Three-year-old Arobi Ferdous, a tiny, innocent soul, has been robbed of her father’s presence. Her world has changed forever, though she is too young to grasp the magnitude of her loss or the uncertain future that lies ahead.
Arobi’s father Masud Rana, a small business owner, was shot dead at Mirpur-10 in the capital on 4 August 2024 during the mass uprising, just a day before the fall of the fascist regime led by Sheikh Hasina.
For her mother, Jannatul Ferdous, the grief is unbearable. Each day is a battle between mourning her husband and worrying about how she will now raise their only child alone.
“No one from the government has reached out to us yet,” Jannatul says, her voice trembling. “But we are grateful to Tarique Rahman. He is the only one who has come to our aid.”
“Some of his representatives visited our home in Mirpur-1, expressed their condolences, and provided financial assistance. They assured us of continued support with monthly payments for our daughter,” she told the Daily Sun.
Similar stories echo across the capital.
Swapna Rani Dey, a resident of Shonir Akhra, lost her husband Saikat Chandra, a private sector employee, in the uprising on 20 July.
“He was the sole breadwinner for our family. Now, I am left with the burden of raising our son, who is in Class VI, and our daughter, who is in Class II,” she said, her voice trembling. “Tarique Rahman has helped us with Tk2 lakh.”
Tarique Rahman’s compassion has reached other families in different parts of the country as well.
Among them is the family of young journalist ATM Turab, who was fatally shot by police at Court Point in Sylhet on 19 July.
“BNP leader Ruhul Kabir Rizvi visited our home in Beanibazar on behalf of Tarique Rahman, offering his condolences and financial support of Tk1 lakh,” said Turab’s brother, Jabur.
The deposed Awami League government stands accused of committing genocide during the July uprising, with around 1,000 people, including students, losing their lives and over 20,000 sustaining injuries from bullets fired by law enforcement and Awami League activists.
Scores of the injured lost limbs, eyesight, or suffered permanent disabilities, while many remain bedridden in hospitals across the country.
Under Tarique Rahman’s directive, his personal philanthropic organisation, Amra BNP Poribar (ABP), alongside the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, has been working to support the families of those killed or injured in the uprising, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told the Daily Sun.
Tarique Rahman has taken responsibility for street children injured by police firing, providing for their medical treatment, he added.
Rizvi, also the chief adviser of the ABP, met the street children at Zero Point and conveyed Tarique Rahman’s message about taking responsibility for their treatment.
Many of these street children were injured by police firing under the fascist Sheikh Hasina government. Tarique Rahman, the main sponsor of the ABP, has taken responsibility for the medical treatment of such injured street children, including Suman, Ibrahim, Hriday, and Rishi.
Tarique Rahman has also taken responsibility for the treatment of Mohammad Ibrahim, who suffered bullet wounds during the student-people movement.
A delegation of ABP visited Ibrahim at a city hospital on 18 October and informed his family that Tarique Rahman has taken responsibility for his treatment.
Ibrahim, who comes from a very poor family, suffered critical bullet injuries in police firing while taking part in the anti-discrimination student movement at Madan in Netrokona upazila. He sustained wounds from over 100 rubber bullets, and one bullet pierced his eye, reaching near his brain.
Tarique Rahman has also taken responsibility for the family of Sagar, a rickshaw puller who was shot dead during the student-led mass uprising.
A delegation of ABP visited Sagar’s house at Moulvitek in the Rampura area of the capital on 6 September and informed his family.
“I was shot and injured in the student-led movement. Tarique Rahman has taken responsibility for my daughter, who studies at a college in the capital. He provides a monthly stipend for her education,” Alamgir, a rickshaw puller from Konabari in Jatrabari, told the Daily Sun.
Speaking to the Daily Sun, Atikur Rahman Ruman, convener of the ABP, said they have initially made a list of 242 injured and 422 families of martyrs of the mass uprising to provide financial and other support on behalf of Tarique Rahman.
“It is an ongoing process. We have made a primary list of the families of the victims, and it will increase further. So far, we have already provided financial support to 116 injured and 53 martyrs’ families. We have continued our philanthropic activities under Tarique Rahman’s directive,” he added.
Atikur Rahman Ruman further said Tarique Rahman regularly inquires about the condition of the families of the martyrs and the injured, giving necessary directives to support them.
Dr Farhad Haleem Donar, executive director of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation (ZRF), said that under Tarique Rahman’s directive, the organisation’s Rehabilitation Committee has been supporting the families of victims of the mass uprising.
“The Rehabilitation Committee has already treated around 1,000 injured in the movement, and surgery was performed on around 250 people who had been shot,” he said.
Farhad Haleem Donar, who also serves as an adviser to the BNP chairperson, added that the ZRF is providing financial support to the families of the martyrs from the July-August uprising.
“Apart from the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, Tarique Rahman has also directed all BNP front and associate organisations, as well as local leaders, to stand by the victims of the mass uprising,” he added.
The BNP acting chairman has been carrying out various philanthropic activities through personal initiatives, both publicly and privately, along with the party’s efforts across the country.
In his message from London on 5 August, the day of Sheikh Hasina’s downfall and flight, Tarique Rahman said that students, like in ‘52, ‘71, and ‘90, have once again created history and paid humble respect to the mothers who lost their beloved children in this mass revolution.
“I congratulate the brave students and people of Bangladesh at this glorious historic moment. Hasina fell through the historic revolution of the people, at the cost of thousands of martyrs,” he said.
Source: The Daily Sun
