My father used to say, ‘I couldn’t study because of poverty; My Child! you will fulfill my dreams,’ but now he is no longer here. I am destitute. How will I manage my education? There are so many expenses,” said Nuzhat Hossain, an eleventh-grade student at Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf College. Her father, Jamal Sikder, was shot and killed in the clashes that erupted on July 20 in the Pineadi area of Chittagong Road, Narayanganj, due to the quota reform movement. Jamal worked as a painter in Dhaka and lived with his wife and only daughter in a rented house in Rayerbazar. His ancestral home was in the village of Purbo Hosnabad in the Sarikal Union of Gouranadi Upazila, Barishal.
On Monday morning, a visit to the village revealed that Jamal Sikder’s house, located on the banks of the Arial Khan River’s branch, the Palordi River, was now gone. It had been washed away by the river. He was buried beside his parents’ graves on the riverbank. His wife, Shilpi Afrin (33), and daughter, Nuzhat Hossain, were sitting beside the grave, crying. Since their home in Purbo Hosnabad no longer exists, mother and daughter have taken refuge in the house of a local resident.
Shilpi Afrin explained that after the river eroded their home, Jamal moved to Dhaka with her in 2002. His elder brother, Abul Kalam, was a painter, and Jamal learned the trade from him. Despite many hardships, Jamal managed to support the family. He had hoped to go abroad for better prospects and to ensure his daughter’s higher education. He had made all preparations for going to Saudi Arabia with a free visa, having borrowed 5.5 lakh Taka. He had enrolled his daughter Nuzhat Hossain at Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf College in Dhanmondi on July 17. Jamal was scheduled to leave for abroad on July 25 and was bidding farewell to all relatives in Dhaka.
Describing the day of the incident, Shilpi Afrin said that in the morning, Jamal went to bid farewell to his aunt at her home in Pineadi New Mahalla, Chittagong Road. After having lunch, he went shopping with his brother-in-law, Tauhid Chowdhury, at around 5 p.m. During their outing, Jamal was shot and killed. He departed this world before he could even begin his journey abroad.
Tauhid Chowdhury (27), an eyewitness, said, “As we went out to shop and approached near the Dutch-Bangla Bank on Chittagong Road, we saw trouble ahead and decided to turn back. We ran towards home, but when we looked back, I saw my brother-in-law lying shot. As I approached him, they started shooting at me too. Only Allah knows how I survived.”
Tauhid Chowdhury added that they managed to drag Jamal Sikder a short distance and took him to Khanpur Hospital in a CNG auto-rickshaw. However, the hospital refused to treat him and advised them to take him to Dhaka Medical College. While en route there, Jamal Sikder passed away.
Standing beside the grave, Nuzhat Hossain said, “My father was my only support; Allah has taken away my refuge. I have just enrolled at Birshreshtha Munshi Abdur Rouf College. I don’t know how my mother and I will manage in the coming days.”
