knew him.
M Bangalzai said that the contractor did not remember him very much, but when he reminded him of many things, the tears rolled down his cheeks for having Azam fired from the work, and said, ‘I wronged you by removing you from the work.’
“I told the contractor that you did not do anything wrong because anyway it was not my destination but my destination was where I reached today,” he said.
Mr. Azam couldn’t see his mother for the last time
Dr. Azam said that while he was doing post-graduation at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Karachi, he had to operate on a woman one night.
’It was a strange coincidence that while I was doing that operation, I got a call from Quetta and was told that your mother in Quetta was admitted to the hospital in an emergency.
‘The second strange coincidence was that the woman I was operating on was a patient with a stomach wound while my mother was also suffering from the same disease. When I left after the operation and asked about my mother, I came to know that she had passed away, ‘ he told.
‘Although I could not see my mother for the last time as I was busy performing my duty, I am happy that I saved a woman’s life during this time.’
Dr. Azam Bangalzai said he feels proud whenever he sees the buildings of the new Bolan Medical College, its hostel, and the Bolan Medical Complex.’
I feel a peculiar pleasure passing by because these buildings have the fragrance of my hard work and labor.
Story by BBC