Amid conflict and displacement, one young man made a decision that would define his journey — he would not leave without his parents.
As violence forced villages to evacuate, the man, originally from Burma, was urged to save himself. His father, 85, and his mother, 65, could no longer walk on their own. Others told him to go ahead alone. He refused.
Instead, he fashioned baskets and carried both parents for more than 160 kilometers over seven days, moving barefoot through dense jungle, steep hills, and rushing rivers. With little food, barely any water, and his body weakening from exhaustion, he kept going — step by step — holding onto the belief that survival meant nothing if it didn’t include them.
When they finally crossed into Bangladesh and reached safety, someone later asked why he hadn’t run alone when he had the chance. His answer was simple and devastatingly human: “They carried me when I couldn’t walk. Now it’s my turn.”
Source: @salamhyderabadnews24
