Arab News | ‘We were his whole world’: Family mourns Bangladeshi father killed in Houthi attack

DHAKA: Shahed Ahmed was waiting for a flight at King Khalid Airport, talking to his 9-year-old son over video. When the call dropped, he sent a voice message saying he would call back when he arrived in Jeddah. He never did. Moments later, a Houthi strike killed him.

A 35-year-old plumber from Bogura in Bangladesh’s north, Ahmed was returning to his workplace after visiting home.

He was transiting through Riyadh on Oct. 10 when the Houthi missile hit the site.

Around the time he was supposed to reach Jeddah, his wife, Kohinoor Akhter Kakoli, called him, but the phone was off. She thought he must be sleeping.

She didn’t know about the attack.

“The next morning, I started calling him again. But the phone still was not ringing. Then I saw the news on TV about the Houthi strikes on the airport. I asked some of our relatives to find him,” Kakoli said.

“At around 2 p.m. on Sunday, some government officials visited our home with the news, and I heard that he was no more.”

Ahmed was one of two Bangladeshis among 13 people killed in Saturday’s missile attack on the Saudi capital. The other Bangladeshi was Nasrullah Badar, a 37-year-old teacher and imam, who was leading a group of pilgrims on Umrah.

More than 300 others were injured, including 24 from Bangladesh. According to Dhaka’s embassy in Riyadh, most of the victims were either migrant workers or pilgrims.

Ahmed left behind his wife and two sons — 9-year-old Kawser and 3-year-old Abdullah.

“Me and our two sons, we were his whole world … He used to send most of his earnings for the family’s well-being,” his wife said.

“All his dreams were centered on our sons. He dreamt of preparing the youngest son to be serving the nation as a civil servant. I don’t know how I can raise both the children now, without their father’s support.”

Ahmed was initially supposed to return to Saudi Arabia on Oct. 29. He decided to fly earlier, fearing that Houthi attacks may escalate and later flight cancellations could prevent him from getting back to work.

He could not afford to lose the job, his wife said, as he was preparing to return home for good in seven months.

“The plan was that I would visit Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah, and we would return home together,” she said.

“It’s so heartbreaking to me. His birthday is on Oct. 11, and he died the day before. We were supposed to celebrate our 13th marriage anniversary on Oct. 23. Now, all of that is just a memory.”