Maksuda loses battle for life

A sick and tired Maksuda Begum seeking help at the Bangladesh embassy in Beirut before her death around three months ago. Photo: Collected

Maksuda Begum, a divorcee for almost 20 years, had struggled to survive by fighting against her fate.

Unfortunately, she was defeated in her struggle without getting proper treatment outside her motherland. The 35-year old migrant died at a hospital in Beirut of Lebanon on Monday morning.

Some of her fellow Bangladeshi migrants in Lebanon alleged that she died for lack of timely treatment and negligence of the Bangladesh embassy in Beirut, which the embassy officials denied.

In the last five months before her death, Maksuda was so sick that she could not move anywhere. “She had two tumors in her stomach. She was also suffering from kidney complications for several months,” Masud Rana, a fellow migrant, told The Daily Star over the phone from Lebanon on Monday.

In 2012, Maksuda left the country and joined a Lebanese family in Beirut as a domestic help. She worked there for two years.

But her miseries started when the family cancelled her contract and left her helpless. After the cancellation, she became undocumented in the Middle Eastern country.

While in Bangladesh, she had to manage her livelihood by working at garment factories in Dhaka. Maksuda had no one except her two brothers at Sadar upazila in Shariatpur.

“The last time she talked to me, it was a month ago. She said she was very sick. She cried and told me she wanted to come back home to get proper treatment,” Shanta, her niece, told this correspondent.

Around three months ago, she went to the Bangladesh embassy and sought assistance in this regard. But the embassy did not deal with her matter sincerely, alleged the migrants.

Then, some fellow Bangladeshi migrants under the banner of Probashi Bhai-Bon Sangathan extended their support and arranged her departure with some other females.

They also requested the embassy officials to process her repatriation as soon as possible but the officials misbehaved with them, they alleged.

“In the past several months, we tried our best for her. We are so shocked at her death,” said Masud Rana.

It was only four days before Maksuda's death she was taken to Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut to send her back home on January 13 with 70 other Bangladeshis by an Air Arabia flight.

But the airport authorities denied allowing her to travel because of her physical condition. She was taken to a local hospital in Beirut afterwards. Maksuda died at the hospital.

Contacted, Bangladesh Ambassador Abdul Motaleb Sarker informed this correspondent that the migrants' allegations are not true.

“It's 100 percent untrue and false. The embassy tried its best to help her. She came to the embassy with the request to send her back home,” he claimed.

Mentioning that the process of clearance is very complex in Lebanon for undocumented foreign workers, he said the embassy finally got her clearance last week and arranged her air ticket.

“But suddenly her condition deteriorated and the embassy took her to a hospital where she was given emergency treatment,” the ambassador said, adding that they take care of each and every worker as soon as they get information.

“I myself take care of serious cases even if I'm informed at night,” he mentioned.

The ambassador said they will try to send her body back home as soon as possible.