Tangail Migrant Returns Dead, Leaves Family 5 Lakh in Debt

The dream of a better life has ended in tragedy for a family in Tangail’s Sakhipur upazila. Zakir Hossain, 25, who migrated to Malaysia three years ago to pull his family out of poverty, returned home in a coffin on Tuesday morning.

Zakir, the only son of day laborer Md. Mozammel and Zarina Begum of Gazaria Dakshinpara, went abroad on borrowed money. However, a low-paying job prevented him from clearing his father's debts. Following a week-long fever, he suffered a fatal stroke in Malaysia on June 24. After a lengthy repatriation process, his body arrived in Dhaka late Monday night and reached his village the next morning.

Heartbreaking scenes unfolded in the courtyard as the coffin arrived. His elderly father broke down in tears, while his mother and sister were left speechless by grief, casting a heavy silence over the entire village.

The family now faces an unimaginable double burden: the tragic loss of their only son and a crushing debt of nearly Tk 4.98 lakh. Zakir had gone abroad to secure their future; instead, his parents are left mourning their child with mounting financial pressure. This incident highlights the grim reality and profound vulnerability of many low-income Bangladeshi migrant workers who risk everything for a prosperity that remains tragically out of reach.