Sudden death of Bangladeshi worker in Maldives leaves debt-ridden family helpless

A Bangladeshi migrant worker died in the Maldives on Tuesday, less than a year after travelling there in the hope of repaying debts his family had taken on to send him abroad.

The story of Sharif Hossain, 42, a family man from Gobindapur Union in Faridganj Upazila of Chandpur, highlights the plight of thousands of Bangladeshi workers who travel to the Maldives with the hope of earning a better living and securing a better future for their families back home.

Bangladeshi news outlet bdnews24, quoting his coworkers, said Sharif suddenly collapsed while walking along a road in Hulhumale’ on Tuesday.

Passersby took him to a hospital, where a doctor pronounced him dead.

Sharif’s wife, Habiba Akter, reported to bdnews24 that the family had borrowed money from several people to finance his journey abroad and had expected him to repay the loans from his earnings.

“We borrowed money and took loans from many people to send him abroad. He had promised that once he started working, he would gradually repay all the debts. But everything came to an end just 11 months later. Now we are completely helpless,” she told the news outlet.

The Bangladesh High Commission in the Maldives has confirmed Sharif’s death, and is working with local authorities to repatriate his body back home to his family.

Sharif’s family, grappling with his untimely demise, are now left helpless in face of the massive debt they incurred to fund his trip to the Maldives.

The plight of Sharif’s family is one shared by many Bangladeshis who sell the little property they have and take loans to go work in the Maldives.

The Maldives is home to some 100,000 Bangladeshi workers, many of whom live in cramped labor quarters, subject to difficult and unsafe conditions.

Some health experts link these difficult and unsafe living conditions, coupled with lack of proper access to healthcare, as a contributing factor to sudden deaths among migrant workers.