Former resident dies after prolonged fight with debilitating disorder

Dubai: The volunteers of an Indian organisation will no longer hear the voice of Abdul Hakim who telephoned them every week from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The 27-year-old Bangladeshi died on Sunday after lying unconscious for three days in a hospital in Dhaka.

"With the support of the community in UAE he was glad to have managed to construct a small house for his wife and son in Bangladesh," said C.P. Mathew, volunteer at Valley of Love (VoL), a Dubai-based Indian organisation.

"He used to telephone us every Friday and talk about his family and plans to come back to Dubai on a proper employment visa and sent his only son to a good school," he added.

Abdul Hakim who came to the UAE in 2005 was diagnosed with Aplastic Anaemia, a rare acquired disorder in which the bone marrow fails to produce sufficient blood cells.

He underwent treatment at Rashid Hospital in Dubai. A medical certificate issued by the hospital states that he was on regular blood transfusion.

Abdul Hakim, who was an illegal, did not have a steady income and was unable to pay for the immunosuppressant drugs that he needed to take on a daily basis. His plight was brought to the notice of the VoL that helped him with his medication.

Abdul Hakim took advantage of the amnesty and flew back home to be with his son and family. After a while his tablet supplies ran out and he was once again battling for his life.

"The tablets cost Dh60 and he had to take them everyday. We made arrangements to get them from India. Over there it cost Dh6. Moreover he had to undergo blood transfusion once every three weeks. He used to get the transfusion done free at the hospital here, but that was not the case when he returned home," said Mathew.

His plight was also highlighted in the media which evoked an overwhelming response from the public.

"In no time Dh35,000 was raised and handed over to him. We also got in touch with a Dubai-based flight attendant who is a philanthropist. She identified a good hospital for Abdul Hakim to undergo the blood transfusion," said Mathew.

"One of Abdul Hakim's relative gave us a telephone call at 2am informing that Abdul Hakim had died. We were told that he had developed some complications and had been hospitalised for three days."