“He got his work permit renewed just one day before of his death”

Sujan Mia hails from the village of Chagaya in Kishoreganj district of Bangladesh. His family sent him to Qatar in order to improve their economic conditions. The cost for visa, travel and a work permit was $5308 which the family borrowed.

After three years of migration Sujan had not yet been able to repay the loan. According to the death certificate he died on September 24 2020 at the age of 32.

Sujans room mates in Qatar called the family and told them he had died in is sleep in the labour camp.

“He did not have critical disease and our mother has been mourning death of her youngest son,” says Jamal Mollah who is the eldest brother of the deceased migrant.

Sujan went to Qatar to support his family and to save money for a better future. But the family had to send him money because he did not get his wage regularly.

To extend his stay his family recently sent him $816 to renew the Qatari work permit.

“He got his work permit renewed just one day before of his death”.

Sujan often told his family about the severe heat in Qatar. He also complained that he did not manage to get any good jobs.

“Sometimes he worked in a construction site in Doha and would get $219 monthly.  Sometime he would remain out of work”.

Sujan did not have the time or the money to visit his home after going to Qatar. During his three year long period abroad, he did not come back home a single time.

The family had plans for marrying him off soon after he returned home from Qatar. But he died abroad.

The brother Jamal Mollah said that employer did not contact the bereaved family or provide any financial support to the family after the death.

“His coworkers sent the dead body of Sujan back home with the help of donations”, Jamal Mollah says.

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