Civilian deaths, grieving families overlooked
Thursday, 5 March 2009
No official authorities have been in touch to help Rashida Begum, whose husband Amjad Ali, 52-year old construction worker, was killed by a stray bullet on February 25 in the early hours of the BDR mutiny, reports bdnews24.com.
"I had seen my husband sleeping when I left home in the morning. Returning at noon, I learnt that he had been shot," Rashida told the news agency Tuesday.
Ali was hit by a bullet near Gate No. 5 of the BDR Headquarters at Hazaribagh around noon on February 25, as he was out buying medicine.
"Not knowing where to go, or what to do, my youngest son and I ran from one hospital to another," said Rashida.
"We eventually found his body at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue."
Ali's family lives in a ten feet by eight feet dwelling at Rana Bakery Lane slum at Hazaribagh paying Tk 1,200 rent a month.
Of her six children, the eldest lives in Mymensingh with his family. Muslim, the second son, works at a grocery store near their home, earning Tk 2,000 a month.
This and another Tk 1,500 earned by Rashida herself as a domestic help is the total income of the family.
"We had to borrow more than Tk 10,000 to take my husband's body to his village home for burial," she said.
"We are so poor that we can hardly manage our daily food," said Rashida.
Muslim looks plainly shattered by the bereavement.
"The three younger children Robin (5), Babu (10) and Putul (6) don't yet comprehend that their father is dead," she told the agency.
Asked if the family has received any assistance from any government or private sources since the tragedy, Rashida said, "We are poor slum dwellers. Who'll come to enquire into our wellbeing?"
His red T-shirt turned redder with blood
Fourteen year-old Hridoy Bepari was hit in the head by a stray bullet opposite the main gate of BDR HQ at Dhanmondi as he went to see what the shooting was all about on the first fateful day.
Hridoy used to help his 50-year old father Raja Miah, and elder brother Jasim, sell vegetables from a van.
Finishing his day's work last Wednesday, he approached the Pilkhana compound to get a firsthand impression of what was happening.
He never returned home.
At the family home, on Haji Afsaruddin Road at Zigatola, Hridoy's mother Hamida Begum and grandmother Sabia Khatun are mourning the teenager's death.
"I had seen my husband sleeping when I left home in the morning. Returning at noon, I learnt that he had been shot," Rashida told the news agency Tuesday.
Ali was hit by a bullet near Gate No. 5 of the BDR Headquarters at Hazaribagh around noon on February 25, as he was out buying medicine.
"Not knowing where to go, or what to do, my youngest son and I ran from one hospital to another," said Rashida.
"We eventually found his body at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital morgue."
Ali's family lives in a ten feet by eight feet dwelling at Rana Bakery Lane slum at Hazaribagh paying Tk 1,200 rent a month.
Of her six children, the eldest lives in Mymensingh with his family. Muslim, the second son, works at a grocery store near their home, earning Tk 2,000 a month.
This and another Tk 1,500 earned by Rashida herself as a domestic help is the total income of the family.
"We had to borrow more than Tk 10,000 to take my husband's body to his village home for burial," she said.
"We are so poor that we can hardly manage our daily food," said Rashida.
Muslim looks plainly shattered by the bereavement.
"The three younger children Robin (5), Babu (10) and Putul (6) don't yet comprehend that their father is dead," she told the agency.
Asked if the family has received any assistance from any government or private sources since the tragedy, Rashida said, "We are poor slum dwellers. Who'll come to enquire into our wellbeing?"
His red T-shirt turned redder with blood
Fourteen year-old Hridoy Bepari was hit in the head by a stray bullet opposite the main gate of BDR HQ at Dhanmondi as he went to see what the shooting was all about on the first fateful day.
Hridoy used to help his 50-year old father Raja Miah, and elder brother Jasim, sell vegetables from a van.
Finishing his day's work last Wednesday, he approached the Pilkhana compound to get a firsthand impression of what was happening.
He never returned home.
At the family home, on Haji Afsaruddin Road at Zigatola, Hridoy's mother Hamida Begum and grandmother Sabia Khatun are mourning the teenager's death.