Amreen Zaidi: Her world revolved around her children

Hours before Amreen Zaidi, 35, a resident of Bareilly, succumbed to complications caused by the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on September 26, she spoke to her 13-year-old daughter Afreen. “Beta hamesha khush rehna. Apne bhai ka khayal rakhna aur padhai mat chodna (Always stay happy, child. Take care of your brother and don’t leave your studies)….” Zaidi said, and hinted to her to expect the worst. “Mujhe lagta nahi ki main tum se fir mil paungi (I don’t think I will be able to meet you again).”

Twelve hours later, the family was informed by the hospital where Zaidi was admitted that she had died. Her family, which had been placed under quarantine in its home on the outskirts of Bareilly, could not attend Zaidi’s last rites.

Besides Afreen, Zaidi had a nine- year-old son Murtaza. Her husband, Irshad (40) works as a truck driver. Every day, Zaidi got up at 6am, prepared tea and woke Afreen up to get some hours of study. By the time Murtaza woke up, breakfast would be ready. Zaidi accompanied her children to school, carrying their school bags. She would also pick them up and help them with homework in the evening.

Around 12 years ago, Zaidi fainted while preparing lunch. It turned out that she had diabetes and her doctor advised her to take care of her health. But Zaidi paid little heed. A few years ago, the doctor prescribed insulin to manage her irregular sugar levels. Diabetes is one of the co-morbidities that increases the vulnerability of Covid-19 infected persons.

“Amreen was the sort of person who would bring you tea and place it in your hands when you visited her home, instead of just asking if you wanted some,” Samreen, her neighbour said.

“Daru aur cigarette ke paiso se bachchon ke liye kuch le aya karo zada khushi milegi (Buy something for the children from money you would spend on alcohol or cigarette. It will make you happier),” Zaidi would tell Irshad, he recalled.

The couple got married in 2005. At the time, Zaidi was 20 and in her second year of college, enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts course. Though Zaidi wished to work, Irshad’s parents did not permit it. Zaidi accepted the sanction, but regretted it and did not want the same fate for her daughter, Irshad said.

“Don’t buy new things for me. We need the money to admit Afreen to a good college,” she told me when I bought her a new dress for Eid two years ago,” Irshad said. The couple had already saved up a tidy sum for Afreen’s higher education but their plan went off the rails after Zaidi got Covid-19. She was admitted to a private hospital in September when she complained of breathlessness. A week later, she tested positive for the coronavirus infection and moved to a Covid-19 hospital where she passed away.

Irshad locked himself in his room and cried for hours, when he was told about the death. Murtaza, too young to understand the implications, became quiet. But Afreen remembered her mother’s wish and braced herself for her new responsibility. At night, she studies for two hours before sleeping near her father’s cellphone. With her mother gone, the phone alarm now wakes her up.

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