'Bring my baba back, I want to talk to him for just one more minute': A father’s cry for his boy
After completing his HSC, Naim came to Dhaka to earn money for university admission, but his dreams were cut short, as he now returns to his home as a corpse
"Bring my baba back, I want to talk to him just for one more minute."
Like many Bangladeshi fathers, day labourer Nantu Mia used to call his 22-year-old boy Naim Ahmed "baba."
The fire at the Bailey Road building last night claimed 46 lives, including Naim's.
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"My baba called me at 9pm last night. He said the building caught fire," Nantu said, crying in front of the burn unit of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
"He told me that he is trapped. He told me to rescue him," said Nantu who came to Dhaka from Barguna after getting the phone call last night.
"I asked him where he was in the building, and he replied that he was on the rooftop. I told him to stay there and not to get down, and the phone call dropped," he said.
Nantu called Naim's phone number the whole night but couldn't reach him again.
"I just want to talk to my baba one last time, even if it's for a minute," he cried.
Naim Ahmed was Nantu Mia's only son. After completing his HSC, Naim came to Dhaka, aiming to earn money for university admission. But his dreams were cut short, as he now returns to his home as a corpse.
"My son wanted to get enrolled in honours after his HSC exams. He told me 'Baba, you won't be able to afford it. I will go to Dhaka, work, and use whatever money I earn to get admitted. Then you won't have to struggle'."
Naim's cousin Arif said he started working as a security guard at an ATM booth on 1 February.
Later on 27 February, Naim started working as a security guard at the Bailey Road building that caught fire last night.
