Dhaka, May 24 – Eid is an occasion of boundless joy and happiness. It is also one of sadness for those loving parents who have to celebrate Eid without their sons and daughters around them. The Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival for Muslims in Bangladesh and beyond, has turned out to be different this time amid the coronavirus pandemic.
For Sajeda Begum, it is the loneliest Eid-ul-Fitr without her children and their family members.
One of her sons, a physician at a public hospital, is engaged in treating coronavirus patients while her daughter-in-law is spending busy time at Chittagong Medical College Hospital.
“They used to come to my place early morning on the Eid day. They couldn’t come today. I don’t want them to visit me as they’re doing something for the greater good,” Sajeda, who is well aware of coronavirus situation in the country, said.
She said her two sons got stuck in Dhaka amid current restrictions and could not join her in Chattogram.
“My youngest son, a bank official, worked during the general holiday. He and his family members couldn’t travel back to Chattogram,” Sajeda, a mother of five sons and four daughters, said.
Her daughters are married but she at least got her five sons together during Eid with a host of grandchildren. This time it is a lonely Eid for her.
Many parents like Sajeda Begum are spending this Eid without their family members around as COVID-19 is casting a shadow on the joyous occasion.
Sohel Hossain, a young journalist working in Dhaka, is spending Eid away from his parents for the first time.
“I didn’t take any risk. I might be a silent carrier of coronavirus, who knows? That’s why I didn’t go home.” said Hossain adding that it is painful to spend Eid away from the family.
Afsana Rahman Shorna was supposed to be in Barishal with her father, mother and youngest sister Fiha.
“To me, Eid means going home despite all the troubles on the way. During my childhood, I remember celebrating Eid in Dhaka once as my mother came here for her health check-up,” she said.
Shorna said her husband is now abroad for higher studies and she lives in Dhaka.
“Despite the sadness around, we’re all well. That’s the mental satisfaction. I pray for everyone today. My prayers are for them who got infected with coronavirus,” she said sharing her experience of a different Eid.
A silent Eid
For Sajeda, who is 78, this is the only Eid without any guest at her residence.
“My sons and grandchildren took my blessings over the phone after Eid congregations,” she said, adding that the absence of her family members was hurting her.
Younger members of some families are getting in touch with their relatives through video calls, making virtual reunions and solace. – News Desk with UNB
