How can an accident like this happen in one of the richest countries in the world?

Mohammad Hamidul Malita he fell to his death, according to the death certificate, issued by Qatari Public Health Department, dated February 7, 2019. He died at the age of 41.

Despite the fact that it’s been two and a half years since his death, the family still hasn’t received compensation. This case brought to the public eye, how vulnerable the families of these migrant workers really are.

At the time of the accident Mohammad was employed by Qd Sbg Construction. Najma Begum, the widow, says they have struggled to survive after the fatal accident.

“He was the breadwinner.”

“I can’t pay for my children’s school or any other necessities,” Najma Begum says.

Instead of attending ninth grade, her 15-year-old son has to work at the farm, and the daughter, who is 17, is devastated that she couldn’t start the school she was accepted to in the fall.

“I don’t know if we’ll get any compensation at all since it’s almost been three years. But I am trying to get involved authorities and non-profit organizations to help pursue the case so I can get closure,” the widow says.

As so many other migrant workers in Alamdanga Upazila’s Borgangni, a village in the Bangladeshi Chuadanga district, Hamidul had taken out a loan of more than $4,000 to get the job in Qatar. A large portion of the cost, he borrowed from relatives. Before he was killed, he was able to send money home to the family on a regular basis.

The family has received some compensation, $3,706, from the Bangladesh government and the employer paid out his wages.

“I used the money to lease a larger plot of land where I can grow rice and corn. What I can harvest from the land is my only income,” the widow says.

As far as full compensation from Qatar, she has sent documentation to the Bangladeshi Embassy in Doha but she’s still waiting to hear if she will get any money or not. She did get his official death certificate and cause of death, “fall from a tall building.”

She also wonders how an accident like that could happen in one of the richest countries in the world.

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