Fighting the scar
“My name is Goni Ali. I am 85 years old,”
“I get proper medications if I come here. Such as the medicines for diabetes which makes me feel good. But it gets a bit worse if I go to my home. If the situation gets worse, I come here two days in a row. By the grace of almighty Allah, I’m feeling much more energetic now. My legs used to swell a lot”.
According to doctors nurses, He is mainly admitted here because of ‘hypertension’ and ‘uncontrolled diabetes. His legs swelled up because of higher (kittening) level, which is at 1.8. Even after providing proper medications, we have not been able to decrease the level, and h also has low potassium as well as electrolytes. He is 80+ years old. He lives right next to our block, and he has come here for treatment since 2019. Firstly he got diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension. Also was diagnosed with COPD. Hypertension is a term when a person feels high pressure. He also had breathing problems. He comes here very frequently. Nowadays, we are seeing some kidney problems in him also. Because diabetes, hypertension, and COPD are also linked to his kidney. He is also quite old, making these problems more dangerous for him. He got himself admitted here this month because of a swelling issue. Because we didn’t have much medicine to help him fight his diabetes and hypertension. We have not been able to control his swelling, but we are trying our best. Just one week ago, we accidentally got his led burnt. So, after dressing, the node started to build up even more. That’s why we are helping him with his dressing and giving him proper medications.
“I first came here at this facility last year. I used to come here before that too when I had to take medicines from here but didn’t get admitted. It first affected me while I was in Burma, not last year, and then I came here. There the doctors used a medicine named ‘saline’ for my diagnosis. I didn’t even know what my disease was then. But whenever I felt lethargic, I went to take medicine as always, and I also had the money to do so for almost 4 – 5 years constantly. After coming here, I realised that I carried the disease with me, and I was feeling well for almost one year after arriving here. Then it started to increase. After coming here, in the treatment centre, I was provided with proper medication, which made me feel well.’There are many good food items, but it costs money to consume or buy even for a little ‘paan’ or ‘tea break,’ which I, unfortunately, don’t have at all now. Right now, I’m living by hand to mouth or by the way almighty Allah has kept me in. It's been almost eight days that I’ve been coming here for treatment. The doctors here are trying their best to cure my illness which even my children wouldn’t do. I’m very grateful to the doctors and nurses here. They observe my body to identify the condition. They also provide me with rice along with meat items here. I get rice, potato curry, and meat three times a day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner time from this centre. They take care of me very well every day, which I didn’t even receive from my whole family generations. The doctor's care, medicine, and distribution of food items are excellent. Their treatment will surely cure my disease someday, and by the grace of almighty Allah, I’ll be able to return to my home again. The doctors told me that I’ll be able to leave tomorrow because I’m feeling well today compared to the situation eight days before. I don’t remember the medication that I’ve been provided with. Now I get 2 -3 medicine a day. Before this, I had to take more pills and sometimes injections for 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening, a total of four shots in a day. Right now, I got one shot named ‘Insulin.’ After all the treatments, the facility takes my sign and provides me with lunch and dinner when the doctors leave.”
“There are three members in my family. Me, my wife I, and a grandchild whose both father and mother(my youngest daughter) died in Burma, unfortunately. While we were in Burma, my daughter had a fever for one day, and she was not feeling well. Then the next day, she got medicated in the afternoon and was feeling well. At night she went out for a long time and came home eventually. The following day she was again saying that she wasn’t feeling well again and again, so she laid down for about two and a half hours. We called the doctor afterward, and the doctors declared her dead. After some time, my son-in-law also died, and only their son lived to see another day.
I have three sons and two daughters. My eldest son died while crossing a canal in Burma. His wife and three children are still alive. Another son went to Malaysia from Burma and lived there for 3 – 5 years and got lost after two years of no communication. I would’ve gone to Malaysia to look for my son, but I don’t have the capability or money to do so. The other son lives close by my area with his wife and three children. He also works here. My youngest daughter died, and the eldest daughter is still alive, and her husband's name is MD. JALIL. Nothing terrible happened to my family in Burma in ‘Serfarang.’ I was with MD Jalil and 1 of my son, a total of three people while migrating. By the grace of Almighty Allah, we moved safely. Since the conflict started, we were all living in a challenging position. The Govt. used to harass and beat us every day in that situation through military and Mogs. They used to look for wealth, mobile phones, etc., and those who used to have it – got beaten up by wood logs in Mogpara. They used to beat us up very severely until our last breath. The next day the police inquired us and told us to provide them with information. After three days, the Mogs came here and tortured us again. Then somehow, we saved our lives and fled from the area. After two days, the police head came and asked us about the Mogpara incident and helped us move to another place named (Shilkhaali) with 5 -6 cows for living and earning for almost five years. However, we faced many kinds of harassment from the local police of that area, and that’s how we continued to live for five years there. Finally, we crossed here without any physical harm, but others got tortured and brutally killed in action.”
“By the grace of Almighty Allah, I’m now in a much better state or situation compared to how I lived before in Burma. Here I’m getting proper foods, medications, a place to sleep, etc. Many food ingredients are also available for us here for a better livelihood and living environment. Not every day is going to be good because I may not always get to eat good food, and for that, I may have to eat a bit less than other days to maintain my diet and eating habit. My wife is becoming more ill as the day passes by. While we were in Shilkhaali camp, we moved freely and did any jobs for earning and living purposes, and no one would bother us there. We also could do farming works there, such as planting chili, poultry farming, and fishing. That’s how we earned, and with that making, we used to buy medicines in need of time for almost five years. Here we’ve also been living for almost five years now after coming from Shilkhaali. The problem with this place is that I may get a job here someday, and the next day I may not get any at all, depending on the situation. I can’t move here and there freely. I may get to eat meat and fish if I get a good earning, and if I don’t, I’d eat less and save for some other time.
This is how every single person of this camp is living their own life like me.” - Goni Ali - 85 - Rohingya Refugee
