Fakhruddin Bhai (5th batch-nautical) passes away

It is with great sorrow, I must announce to all friends, alumni of Marine Academy. Mariners that A.K.M. Fakhruddin (5th Batch nautical) passed away on January 10, 2013; (innalillahe……). He was found senseless a few days ago and was taken to the hospital. He was detected with a loss of memory.

He however regained his memory back under care and returned home. Subsequently he lost his memory again and returned back to hospital where he died. He was buried in his village of in Feni.

His sudden death is a shock to us in JMAAA. JMAAA had raised a funds for his treatment and dispatched funds every month without fail for last 3 years. I thank the JMAAA members and the mariners who came forward to help Fakhruddin Bhai.

As you know, we have a fund in the name of Fakhruddin Bhai. We have invested it in an financial instrument where we earn profits. The fund will remain in place and we are going to keep raising more funds to help other alumni and mariners in need. I urge you all to be generous in sending your donations as you did in the past.

Ghulam Suhrawardi, 6th Batch Nautical; Treasurer JMAAA

About Fakhruddin Bhai

Those who do not know him, he was a perfect gentleman who was very compassionate besides being very intelligent. He was from the 5th batch of the Marine Academy.

He disappeared from the radar for many years. In our 5th get together of Juldia Marine Academy Alumni Association (JMAAA) on August 7, 2010 in Montreal, Captain Kamal Ahmed of 15th batch (nautical) brought to everyone’s attention the dire condition Fakhruddin Bhai was living in. In the annual meeting, this matter was brought up and all agreed that we should help him in any manner we can. Funds were raised at the meeting and thus we started an arrangement to send 7000 takas a month as a subsistence allowance for him. Even though, with inflation in Bangladesh, it is a meager sum, nonetheless, it give some comfort to Fakhruddin Bhai.

A brief history of his condition

He was sailing in a ship in 1968 which was apparently sinking. During the crisis, he was in charge of handling the anchor and his palms were torn due to heavy struggle with the fat string/chain. And he abruptly slipped on the deck and got injured. The vessel was saved but his physical condition deteriorated. When he returned to Bangladesh, he started taking treatment for his hands.

After a while, his family members found him to be acting a bit abnormally and detected some  mental disorders. Even in this condition, he resumed his sea career.

When he came home in 1996, his wife found that he was still suffering from the mental disorders. She informed her in-laws and commenced a treatment with Herbal (Kobiraji) medicine. This medicine made his condition worse.

 His younger brother shared the problem with Mr. Abdul Awal Mintoo (his class mate from 5th batch). Mr. Mintoo started supplying him some kind of medicine from USA which worked positively. However Mrs. Farkhuddin arbitrarily stopped giving that medicine and resumed herbal treatment again. His situation again deteriorated.

The name of the diseases is Schizophrenia.

Last photo of Fakhruddin Bhai taken in November of 2011