July uprising: 2 years on, painful lives of the wounded linger

Shafiqul Islam, 43, cannot recall how long he lay bleeding on the street after being shot in the leg. By then, the evening light was fading into dusk. The gunfire and commotion had largely subsided, giving way to a strange stillness in the wake of a war-like situation. It was then that an auto-rickshaw driver pulled Shafiqul up and rushed him to the hospital.

The date was 16 July 2024. On that day, Abu Sayed was martyred by police fire during a protest in Rangpur, while Shafiqul ended up in a hospital bed after being shot in Gazipur. His home is in Dhap village under Sariakandi Upazila in Bogura.

Shafiqul, who lost a leg in the July mass uprising, is now dependent on government allowances. Yet, only two years ago, he earned a decent living driving a pickup truck. He was officially registered on the government list three months before his leg had to be amputated. Consequently, his name was not included under the ‘critically injured’ category, causing him to receive Tk 5,000 less in monthly allowances.

Like Shafiqul, many of those injured in July are now reliant on government allowances, living their lives in hardship. Prothom Alo recently spoke with five such individuals, including Shafiqul, who suffered injuries during the July mass uprising.

Notably, the former interim government enlisted the deceased of the July mass uprising as ‘July Martyrs’ and the wounded as ‘July Warriors’. According to data from the July Martyrs’ Memorial Foundation, 865 people were martyred in the July uprising, while 15,903 have been listed as wounded.

The government provides allowances based on the severity of the injuries. Those critically injured are classified under Category ‘A’, the seriously injured under Category ‘B’, and the moderately injured under Category ‘C’. Individuals in these three categories receive monthly allowances of Tk20,000, Tk15,000, and Tk10,000 respectively.

Lieutenant Colonel (retd) Kamal Akbar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the July Martyrs’ Memorial Foundation, told Prothom Alo that due to a shortage of funds, it has not been possible to provide full assistance to every martyr and wounded individual. Furthermore, the foundation’s staff have not been paid their salaries for the past five months.

He stated that the foundation required Tk3.83 billion to assist the July martyrs and the wounded, out of which the interim government provided T1 billion. A total of 6,300 people have received aid so far.

Mentioning that the foundation requires an additional Tk2.63 billion to provide rehabilitation support to everyone, Kamal Akbar added that the incumbent government has assured them the funds will be released soon.

Recalling the events of that fateful day, Shafiqul said he had transported chickens in his pickup from Rangpur to Kaptan Bazar in Old Dhaka. On his way back, he stopped at Shafipur in Gazipur. After having lunch, he stood in front of a shop to buy a betel leaf when he was suddenly shot.

After lying bleeding on the street for about an hour and a half, an auto-rickshaw driver took him to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital in Gazipur.

Shafiqul alleged that he faced severe neglect upon admission. Six days later, he was transferred to the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR). He received little to no support there either.

However, the situation transformed after the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August. In Shafiqul’s words, “After that, they began to value us. They actively sought us out to provide proper medical treatment.”

Returning home to Bogura after two months in the hospital, Shafiqul’s leg suffered from recurring infections. At one stage, six inches of his bone were surgically removed.

When even that failed to stem the infection, the section from above to below his right knee was amputated on 8 February last year at the Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College Hospital.

Because he had been listed three months prior to this amputation, he missed out on the ‘critically injured’ classification. As a result, he receives a monthly allowance of Tk 15,000.

BRAC has provided Shafiqul with a prosthetic leg, which he uses for travelling longer distances; otherwise, he relies on crutches. The Inqilab Manch has gifted him an auto-rickshaw, which he rents out to earn Tk 4,500 a month.

His wife, Reshma Begum, is a homemaker. His eldest daughter, Sushmita Islam, 21, is an Honours first-year student at a local college, while his younger daughter, Mariam Sultana, 14, is in class-VIII.

Shafiqul remarked, “You can well understand, two daughters are studying, and there are education expenses. There are household costs. Having lost my leg, I can no longer work. My income has completely stopped.”

Md. Ariful, 32, spent the months of January and February in the hospital. Shortly after returning home, he had to be readmitted in May. Following two months of treatment, he returned home at the beginning of July, but the infection persists. He has to be hospitalised repeatedly due to a severe infection in his leg bone, having undergone 12 surgeries to date.

On 19 July 2024, a member of the law enforcement agencies shot Ariful in the knee while he was participating in the student protest near the Rampura Bridge in the capital.

Ariful mentioned that his motorcycle was set on fire just before he was shot. His home is in Bil Palsha village under Raninagar Upazila in Naogaon. His only child, Ayesha Moni, 9, lives with her grandmother.

Ariful explained that following his divorce in 2020, he moved to Dhaka and took up a job at a cement shop in Badda. As the salary was meager, he simultaneously operated ride-sharing motorcycle services.

Ariful is the eldest of two siblings. His father is a sharecropper. For the convenience of travelling to and from his medical appointments, he currently resides at his maternal uncle’s home in Enayetpur village under Raninagar Upazila.

An organisation named ‘Oparajeyo 24 Foundation’ has set up a shop for him near his uncle’s house. However, as he spends the vast majority of his time in the hospital, he cannot run the shop properly. Consequently, his livelihood has become entirely dependent on government allowances.

Two years ago, Md. Mizanur Rahman, 42, led a bustling life in Dhaka. Today, he faces boundless idle time. Apart from visiting the physician and walking in front of his house, he has very little to do. His income has plummeted compared to the past.

Following the fall of the Awami League government during the mass uprising on 5 August, he was struck by a bullet fired from the Mirpur Model police station in Dhaka.

Mizanur, who studied up to the eighth grade, hails from Dhaknai Kurarpar village under Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila. He used to drive the car of an engineer in Dhaka, whilst also handling some office errands for him. This earned him a monthly income of Tk30,000 to 32,000. Currently, as a Category ‘A’ July-wounded recipient, he receives a monthly stipend of Tk20,000. Managing household expenses with this amount has proven incredibly difficult. Even leasing a betel nut orchard and rearing cattle have not been enough to balance his finances.

Mizanur explained that because he has lost his eyesight, he has become entirely dependent on others. He now lives in his village home with his parents, wife, and children. His wife, Mst. Nurjahan Begum, 32, is a homemaker. His two daughters, Mst. Mariyam, 15, and Mst. Mariya, 9, study at a madrasah.

During a brief pause in the conversation with Mizanur, his father, Altaf Hossain, shared his grief, saying it breaks his heart to think that his son can no longer see. He lamented that he lacks any financial capacity to support his son.

“We are uneducated, ordinary people! We don’t understand much. We didn’t even know where we needed to go,” said Belal Hossain, 39,.

Despite losing the sight in his right eye to a bullet during the July mass uprising, he has been placed under Category ‘B’ on the government’s list. He was completely unaware that the July wounded were being provided with advanced medical treatment in Dhaka free of charge.

Although he received grants from the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs and the deputy commissioner’s office, he has received nothing from the July Martyrs’ Memorial Foundation.

Belal’s home is in Sariakandi Upazila, Bogura. After losing his homestead to river erosion three years ago, he has been residing at his maternal grandfather’s house in Kursapara municipality with his wife and three children.

Belal is the third of five siblings. His wife is Shahida Akter, 28. His eldest daughter, Mosammat Asiya, 17, and son, Mohammad Huzaifa, 11, study at a madrasah. His youngest son, Mohammad Abu Talha, is 4 years old.

Belal used to drive a battery-operated van, averaging about five trips a day transporting goods, which yielded a monthly income of Tk25,000 to 30,000. On 3 August 2024, he travelled to Bogura town to deliver timber goods and was caught in the gunfire.

Noting that running a family solely on the government allowances is an arduous struggle, Belal mentioned that losing the sight in one eye used to cause him immense emotional distress. However, he has now composed himself and tries to think positively. In his words: “Now I think, I am alive—that in itself is a massive thing!”

“It is difficult to make people understand. They think, ‘Well, he is getting an allowance, surely that is enough.’ But I do not want to rely solely on allowances and charity. I want training; I want work. This is vital for my self-confidence,” asserted Aman Ullah (22), who lost the sight in both eyes during the July mass uprising.

He is a resident of Thekapara village under Longadu Upazila in Rangamati. Aman Ullah is the youngest of two brothers and two sisters. He used to work transporting timber for a company. With the financial assistance he received as a wounded warrior, he has set up a grocery shop next to his house.

Aman Ullah related how he had funded his own education up to his HSC exams in 2023 by working variously as a mason and a day labourer. Eight months prior to being injured in July, he had taken up a job as a manager at a hotel in the Anderkilla area of Chattogram.

Aman Ullah stated that he joined the movement on 2 August. Upon hearing the news of the government’s fall on 5 August, he joined a victory procession. When he reached the Jailkhana intersection in the afternoon, he witnessed the police firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and pellets indiscriminately.

Aman Ullah recalled, “A boy standing right next to me was shot in the head and collapsed onto the street. I felt pellets hit my back. As I turned around to look, a policeman shot at me. I only heard a sound, and suddenly realised I could see absolutely nothing. Blood was streaming from my eyes.”

Aman Ullah noted that he received treatment at various times in Dhaka and Chattogram through government assistance. However, the bulk of his medical care took place at the Chittagong Eye Hospital and Training Centre, where he is receiving surgeries and treatment entirely free of cost. His most recent surgery was performed on 2 June.

Physicians report that after several rounds of surgery, Aman Ullah can perceive a faint glimmer of light in one eye, enabling him to navigate familiar surroundings. Statistically and legally, however, Aman Ullah is blind.

Reflecting with a tinge of regret, Aman Ullah said, “Many people assume that since we cannot see, we will live off charity. They ask, ‘What will you achieve with training?’ I want the government to pay special attention to making visually impaired individuals like us productive.”