Eyasin Sheikh. Photo: Collected

By Syed Altefat Hossain   

DHAKA, Feb 8, 2025 (BSS) – The martyrdom of Eyasin Sheikh, a 17-year-old gas cylinder supplier, in the 2024 July Uprising exposed his mother named Manjila Begum to a state of total wilderness emotionally and financially.

Eyasin, the sole breadwinner of his family, succumbed to a gunshot wound on July 25, four days after being struck by a bullet in the Shanir Akhra area of Jatrabari in the city on July 21 during the anti-discrimination student movement.

Eyasin’s life was marked by hardship from the very beginning as his father, Nur Islam, passed away 16 years ago, leaving his mother, Manjila Begum, to raise Eyasin, then only one year old, alongside his three elder sisters.

Manjila, aged 50, worked tirelessly in a paper factory to manage livelihood for her children. Despite the relentless struggle, she managed to marry off her daughters, pinning her hopes for a better future on her only son. But a bullet ruined her all hopes.

Eyasin’s mother burst into tears as this correspondent approached her for some words about her martyred son at their shanty-type two room rented house at Gas Road area of Kadamtali in the city’s Jatrabari area.

Recalling the harrowing day when her son was shot while returning home for lunch, weeping Manjila said, “My son left the house at 9am to deliver gas cylinders. Around 3:30pm, some boys informed me that Eyasin was hit by a bullet and was taken to a health facility in the Shanir Akhra area”.

She, however, said at that time, no one dared to help her at first to take Eyasin to another medical facility because the police were harassing those who assisted injured people.

Finally, Manjila found two boys to help her take Eyasin to Mugda Medical College and Hospital (MMCH). Eyasin battled for his life for four days but ultimately succumbed to his injuries in the morning of July 25.

Recollecting the harassment she faced to get her son’s body, she said in a sobbing tone, “We could not get the body due to police procedures until 2am on that day”.

Manjila said they were sent from one police station to another, with officers refusing to take responsibility, saying the place of the incident wasn’t in their jurisdiction.

“Finally, a police officer from Jatrabari Police Station went to the Mugda Medical around 2am and took my son to Dhaka Medical (College Hospital) for postmortem,” the grief stricken mother said.

Later, they took Eyasin’s body to their village home at Noihatiup Upazila in Khulna district on July 26 and laid him to his eternal rest at their village graveyard.

Mourning Manjila said she recently moved to their current two-room house with a hope of creating a better life for her son.

“I was preparing to get my son married. I moved to this house only for my son. Now, who will live here?” she lamented.

Recounting her days of endless anguish to raise her four children after her husband’s death, wailing Manjila said, “I sacrificed everything for my children, especially for my son . . . since my husband’s death 16 years back, he was my only hope to survive . . . but a bullet destroyed everything.”

“I hoped my son would take care of me in my older age . . . now I am alive, but my son is gone. Only those who lose their children know this pain,” she wailed.

The family’s financial situation has grown even more desperate since Eyasin’s death. Manjila and her eldest daughter Nur Jahan, who is divorced, are now living together and struggling to survive. Both are working at a paper factory on a daily basis, but their combined earnings barely cover basic needs.

The emotional toll on the family is immeasurable. Manjila’s health has deteriorated since the tragedy, and she thinks it is impossible to return to normal life.

“I have been sick since my son’s death,” Yeasin’s grieving mother said, giving pause in her words. Eyasin’s eldest sister, Nur Jahan, said they are a landless and homeless family. “My mother raised us with so much pain after our father died. My brother had emerged as a last resort to her. But at the death of my brother, my mother has broken completely,” she said in a sobbing tone.

Nur Jahan said she is still haunted by her brother’s memories. “My brother was good-hearted and hardworking. His death has left a void that can never be filled. The government should help my mother find a permanent shelter,” she added.

Manjila said, “My son was not involved in politics or any criminal activity. He was just a day laborer. I want capital punishment for those responsible for my son’s death”.