A family broken by tragedy

Five months ago, Kajoli Akhter from Sajapur Fakirpara village in Shajahanpur upazila, Bogura, lived a peaceful life with her family. But on May 22, her world changed forever when her husband, Aminul Islam, died in a road accident.

Aminul, a truck driver, was crossing the Dhaka-Bogura highway in Sajapur when a speeding CNG-run auto-rickshaw hit him. He was rushed to Bogura Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College (SZMEC) Hospital, but he died shortly after.

Since then, Kajoli and her family have been struggling. Despite losing her husband, no one from the government or local authorities has come to help them. They haven’t received any compensation or support.

When I visited Kajoli’s home, she was cleaning arum roots she had collected from the fields to earn money. For each maund she cleans, she earns 100 taka. Her daughter, Ambia Akhter, was helping her.

Nearby, Aminul’s mother, Anguri Bewa, was cutting grass in her daughter’s yard. After Aminul's death, Anguri moved in with her daughter and son-in-law, Zakerul Islam, who is a farmer. Zakerul now supports both his own family and Aminul’s family.

Kajoli shared her pain, saying, “Before my husband died, life was good. My son, Rakibul Hasan, went to school, and we had a pole factory. Now, I struggle every day just to feed my children. I take whatever work I can find, earning as little as 90 taka a day.”

Kajoli’s sister-in-law, Mahmuda Begum, and her husband, Zakerul Islam, try to help, but it is not enough.

Kajoli and her daughter also expressed frustration that no case was filed over Aminul’s death and no police officer has come to check on them.

“We were a happy family, but now we are forgotten. No one has come to help us. If the government could support us, it would change our lives,” Kajoli said with tears in her eyes.

This family continues to suffer in silence, hoping for help that may never come. Will anyone hear their cries, or will their tragedy remain unnoticed? Only time will tell.