As a child, I never doubted getting an inheritance of my father's wealth and land when he died, like my siblings. However, my plans fell apart. In this story, I'll tell how life changed when my eldest brother took what I thought was mine after father's passing. I'll share the challenge of losing expected inheritance and support, and having to make it on my own.
My father had many farmlands where he grew all sorts of crops. He worked hard for many years to get the farmlands. We all lived in a big family home he built in the village.
Also, my father was one of the first in our village to own a motorcycle. It was quite a novelty and special at that time. With his wealth and status he makes sure he raised all his children with equal care and affection.
When my Father died, everything changed in a way I never envisaged leading to major upheaval. My brother, the firstborn, seized control of our father's properties. He failed to consider us siblings' needs and rights to the properly. He decided that rather than distribute the inheritance equally amongst all the children as was customary, he would sell off the vast farmlands.
More unfairly, he kept land sale money all to himself instead of fairly sharing our inheritance from father's hard work with us younger kids. We received nothing - zero part of what we have always believed to be our rightful inheritance from father.
As is common practice in our village and many places, it is expected that upon a father's passing, his eldest son will inherit the family land and primary residence according to traditional rights and obligations. This responsibility requires significant financial sacrifices to uphold important cultural and religious duties to honor one's late father. In some families, all siblings may join together equally to fulfill these duties, and then share in possessing their father's property.
However, in my family, while my siblings and I contributed our efforts to perform the necessary rites and traditions after my father's death, my eldest brother unfairly chose to keep all the inherited land and assets for himself alone, rather than distributing it equally as is usually expected. I was left with no option other than to forge my own path going forward.
It was incredibly painful to lose out on what we had anticipated inheriting and relying on for our future stability and livelihoods. My father's success over many decades had provided a sense of security not only for himself but for all his children. We had grown up understanding that portion of the lands and assets would one day pass on to us, as is the tradition. Now, with nothing to our names, my siblings and I faced immense struggle and uncertainty. It was difficult to accept going from having that expected wealth and property to suddenly being left with nothing through no fault of our own.
While I focused on building my own livelihood, the injustice of the unequal inheritance continued to bother me. However, upon reflection I realized pursuing legal action would be a lengthy and uncertain process, and not guaranteed to change the situation or bring resolution. It did not seem worth the time and effort involved. Instead, I chose to accept what had transpired and focus my energy on forging my own future through hard work and determination.
While I could not change what had transpired according to my brother's unjust actions, I refused to remain helpless. Despite losing what I felt I was owed according to our traditions, I was determined to make my own way in life through hard work and perseverance. With no land of my own, I knew I would have to start from nothing. I worked diligently to earn and save resources. After some years went by, with efforts made earnestly, I eventually was able to gathered enough resources to buy a plot of land outside my village, where I am building my own house.
Not like expected inheritance. But decent starting point. From there I continued working hard and expanding my holdings, establishing my own prosperity independently of my brother's unfair dealings. While injustice will always sting, this story shows that with resilience and determination, one can still forge success through their own efforts against difficult odds.
While the unfairness I faced caused much pain and difficulty, my story is one of overcoming adversity through perseverance and self-reliance. By sharing my experience, I hope it can inspire others who feel they have lost what is rightfully theirs or who must start anew with little.
Unfair events happen in this life sometimes; things that are beyond our control. However, we control how we respond. You don't have to be a victim, instead ,take charge through perseverance, hard work, and resilience despite setbacks.
Let my message empowers you - your background doesn't matter; you can achieve dreams through dedication, no matter your starting point.
Injustice exists, but so does humanity's ability to overcome and transform itself. I hope that anyone facing struggles finds encouragement in pushing past them to create their own success story.
I hope my story provides a message of empowerment. No matter what unjust situations life presents, we all have the ability to overcome hardships through grit, perseverance and believing in ourselves.
