Reckless driving shatters young life

Khadiza Siddique Meem wanted to be either a doctor or a marine engineer -- a dream that she had the potential to achieve. Meem achieved GPA-5 in the SSC exams this year, however, she did not get to know her brilliant result.

After her exams, an excited Meem went to visit Kushtia with her parents and younger brother Shishir in early April. She was supposed to return to Tongi, where she lives with her family, on April 11. But Meem did not make it home.

"We were crossing the road when a pick-up van hit Meem," said her mother Selina Begum.     

Meem, with severe brain haemorrhage, was at first taken to a local hospital and then shifted to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). Sixteen-year-old Meem is now in a coma at the Intensive Care Unit of BSMMU.

Dr Ashrafuzzaman Sajib, assistant registrar at BSMMU's anaesthesia department, said Meem has also developed pneumonia. However, he believes she can recover step-by-step.

"We have not been told how long her recovery would take," said Selina Begum, adding that they have already spent over Tk 10 lakh for her treatment. Meem's father Abu Bakar Siddique, a garment trader, said he has become totally bankrupt. Education of his eldest daughter Ayesha  Siddique Mou, a BBA student, and son Shishir, a student of class IV, is now at stake.   

He has already borrowed a large sum of money, and does not know how much more is required and how long the treatment would take.          

Abu Bakar Siddique has written to media houses appealing for help.

"I have never thought I would make such an appeal, but now I have no other option," he said.

"Meem always said she wanted to be either a doctor or a marine engineer, and in response we would say how we can arrange so much money. And now, we are appealing to save her life," said Selina Begum at BSMMU, silently crying.     

Anyone wishing to help can send aid to Abu Bakar Siddique, account no -199-151-12815, Dutch Bangla Bank Ltd, Sonargaon Janapath Branch, Uttara, Dhaka; or to bKash numbers -- 01977-347682 or 01620-717379.

Meem's story is not an unusual one. There have been many stories of how accidents destroy entire families. According to a study of The Daily Star, between 2010 and June 2015, a total of 9,800 people were killed and 25,000 injured in 7,000 accidents in the country. In Dhaka alone, 800 people died and 1,430 were injured.

Jaywalking accounted for about 40 percent of all reported deaths due to road accidents in Dhaka city for the period.

Dr Kamran Ul Baset, senior scientist at the Centre for Injury Prevention and Research, Bangladesh said road accident is causing economic and social setbacks to people in Bangladesh, where road accident is like an epidemic. Most of the victims belong to the working age and in many cases, they are breadwinners of their families with no insurance coverage, he added.