A Bangladeshi expatriate named Abul Khair, 42, was killed in an accident recently while working at a brick kiln in Sokuluk, Kyrgyzstan. His body arrived at the home of his father Abdul Jabbar in the village of Mogra in Akhaura of Brahmanbaria on Saturday morning.
At that time, the tears of relatives created a different atmosphere. The neighbours' eyes were filled with tears. Many of them enquired about Abul Khair's only child, Arham, aged just 15 months.
Abul Khair migrated to Kyrgyzstan before little Arham was born. So father and son could never meet in person. But their bond had been growing through video calling.
Arham has been calling out 'Baba, Baba' in a low voice, perhaps in anticipation of the next video call. But now he has lost the banyan tree named Baba.
With a dream to lift his family out of poverty, Abul Khair had migrated to Kyrgyzstan in June 2024, just 5 months after his marriage. Yet in a demonstration of the fragility of man's best made plans, this dream was wiped out in an instant.
On the afternoon of March 20, while working at a brick kiln, a pile of earth suddenly collapsed on Khair. He fell to his death before his colleagues could rescue him.
Khair's elder brother Rafiqul Islam Bhuiyan said, "Khair has no means of support. He sold the land in his house as his last means to go abroad. Later, I let his wife and child live in my place. Now we are worried about how his wife will cope with Arham. We demand that the local MP take action in this regard."