At only 19, Rana Babu had migrated to Oman in 2017 with high hopes of making a decent living there and gradually helping his family come out of the clutches of poverty.

But soon afterwards, a tragic road accident in Oman shattered his and his family's hopes, put him in coma, sent him back to Bangladesh, and kept him bedridden ever since.

The 22-year-old youth has been in coma for last three years. Bearing the medical costs, his already impoverished family is failing to stay afloat. His only sister -- Rakiba Khatun -- died by suicide last December.

Rakiba was supposed to sit for Secondary School Certificate examinations this year.

"I can't bear to see my son's ordeal anymore. I believe better treatment may help improve Rana's condition," said Monju Ara, his mother.


Rana needs to be fed through a pipe and remains completely non-responsive.

His father, Alam Hossain, drives a Nasiman (locally-made three-wheeler) and is a resident of Parbhabanipur village under Birampur upazila of Dinajpur.

In 2017, Md Saiful Islam, chairman of Mukundapur Union Parishad under the upazila, offered the family to send their son to Oman to work at a car wash there -- giving them hope of financial solvency, Rana's parents told The Daily Star.