By Syed Altefat Hossain

DHAKA, Nov 24, 2024 (BSS) – When the student-led mass upsurge was ascending towards the peak, Md Juel, 34,  was massively motivated by spontaneous participation of all levels of people to oust autocratic ruler Sheik Hasina.          
Juel realized that it is time to sacrifice his life as people of the country virtually are trapped with shackle of ruthless discrimination.

  He took farewell from her wife at the night of August 3 before his martyrdom on the next day during the student-people uprising, saying “Allah will take care of my children if I embrace martyrdom”.

Around 12midnight on August 3, Juel’s wife Sumaiya Akter (23) was cooking on the stove at another's kitchen as there was no gas in their stove. At that time, he asked her to come out of the kitchen and said he wanted to say something to her.

“But before he said anything, I guessed and asked him would you like to tell me about joining the movement? He replied, “Yes, I will go to the movement tomorrow”,” Sumaiya burst into tears while recalling her conversation with her husband over the movement.

At that time she wanted to convince him so that he doesn’t join the movement, saying, “There is no need to think about me, but please, think about your two children- three and half year old daughter Sidratul Muntaha and 10 month-old son Md Abdullah. If something happens to you, they will be orphans”.

But Juel, a technician of a private company, joined the movement on the next day defying the love, affection and profound bond of his parents, wife, children and two other siblings.

Actually participation of thousands of people like Juel turned the anti-discrimination student movement into a student-people uprising that successfully ousted autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina ending her 16-year-long fascist regime.

Sumaiya became emotional and weeping continuously while she was recalling her abortive attempts of barring her husband from joining the movement even using the most emotional words and as well as using their children as shields.

When Juel was not convinced and showed his adamant to join the movement on August 4, she said at one stage she held her husband’s legs as the last option to refrain him from the movement.

“If people would not join the 1971 Liberation War listening to their wives, the country would have not been liberated. Don’t worry, nothing will happen to me,” weeping Sumayia quoted her husband as he told her.

“In case, if I embrace martyrdom, I will be a fortunate one to sacrifice myself for the country.

You will be the proud wife of a martyr. My children can say that their father sacrificed his life for the country. Allah will take care of my children,” she also quoted Juel as he was saying.

Throughout the anti-discrimination student movement, Sumaiya said Juel used to encourage his family members to stand by the agitating students, saying many parents and guardians were taking part in the movement.

Revisiting the memory on the day of Juel’s martyrdom, his bereaved wife said Juel woke up from sleep around 11am and after refreshment he wanted to go outside. But she obstructed him at that time.

However, after some time, he went somewhere, where he passed a long time and returned home around 4pm and wanted to have lunch.

“As I was in the kitchen at that time, I asked him to go to the dining table, saying Amma (my mother-in-law) will give him rice. But he was calling me to come out of the kitchen, saying that he wanted to have lunch with all of the family members.

When I delayed to come, he scolded me. However, after having lunch, I again went to the kitchen,” sobbing Sumaiya said.

According to Juel’s father Sirajul Islam (65) his son used to take meals alone. He never had meals with all of the family members together.

But on that day, he called everyone to the dining table and had lunch together.

Juel’s younger brother Md Al Amin, who is an honors third year student at Demra University College, said after lunch, around 4.30pm his brother went out of the house following a phone call from someone.

“When Bhaiya (my brother) was going out, I was asking him not to go to the movement at such a time as it was late afternoon, rather I suggested him to take part in the movement the next morning. But Bhaiya didn’t listen to me,” wailing Al Amin said.

Sumaiya said she came to the room from the kitchen around 5pm and found her husband was not there. As it was the time of Asr prayers, she first offered the prayers and then she made a call to Juel around 5.17pm.

“I was feeling unstable in the prayers. Therefore, I immediately called him after finishing the prayers when he told me that he was at Shanirakhra,” she said, adding, when she asked him why he didn’t inform her before going outside, Juel replied, “If I informed you, you would have not allowed me to come out. Therefore, I didn’t inform anyone”.

According to Juel’s younger sister Sharmin Sultana, who is a feedback office at a private medical, she met her brother in front of their house around 4.30pm while she was going to Signboard area with two cartons of biscuits, oral saline and water to distribute among the agitating people there.

At that time she asked Juel to go with her, but he told her that he will go to Shanirakhra to join the movement.

Al Amin said around 5.30pm, he called his brother and asked him to come home saying that curfew will be enforced from 6pm, but Juel informed him that there were many people in Shanirakhra and said, “Is it possible to suppress the movement by imposing curfew?”

“I called him again around 6.10pm, but I could not reach him. After sometime, someone received the phone and said my brother might have received bullet injuries and he suggested we go to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH),” he said, adding, he and his sister immediately left the house for DMCH without informing family members as their father is a heart patient.

Later, they came to know that Juel was shot by “police” in the Kajla area while a picture showed a bullet pierced through the left side of his chest.
   
However, when they reached DMCH, Al Amin said, there were two students who informed them that they received a total of five people taken to DMCH from Shanieakhra. Of them, four received injuries while one died.

“So, at first we saw the injured people, but we didn’t find my brother among them. At that time, my friend called my apu (sister) and asked her to return home, saying the body of my brother was taken home by an ambulance,” weeping Al Amin said.

Juel’s wife, however, said around 7pm, she received a phone call from an unknown number while someone wanted to know whether anyone in their family joined the movement.

“I told the caller that my husband went to the movement. I received another phone call from the same number around 7.47pm and told me that there was sad news for me that my husband died,” Sumaiya burst into tears while saying this.

She said the person took the address of their house and sent the body. “I gave him the address as I didn’t know that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law were out to find their brother,” Juel’s sobbing wife said.

Sumaiya, who is now seeing sparks before her eyes about her future along with her two children losing her, said nowadays, education is very expensive. “So, I want the government to do something for my children”.

She demanded justice for killing her husband.

Juel’s brother Al Amin said they took part in the movement in two phases- first from July 17 to July 20 when the student movement turned into a mass movement with the participation of people from all strata following the martyr of Abu Sayeed.

During the first phase, Al Amin said, “We saw many people were shot dead in front of us”.

Later, they took part in the second phase from August 2 to August 5 while his brother embraced martyrdom on August 4.

Juel’s weeping father Sirajul Islam, who was a former garment worker, said he became bewildered after losing his son, who was the main earning person of the family.

As Sirajul Islam cannot work due to heart complications and a stent was set up in his artery on July 15, Juel was the only breadwinner of the family.

“My well set family has been destroyed due to the death of my son. We don’t know how we will run in the future,” he added.

About how the family is being run now, he said his daughter- Sharmin Sultana, who was married off years back- and youngest son- Al Amin, who is teaching student as private tutor- are contributing to the family.

Juel’s mother Nilufa Begum has been sick since her son’s death. Mentally devastated mother of Juel said, “I cannot forget my son even for a single minute and I am confined with memories of my son.