Aysha Begum became three hundred and sixty five days pale when the nation gained independence in 1971, too young to stamp the which strategy of ‘freedom.’ In her later years, pondering of politics or liberty became a luxurious she may perchance perchance never beget ample money.
Her point of interest remained solely on the fight to feed her family.
Now, because the oldsters beget a honest appropriate time one other victory — the descend of the Hasina regime — there don’t appear to be any smiles for Aysha. For the leisure of her life, this tournament will hang-out her somewhat.
This August, she misplaced her young son Shakil.
He became gunned down in Mirpur on 4 August when police and ruling birthday celebration goons unleashed bloody violence towards the participants of the July revolt. By then, the quota reform movement evolved into an all-out fight for Hasina’s ousting.
Mirpur – house to quite loads of tutorial institutions – became one among the hotspots that witnessed fierce avenue battles as folks, largely led by students, stood defiant in the face of indiscriminate shootings and assaults.
Twenty-three-year-pale Shakil Hossen engaged in the movement from the very starting.
Treasure other days, students from Mirpur’s Pallabi had deliberate to rob half in protests on the morning of 4 August. Shakil, alternatively, expressed his incapacity to hitch them. The family became planning to switch and he had to test for a home to hire. He became additionally feeling in glum health.
Spherical 11 am, students tried to rob regulate of Mirpur 10 nonetheless people of the Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League had already taken residing in the home since early morning – all armed with shotguns, pistols, machetes and sticks.
As soon because the students evolved from Mirpur 13 towards Mirpur 10, the ruling birthday celebration activists opened fire. The students retaliated by throwing brickbats nonetheless they were no match for the volley of bullets.
Yet, a working fight between the two facets persisted except 12:30 pm.
The smile
“Amid the clashes, I without note saw Shakil in entrance of Ultimate College. He became now not supposed to hitch the suppose that day. As soon as he saw me, he smiled at me,” Rajib Hossain, a friend of Shakil and a student of UODA, knowledgeable TBS.
Shakil became additionally a student at the University of Pattern Alternative (UODA). A vivid, politically awake formative years, Shakil participated in the 2018 Road Safety Circulate.
“After that,” Rajib persisted, “we, along with Shakil, began the usage of the benches of footpath vendors as shields and tried to come. Within the chaos of the clashes, I additionally misplaced my cell cell phone.
“, I saw Awami League activists advancing towards us, firing from the direction of Mirpur 10. I knowledgeable Shakil, ‘Let’s return.’ We speedy began retreating, and Shakil became with us.”
, Rajib realised Shakil became now not with him. While Rajib regarded for his friend, he saw as a minimal 5 folks lying on the avenue, gunned down, and 4 of them had been hit in the pinnacle.
Rajib became recounting the fateful day at Shakil’s Pallabi Block D rented home. Shakil’s mom, Aysha Begum, sat numb with a blank expression. Her pain hung. Additionally teach their own praises with them became Mim Akhtar.
Shakil, Rajib and Mim are all pale students of Amader Pathshala — a college in Mirpur 12, fade by volunteers, for underprivileged children. They shared a various bond. They engaged in activism for social commerce whereas pursuing bigger training.
Mim said, “Spherical 12:40 pm [on 4 August], I got a call informing me that Shakil Bhai had been shot and became being taken to Kurmitola Neatly being facility. A bunch of us went to the scientific institution, the attach we chanced on him unconscious on a stretcher.
The attending nurses consistently said his condition became serious and he desired to be moved to the National Institute of Neurosciences and Neatly being facility urgently.”
Aysha spoke then, “My son never pale to expose me when he became going to a suppose. On every occasion I chanced on out [that he was going], I may perchance perchance forbid him. However he went every day along with his chums without telling me.”
Recalling the tragic day, she said Shakil got right here house sooner than noon, had lunch and then took a 10-minute nap. Later, he got a call and left the home speedy, telling Aysha that he had chanced on a home.
After Shakil left, Aysha fell asleep. Spherical 2pm, about a of his chums got right here to wake her up with the news of Shakil’s damage.
She rushed to Kurmitola Neatly being facility nonetheless became knowledgeable that Shakil became at the neurosciences scientific institution.
They managed to reach the scientific institution at Agargaon after struggling via quite loads of roadblocks by the army personnel, the attach they were knowledgeable to flip reduction.
“I chanced on my boy with an oxygen conceal on and now not appealing at all,” Aysha recounted.
Shakil handed away on 7 August.
The scholar coordinators of the Mirpur protests are for the time being working on compiling a checklist bellow to Mirpur. Already, 47 deaths and nearly about 800 accidents were counted.
Will there be no justice?
In 2013, Shakil’s mom Aysha Begum moved to Dhaka from Bhola with her four children.
Resulting from financial constraints, she may perchance perchance now not invent obvious quality training for Shakil and his siblings. After they arrived in the metropolis, Shakil’s father stayed reduction in the village nonetheless fell in glum health.
Despite bringing him to Dhaka for treatment, he handed away after three months.
Aysha worked as a housemaid to invent obvious her children may perchance perchance proceed their training. She has since married off her two daughters.
At this stage in her life, Aysha Begum, having misplaced Shakil, is repeatedly forlorn. She spoke with the TBS team for nearly about two hours. At the quit of the conversation, she broke down in tears.
“On 3 August, I saw in the news that the police would now not shoot. Then who shot my Shakil in the pinnacle on the 4th? Sheikh Hasina said there were no thugs in the Awami League, that the total thugs were in the opposition. Then what about the Awami League’s gang that shot at my Shakil and hundreds of alternative boys? Will there be no justice for this?” requested Aysha as she wept.
Each person in the room stood in silence, including Rajib and Mim. There were no words to console Aysha Begum, a mom who misplaced her little one to the July-August bloodbath, and in all likelihood there never could be.
