One month after death abroad, family gets final glimpse before Tarek’s burial

A heavy silence hung over a small rented home in Halishahar, Chattogram, as an ambulance stood in the courtyard carrying the coffin of Bangladeshi expatriate Abul Mohsin Tarek.

Wrapped in a white shroud, his lifeless body was met by family members standing at a distance, some with tears in their eyes, others holding back silent sobs.

In the final moments before the farewell, Tarek's wife and only daughter were allowed to see his face one last time after a month-long wait before he was laid to rest forever.

The heart-wrenching scene unfolded yesterday morning in Halishahar's Bou Bazar area, where Tarek's body was brought from Bahrain following a month of administrative and paperwork delays. After a funeral prayer, he was buried locally, giving the family a final chance to say goodbye.

Tarek, a resident of Sandwip upazila in Chattogram, lost his life on the night of 2 March when a missile fragment struck his workplace in Bahrain amid ongoing conflict. Having spent nearly 32 years abroad, he had gone to work that day with the usual hope of providing a better life for his family. In an instant, that life was cut short.

After weeks of anticipation, his body arrived in Dhaka at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Friday evening.

Following official procedures, it was handed over to the family around 7:30 pm and then taken to the Halishahar home late at night, where his wife, Rokeya Begum, and teenage daughter, Tasnim Tamanna, had been anxiously waiting for one final glimpse.

The coffin remained closed overnight, as per medical advice. The hours of waiting were agonising, with quiet grief filling the home and a heavy silence outside. No one dared to approach the coffin.

Finally, at 10 am, the coffin was opened briefly. Tasnim got her first and last look at her father. Standing in silence, with tears in her eyes but no words, she whispered moments later in a trembling voice, "I got to see my father just once; that is my only comfort."

At 11:30 am, after the funeral prayer, Tarek was buried at Halishahar's Bou Bazar Eidgah. Locals, relatives, and friends attended the ceremony.

Earlier, a funeral had also been held in Manama, Bahrain, where the Bangladeshi expatriate community prayed for his soul.

Relatives said that although the body had arrived the previous night, only a few family members were allowed a brief moment to see him before the burial.

Tarek's cousin, Mosharraf Hossain, said, "After a month, the body has finally come home. Being able to bury him on home soil is the only solace, but how we will overcome this grief, I don't know."

Tarek spent over three decades abroad, leaving Bangladesh in 1993 after completing his secondary education to support his family.