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An expatriate Bangladeshi has returned home after he became mentally imbalanced and went “missing” in the jungles of Malaysia.
The 62-year-old expatriate from Shariatpur’s Naria Upazila was identified as Amir Hossain Talukder. He arrived in Dhaka from Malaysia on a Batik Air flight at 12:20 am on Wednesday.
Amir was received by the BRAC Migration Programme and family members with the assistance of Aviation Security (AVSEC) and the Expatriate Welfare Desk at the airport, reports bdnews24.com.
A press statement from BRAC said that the reunion of Amir with his family after 30 years created an intense emotional atmosphere, especially for his son, Babu Talukder.
BRAC arranged to take him to his home in Shariatpur. It also said that it would take necessary measures to treat Amir, considering his physical and mental condition.
Citing the family members, BRAC said Amir went to Malaysia in 1996 to earn a livelihood. In the first three years of his expatriate life, he maintained regular contact with his family, but for the 27 years since then, his family had no clue of his whereabouts. As time passed, his family came to believe that he had died.
Amir’s son Babu, said his father worked as a building painter in construction work in Malaysia. Initially, he kept in touch with his family. He also sent some money. However, he suddenly broke off contact. With no trace of him for a long time, the family feared he was dead.
BRAC says that recently, some Bangladeshis living in Malaysia went to a jungle in Penang and found him in a mentally unbalanced state in a small tin house.
They rescued him and uploaded his pictures and videos to social media. Through the efforts of expatriate journalist Bappi Kumar Das and Penang expatriate Dipu, the matter went viral on social media.
They also informed BRAC about the matter. Amir's family in Bangladesh identified him. After the necessary verification, the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia issued him a travel pass and arranged for him to return home.
Shariful Hasan, associate director (Migration and Youth Platform) at BRAC, said: “It is very painful to see someone living abroad for 30 years and not being in contact with their family members for 27 years. Bangladeshis living abroad played a significant role in helping this person find his family. This return is not just the end of an individual’s long wait, but also the end of a family’s long wait.”
He said, "However, this incident is a glaring example of the uncertainty of expatriate life. A person is mentally unbalanced, but no one knows where he is. We have seen such incidents in the past. We do not know how many more are living in such a crisis.”
“However, it is important to keep track of every expatriate. In this age of technology, it is not impossible to create a database of every expatriate. It is, instead, necessary because they are the people of this country and keep our economy running."