He couldn’t return home for his mother's funeral due to his undocumented status and missed the chance to bid her farewell, his sister said
Nizam Uddin, a resident of Kharera village in Brahmanbaria's Kasba Upazila, went to Lebanon a decade ago hoping to secure a better future for his family. However, the wheel of fortune did not roll smoothly for him as he never found the job he was promised.
Due to a lack of legal documents, Nizam was unable to return home, even when his mother passed away. Braving all the trials and tribulations, he persevered, until his life was cut short by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Saturday.
The news of Nizam’s death has left his family and friends in Kharera village grieving. His relatives are calling for his body to be brought back to Bangladesh for burial.
Nizam, 32, the son of Mohammed Abdul Quddus and Mst Anowara Begum, was the youngest among five siblings.
According to his sister, Sayera Begum, the family suffered from severe poverty, which led them to borrow Tk 700,000 to send Nizam to Lebanon 12 years ago.
But fortune never favored Nizam, Sayera said. “He could barely earn enough to support himself as he didn’t get the job he was promised.”
In his 12 years as an expatriate, Nizam managed only to build a small tin-roofed room for his mother. “Unfortunately, my mother passed away just six months after the room was completed,” Sayera added.
Nizam couldn’t return home for her funeral due to his undocumented status and missed the chance to bid her farewell.
His financial difficulties also kept him from getting married, despite encouragement from his family.
The family learned of Nizam’s death on Saturday when a friend informed them about the airstrike. According to local authorities, he died instantly around 3:30pm local time in Hazmieh during the Israeli attack. Nizam is the first Bangladeshi migrant killed in the ongoing Israel-Lebanon conflict.
Kasba Upazila Executive Officer Muhammed Shahriar Moktar said that they have reached out to the Ministry of Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment. Nizam’s remains will be brought back to Bangladesh after the situation in Beirut stabilizes.
