Father who lost his son in car crash helps 61 expats return home
KRISHNAKUMAR LOST HIS SON IN CAR CRASH LAST YEAR
An Indian man, who lost his 19-year-old son in a car crash in the wee hours of Christmas Day last year, has helped 61 Indians stranded in the UAE by sponsoring their tickets on repatriation flights arranged by a college alumni group from Kerala.
T.N. Krishnakumar’s son Rohit and their neighbour Sharat, 21, both pursuing higher studies in the UK and the US respectively, died when their car crashed in The Gardens community as they were returning home from a reunion with friends.
After returning from Kerala following his son’s last rites, Krishnakumar devoted himself to social service. While his wife is yet to recover from the shock, he said he is trying to overcome his grief by doing social work.
When the pandemic hit, Krishnakumar offered his support to the All Kerala College Alumni Federation (AKCAF) Volunteer Group, of which he is a member. The group of former students of over 150 colleges in Kerala is providing food kits and medical supplies to the needy and also arranging repatriation flights.
Paul T. Joseph, a senior member of the group, told Gulf News that Krishnakumar sponsored sponsored the ticket of one person each on the first six charter flights they facilitated.
Sometimes we seek answers as to why this tragedy happened to us. Then we think about others suffering more than us. I can only find some peace by helping others.” T.N. Krishnakumar
He then paid for the tickets of 55 out of 191 passengers on the latest charter flight.
He said Krishnakumar donated around Dh57,000 in total for 61 repatriation tickets.
Krishnakumar said he was only trying to offer some relief to people “who are suffering” and had suggested the idea of chartering a completely free charter flight for the needy.
“Sometimes we seek answers as to why this tragedy happened to us. Then we think about others suffering more than us. I can only find some peace by helping others,” said Krishnakumar, a sales and marketing director in a private firm.
Rohit, who was a third year medical student at the University of Manchester, won the Shaikh Hamdan Award for Excellence in education while he was schooling in Dubai.
“He was also interested in supporting the needy,” Krishnakumar said. “He had spent 10 days in a tribal colony in Kerala to help doctors.”
Krishnakumar’s elder son Rahul is preparing to do his master’s in public health in the UK.