Farrukh Rashid a Pakistani national had died in first week of September 1993 when a car hit him on Ponsonby Road Auckland. Pakistan Association of New Zealand had made funeral arrangement and sent the body back to Pakistan. We also dealt with the recovery of the deceased estate on behalf of Farrukh parents when they asked us to act on their behalf and do the legal proceeding. The main aim was to send all the money and valuables of Farrukh back to his family so that financial strain arising out of the death of Farrukh might be lessened. Pakistan Association also remained involved with Police investigation and court processing of the case as well. Now all the relevant phases have been completed.
We are quite satisfied and relieved that after going through a long processing in Government and High Court offices, PANZ finally managed to transfer a sum of NZ$ 47129.91 on 18 June 2004 to the account of Farrukh`s mother living in Quetta, Pakistan. This may also be noted that PANZ had also sent a modest amount of NZ1000$ in December 2003 to the deceased family as well. The legal processing was done by a well-known Legal Firm for we wanted to keep every thing crystal clear. We also made Farrukh`s family to remain in contact with their lawyers directly so that no confusion may remain in between. This is to note that PANZ didn`t charge a single penny for all this effort.Though Farrukh left a good amount of money, a joint meeting of PANZ General & Executive Committee held few weeks back decided not to deduct even a penny from his account to cover the expenses done by us regarding his funeral and body transportation.
On the other hand Court has also sentenced the woman who had hit Farrukh and caused his death.Her License has been suspended for six months while she has also been fined NZ1500$ for careless driving though no amount has yet been paid. Its pity that punishment seems trivial and sorrowful if compared to the loss of a precious life. Our request for a copy of the complete court decision is still with the relevant authorities. Pakistan Association of New Zealand had submitted the following statement in the court as well.
“As an office bearer of Pakistan Association of New Zealand I am dealing with the family of Farrukh Rashid from his death day to date and am well aware of all the pain and emotional discomfort they have undergone. I reached in Auckland hospital as soon as I got the news of Farrukh accident and was told he had already expired. This was a difficult task to convey the news of his death to his family as family is real strong and emotional in Pakistan like societies. He had an aged mother, a sister and a younger brother back in his family. However gradually I made them aware of the fact that Farrukh is no more in this world. This was shocking and unbearable for them as the news was sudden and unexpected. After long struggle of getting his permanent residence in New Zealand successfully only few months back, Farrukh was planning to visit his country and family after many years. Every body in the family was waiting for his return and it was planned that he will also get married during this trip. He was especially closely attached to his mother and long years away from her had added more vigour in him to meet her. A look at his telephone bills clearly indicates he was calling his family almost thrice a week and was very keen to see them all. In background of this his sudden death has an appalling affect on his family members. In those early days of his death it was really quite hard to listen to the weeping voices from other side of the telephone line and no words and sympathy from my side seemed to lessen the pain of the family members. It seemed I myself had become a part of this tragedy and that how devastating after-effects a family has to face in case of death around them. Farrukh father had died back in early 70`s and he was also a father-figure of the remaining family in terms of relations and finance. The absence of this double role from family has caused a psychological void in lives of all the remaining family members. Farrukh`s sister usually tells me the condition of her mother after the death of Farrukh and it is painful. She hardly talks to any body and keeps sobbing most of the time in remembrance of her son. I find no words to express the pain and anguish Farukh family has face after his death. It is something you can feel from their every word. The family is also quite ken to know the outcome of the accident case as they want the law to deal with careless driver strictly so that dear and near ones of others might escape from their negligence and carelessness.
As already stated above Farrukh was main source of income for his family and their livelihood depended upon what he was sending them from here. His younger brother Tahir Rashid works as clerk in an office and wages in Pakistan are too low to accommodate the basic needs of life. This has thrown the family in financial crisis and they are finding it difficult to cope with the living costs. Unfortunately Farrukh`s death has also led them to financial problems apart from dealing the emotional impacts of his death. Pakistan Association of New Zealand is voluntary organization that works for the settlement as well betterment of Pak community living in New Zealand. We also deal with death tragedies that occur in our community circle. In cases where the individual’s family is living in Pakistan we make arrangements for sending the dead body back to his home as parents usually ask for it. In Farrukh`s case we took control of the procedding from the day of his death and are still in contact with his family regarding certain things that relate to him. Pakistan Association of New Zealand spent approximately 5000-6000 Dollars on transporting his dead body back to his native city in Pakistan. This tragedy has also caused a financial stress on our organization as we have limited funding sources and are wholly dependent on donations. Our organization is not supported by any business but by volunteers who have passion for community welfare and collective progress.
As a community representative I am in contact with Farrukh family n regular basis and keep calling them. I honestly feel that they have not yet come out of the emotional harm and mental pain caused by Farrukh`s death even after months of this tragedy. His mother is totally lost in his memories and start weeping even now while rest of the family members are also missing him badly. It seems Farrukh is still part of their life though in a painful way. The economic aspects are most crucial and family is forced to adopt a low-level living after his death…..Shahid Azad “
We thank God for giving us dedication and patience to complete all the above with honesty of mind and clarity of process.
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