Teen loses dad to Covid-19, family swamped with debt
TANJUNG BUNGAH: Ever since he was a kid, Izanur dreamed of becoming a cardiologist. He remembers telling his father that all he wanted in life was to save people’s lives and help those who couldn’t afford medical care.
That dream has been dashed, if present circumstances are anything to go by.
These days, all Izanur worries about is how to crawl out from under the mountain of debt he and his family have been saddled with since the pandemic. Debt so big they can’t pay his school fees or the rent of the house they call home.
But the real blow came when his father, Mohammad Ismail Hossain, only 46 years old, died from pneumonia on Aug 24 after contracting Covid-19.
“We really didn’t think that it would happen,” Izanur says quietly of his father’s death. “We just thought that it was his SpO2 levels decreasing,” he says, adding that his father had always been healthy and was still relatively young.
His mother too tested positive for Covid-19 at the same time but was discharged after a short stay in hospital.
“The moment I broke the news to my mom, she fell to the floor, crying. We were all crying,” Izanur says, his voice barely audible, as he recounts how his father’s death left them devastated.
“I just felt so blank, no one thought that he would pass away so early, it seemed impossible and till today it doesn’t make sense.”
Still reeling from the loss of his father, Izanur has now been forced to grow up overnight and assume the role of head of the household despite being only 15 years old.
It’s a role he neither wants nor is prepared for. He says his family was facing tough times financially even when his father was still alive.
“My parents used to own a clothing factory and we were doing well until it closed down,” Izanur tells FMT, relating how his parents were unable to settle the rent, and the landlord ordered them to vacate the premises.
He says all the machinery and fabric from the factory now clutter their house, a grim reminder of his parent’s failed business venture.
Izanur blames their fate on a customer who failed to settle an outstanding payment with his parents.
“The total amount is more than RM50,000 and if they had just paid, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he says, adding that the owners of the clothing boutique continue to ignore their calls and have not coughed up any money to date.
Desperate to settle their house rent and feed their kids, his parents began delivering groceries and took on just about any odd job that came their way.
Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to settle their monthly house rent of RM1,100.
“The landlord came to our house and wanted to kick us out,” he says, sounding terrified at the prospect of becoming homeless.
“But his son came and told his father to let us stay for a while, otherwise we would have been kicked out.” His family still owes rent for seven months.
His mother has diabetes and is unable to work, and the family relies on the kindness of a distant uncle who helps out financially whenever he can.
Unsettled rent aside, school fees are another debt that torments Izanur no end. A student at Sekolah Menengah Sri Acmar, Izanur says he fears he will no longer be able to complete his education.
“I was kicked out of class many times. Last year I wasn’t able to attend two months of classes and whether it’s online or physical classes, the school calls and tells me not to come because I haven’t paid,” he says glumly.
Both Izanur and his brother’s annual school fees cost RM12,000 each but the family has only been able to settle RM5,000 for each of them.
Losing out on his education has been tough on Izanur as he has big dreams for his future. He also remembers with a mix of pride and sadness how happy his father was with his UPSR results.
“He started sharing my UPSR results to 200 or 300 of his friends,” Izanur says, adding that his father was so proud of the 5As and 1B his son obtained that he talked about it for an entire week.
“At every chance, he used to tell me, ‘I can die in peace when I see you successfully become a doctor and help poor people who can’t afford expensive medication’.”
Today, the loss of his dad is still raw for Izanur. And while he remembers fondly the friendly “arguments” the two often engaged in, he has other bigger worries to deal with now – his family’s overwhelming debt. - FMT
If you can help Izanur and his family, donations can be made to his mother, Mis Nurjahan Begum, Maybank account number: 1623 9391 1148.
✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH
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