Background

Mr Islam Nazrul, 33 years old, is a hardworking rigger and signalman. He earns S$850 per month with daily overtime.  He works 6 days a week, from 8am to 9pm. Mr Nazrul comes from a rural village in Bangladesh and his family lives in poverty. He is the eldest of 4 children with 2 younger brothers in university. He is the main sole breadwinner for his family.

The Struggle

On March 2016, Mr Nazrul’s life turned for the worst when he was cheated a huge sum of money. Mr Nazrul was working at a different company and became close friends with a colleague, a Singaporean man. His Singaporean colleague constantly looked out for Mr Nazrul’s wellbeing and safety and they worked well together.

In the beginning of March 2016, Mr Nazrul was informed by his Singaporean colleague that he is able to assist his relatives in Bangladesh with work permit application and the fees associated with the application will be significantly lower than going through an agent. Mr Nazrul believed his colleague as he had no reason to suspect him since they work well together, and he has been kind, thoughtful and honest with him. Mr Nazrul received S$12,400 from 8 of his relatives and passed the money to his colleague. Shortly after, his colleague disappeared with the money.

With the help of a pro-bono lawyer, Mr Nazrul managed to recover back S$3,200. However, shortly after the payments, his ex- colleague was incarcerated for committing a separate crime and has no property or money to continue paying him back. Mr Nazrul had to resort to borrowing from banks and friends in order to pay back another S$3,000 to his relatives. Till date, he still owes half of his relatives approximately S$6,000.

Throughout our conversation, Mr Nazrul was crying. There were times where he had to pause as it was too painful for him to continue sharing with us his ordeal. Mr Nazrul informed us that he is engaged however, he is unable to marry as he still has debts. Mr Nazrul used to send S$400 a month home however, he has been unable to send money home consistently as he has debts to repay back. Due to this, his family is struggling, and their situation is currently very dire.

Give Hope – Help Needed

Ray of Hope is therefore raising S$2,000 (S$400 x 5 months) to defray his family’s living expenses in India while he continues to clear off his debts. Please give hope to Mr Nazrul who is currently facing hardship!