‘He promised to send me money to buy fruits’: Mother waits nearly three months for Saudi fire victim’s body

“I asked him for some money to buy fruits. He told me he would send money on the 12th and asked me to buy fruits and eat. But on August 9, my son was burnt to death in a fire. He left me behind. I have lost everything. How will I survive without him?”

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Nargis Begum, mother of Shahin, one of the Bangladeshi workers killed in a factory fire in Saudi Arabia, recalled her last conversation with her son.

She has been waiting for nearly two-and-a-half months for his body to return home.

Visiting Shahin’s home in the Par Naogaon area of Naogaon town on Saturday morning it was found that Nargis was inconsolable.

Relatives and neighbours had also gathered there, waiting to see his body one last time.

Shahin was among 16 Bangladeshi expatriates killed in a fire at a sofa-manufacturing factory in Riyadh on August 9.

He had gone to Saudi Arabia in April this year in search of a better livelihood, borrowing 5.5 lakh taka to finance his journey.

He left behind his wife, a six-year-old son, an eight-month-old daughter and his mother, who is over 60.

His family was devastated by his death just five months after he had left home, hoping to improve their financial condition.

Shahin’s aunt Nilufa Yasmin said his father died when he was only four years old, and he had grown up facing considerable hardships.

After getting married, Shahin borrowed 5.5 lakh taka and went to Saudi Arabia, hoping to provide a better life for his family.

“Just three days before his death, he wanted to send us money for the first time. He said he would send 32,000 taka on the 12th. Of that amount, 20,000 taka was meant to repay loan instalments, while the rest was for household expenses. But before he could send the money, he died in the fire,” she said.

His maternal uncle Abdus Salam said Shahin had been hardworking from childhood and that his mother had struggled to raise him after his father’s death.

“He went abroad after taking loans, hoping to support his family. Just when he was about to start sending money home, he lost his life. His family has now been left helpless,” he said, urging the government to provide financial assistance to the bereaved family.

Naogaon Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saiful Islam said arrangements had been made to bring the bodies back to Bangladesh at no cost to the families.

He also assured that the administration would extend all possible assistance to the affected families.

The August 9 fire at the sofa-manufacturing factory in Riyadh killed 16 Bangladeshi expatriates, 12 of whom were from Naogaon district.

The bodies of nine victims were brought back to Bangladesh on August 27, while those of the remaining seven arrived in the country on Saturday.

Of the seven, five were from Naogaon. Four were residents of Atrai upazila, while Shahin was the only victim from Naogaon Sadar.

The five victims from Naogaon were Shahin, son of Majnu Rahman of Par Naogaon; Hasibul Hasan Shuvo, son of Nazmul Huda of Dubai village; Minhaz Pramanik, son of Akkas Pramanik of Madhya Boalia village; Masidul Sardar Sajib, son of Majnu Sardar of Madhabpur village; and Sagar Ali, son of Azhar Ali of Sadhanagar village.

While the return of the bodies will finally allow the families to lay their loved ones to rest, the loss has left them facing an uncertain future, with Shahin’s wife, two young children and elderly mother among those left behind.