Imagine investing your hard-earned money for years to build your dream house in another country. Now, envision the heartbreak when that house, painstakingly funded with every dollar you saved, is revealed to be nothing more than a concrete skeleton.
That appears to be the tragic story behind a short video posted on TikTok by user Amanda (@amanda__ngo) on Nov. 16. The video quickly went viral, accumulating more than 3.5 million views in just two days.
In the video, the twist is quickly revealed with a couple of movements of the camera. The footage shows a building that’s still in the beginning stages of construction. It is accompanied by an onscreen caption that reads, “us at the house my dad has been sending money back to nigeria since my birth to build (they stole his money).”
The clip, which is only 10 seconds long, features a snippet of the song “Something That I Want” from Disney’s animated movie Tangled. As Amanda pans the camera around the concrete base of the building, she and her siblings burst into a sarcastic dance, making light of the disastrous situation.
@amanda__ngo ♬ I WANT SOMETHING THAT I WANT – Sturniolo (Taylor’s version)
In the comment section of the video, users were quick to empathize with the family’s predicament and share their own stories.
“My dad went back home for like 8 years and watched after the construction himself bc of ppl like this. I’m so sorry” one commenter said.
“Lmao happened to my grandma with her house in Mexico. We’d been telling her for years what would happen but she’s got a heart of gold,” a second added.
A third shared, “my dad had been spending money for a house in Mexico right behind my grandmas house and no joke it’s literally two cement rooms.”
However, others appeared to be more critical of the father for not taking more precautionary measures. “I never understood how people trust people like this. I thought they’d check in every 6 months at minimum and now with Whatsapp it could be every day,” wrote one user.
“So like.. did he never ask for pictures or videos of the progress?” another user echoed.
“why is this like a common thing,” a third commenter asked.
The Daily Dot reached out to Amanda via TikTok comment.