Sameer, three, and fighting to make it to his fourth birthday

Could not undergo neurosurgery in India after father was conned out of Rs50,000.

ISLAMABAD:

Diagnosed with bone tuberculosis at the tender age of three, in need of neurosurgery in a foreign land, and a victim of a currency exchange fraud, Sameer Rehman has been having it tough. Born to a poor family, he could not get timely treatment and there are no guarantee of him making it to his fourth birthday in December.

Still unable to speak, Sameer was only six months when he had his first bout with bad luck. He fell from a bed, hit his head and had to undergo three brain surgeries in the Combined Military Hospital.  However, when all three surgeries went unsuccessful, the doctors referred him to the Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, India.

Seeing a ray of hope, his parents Aziz Rehman and Sumaira Jahan started to collect money for their son’s operation. “We sold most of what we owned and requested the media to help us highlight our child’s miseries. We got a positive response from philanthropists,” they told the The Express Tribune.

However all odds seemed to be poised against young Sameer as his father was conned out of Rs50,000. He exchanged the money for 25,550 Indian rupees, which later turned out to be fake.

Rehman only got to know about the fake currency after making a payment at the guesthouse where he was staying. “The guesthouse manager threatened to call the police.”

In order to avoid being arrested, Rehman paid the manager Rs60,000 and shifted to the Pakistani Embassy’s guest house. The embassy officials advised him to leave India and hence the troubled couple returned to Pakistan after  10 days, having failed to get their son treated.

Rehman said that after reaching Pakistan he contacted the money exchange company and asked them to bear the expenses of his son’s treatment as compensation. Though the officials refused to pay any penalty, they have reimbursed the Rs50,000 he had exchanged for the fake Indian Currency.

“As I did not have a job and could not meet the expense of my child, I finally accepted money from the company and withdrew the case against them after consulting with my wife,” the worried father stated.

On Rehman’s complaint however, PBS conducted an inquiry and found out that the cashier at the airport booth was in possession of more than Rs300,000 fake Indian currency. According to the General Manager of PBS the cashier has been arrested and the Federal Investigation Agency are investigating the case.

Meanwhile, Sameer continues to fight for his life, while his parents endeavour to once more to take their son to the New Fortis Hospital in New Delhi, for the surgery that could save his life.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2011.