Father, son sleeping in car

HELP US: Priya Mohamed with her three children, whose faces have been digitally blurred as they are minors, who were also left homeless after the fire.
HELP US: Priya Mohamed with her three children, whose faces have been digitally blurred as they are minors, who were also left homeless after the fire.

MERE months away from Christmas, father of three Hamid Mohammed never imagined he would find himself without a roof over his head. But for the past seven days he has been living in his car with his nine-year-old son Amit.

Mohammed, 35, his wife Priya, 26, and their children – nine-month-old Jerimiah; five-year-old Jessica; and Amit – were left homeless when their house at Sukal Trace, San Francique burned down on September 20. His wife and their two other children are now sharing a room with a relative in San Francique.

On the night of the fire, Mohammed’s father Dilip Singh, 79, who was trapped in the house, was burnt to death. Dilip’s wife Rosie, 78, was burned on the chest, legs and hands while trying to rescue her husband and remains warded at San Fernando General Hospital. On Saturday, Rosie was temporarily discharged to attend her husband’s funeral.

In tears, Mohammed told Newsday today his life has been a nightmare since the fire. “Is like I don’t know how much more I can take. My father is dead, my mother is in hospital. I am living in a car. My children don’t have a home,” he cried.

Mohammed said he had already begun saving money for his children’s gifts and other items for Christmas. “I took a long while to save this money. And everything went up in ashes. All my hard-earned money was gone.” All he was left with was ashes.

BEGGING FOR HELP: Hamid Mohammed, who sleep in his car with his son Amit, after their home was destroyed by fire. PHOTOS BY ANIL RAMPERSAD

“I don’t know how to start over. I look at my children and my wife and feel I am having a breakdown. I am trying my best to stand up as a man, as a father...and be strong for my family – but when my nine-year-old asks me every night, ‘Daddy, how long again do we have to sleep in our car?’ I break down every time. But I don’t let him see my tears,” Mohammed told Newsday.

He listed their lost belongings. “All the money I had been saving to buy them gifts for Christmas, our groceries, our furniture, the baby clothing, his crib, his pampers, the children schoolbooks, their uniforms, shoes, our appliances – everything gone. We lost everything in the fire.”

He said his wife and two children are now sleeping on a mattress. “The house is already cramped. I know they can only stay there temporarily. There is no room for me and Amit, so at nights we sleep in the car in front.”

On the night of the fire the car was parked outside and Mohammed was able to drive it to a neighbour’s home when the fire started to spread. Police said the fire started at about 11 pm and Mohammed was able to grab his wife and children and run out of the burning house.

Mohammed was reluctant to ask for help but feels he has no option. “I don’t know what else to do. I don’t beg for anything, I work hard for what I want. But now I don’t have a choice...so please, we need all the help we can get. Please, we would be grateful for any help.”

If you would like to help the Mohammed family, please contact Newsday's  South office at 607-4929 ext 4220 or 653-7195.

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