Shahin Fakir, a 26 year old patient of traumatic brain injury from Faridpur, has been living his life in shackles for the past 10 years.
He is the eldest of two sons and five daughters of Amin Fakir of Kalimajhi village in Rupapat union of Boalmari upazila.
According to family sources, Shahin suffered a traumatic brain injury in his childhood when he accidentally fell on rail tracks near his house. Though he received treatment from a local hospital, his situation did not improve much.
Shahin was later sent to a madrasa in Pabna to study Arabic but he could not continue as his condition started deteriorating with time.
“I admitted my son to a madrasa with a high hope that he will be an Islamic scholar. But the hopes shattered at the irony of fate when my son lost his mental stability. We had to tie him up with a chain because he often hit us,” said his mother with a sigh.
“We spent a lot of money for his treatment but his situation did not improve. Now we are destitute except for a small piece of land to stay. He has a disability allowance card that covers a little portion of his expenses. Now we are living in a financially strained condition,” she added.
Shahin’s father Amin Fakir cannot work and he sold all of his lands to manage the treatment cost for his son. The financial burden has become so heavy on their shoulders that his mother Sajeda Begum has been living on the verge of despair and wants God to take her son.
Local resident and social worker Syed Tareq said that Shahin is mentally challenged and his family is living in a saddening state. He urges the local administration and the rich to come forward to help the family.
Md Jhantu, member of Rupapat union parishad, said: “We are trying our best to support the family. On my own initiative I have made a disability allowance card for him.”
Upazila social service officer Prakash Kumar Biswas has agreed to cooperate in this regard.
Boalmari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Jhotan Chandra thanked journalists for featuring the news.
He said that he had admitted Shahin to Pabna Mental Hospital on Tuesday.
