Journalist Shimul’s family left with nothing

Journalist Abdul Hakim Shimul’s death has shown how a single bullet not only kills an individual but also ruins his family's dream.

His grandmother also died in apparent shock after the receiving the death news of her beloved grandchild.

Described by colleagues as an 'upright and honest' journalist, Shimul, 42, has left behind nothing but a tin-shed house for his bereaved family of three.

Like all other parents, he wanted to give her two children good education – the son wanted to become a doctor, according to his wife.

“Now we have hardly anything in the house to eat,” his wife told bdnews24.com.

Shimul, the Sirajganj Upazila correspondent of Samakal, took a bullet in his head while covering a violent clash between rival factions of the Awami League on Thursday.

He succumbed to his wounds on Friday.

He is survived by wife Nurunnnahar, 32, son Saadi Mohammed, 12, and daughter 'Tamanna', 4.

bdnews24.com paid a visit to the family of the late journalist on Saturday to investigate the family situation after the sudden death of the journalist.

His wife Nurunnahar and colleague Sagar Basak said that barring a small piece of land which he received as a gift from his grandmother at the time of his marriage and two bighas of ancestral land, Shimul could not add much to the family's ‘kitty’.

A modest tin-shed house which they call home is also of little value, Basak said.

His wife remembers, on that fateful Thursday, she had asked him to get some vegetables as there was nothing to eat at home.

“My husband returned home but not alive," she said wondering what she would do now.

"Now what shall I eat with my children? What shall I cook I do not know? He left no money at home either,” she said.

“His dream was to make his son a doctor and give a good education to his daughter."

Shimul's grandmother who raised him and supported him and even gifted him the piece of land where his tin-shed accommodation houses his family now also died following Shimul's death.

His longtime colleague Basak said, "Because he was in honest journalism, his financial condition was not good. His family struggled to make ends meet."

He also said that although Shimul's ancestral home was in Potadia village of the Upazila, he was raised and educated at his maternal grandmother's house who remained an abiding support to him.

Somokal Sirajganj District Correspondent Aminul Islam Khan Rana told bdnews24.com, Shimul drew a monthly honorarium of Tk 2000, every photo published earned him Tk 300 and for every line printed he earned Tk 5.

In all Shimul drew home a monthly sum of about Tk 3,500-4000.

“You can imagine how you can survive with this money,” said his colleague.