SATKHIRA, April 13, 2025 (BSS) – Alam Sardar’s family continues to live in the shadow of a heartbreaking loss since he embraced martyrdom on August 5, 2024  when he joined a victory procession in Assasuni Upazila of the district following the downfall of nearly 16-year autocracy.
 
The death of Alam, a 36-year-old day labourer, left his wife Asma Khatun along with their three children devastated with the loss of their sole breadwinner. The children still wait, hoping their father will return one day.
 
Asma recalled that after Sheikh Hasina fled the country on August 5 in face of the student-people uprising, her husband joined a victory procession with hundreds of locals at Taltala Bazar of Pratappur Union at Assasuni Upazila here in the afternoon.
 
“When the procession reached in front of local Awami League leader and former chairman Zakir Hossain in Nakna village, Zakir and Awami League-backed terrorists opened fire indiscriminately. My husband was shot nine times in the chest. Due to heavy bleeding, he died on the spot,” she burst into tears while recounting the memory of heartbreaking incident.
 
Asma (27) said her family was totally dependent on her husband’s earning. After losing their home in Cyclone Amphan, they had started living beside the WAPDA road. Later, they moved to a government shelter centre at Afdar Mor in Pratappur, where they are living now.
 
“My husband’s death left me completely helpless. Our eldest son, Ashraful Islam (12), is a seventh grader at the local Taltala High School. Our younger daughter, Azmira Khatun (8), is a third grader at Nurulia Madrasah while youngest son, Ahsan Ullah, is only two and a half years old,” she said tearfully.
 
Asma said her children still wait, thinking their father will return. “The little son spends the whole day calling ‘Abba, Abba.’

How can I make him understand that his father is no longer alive?” she lamented.
 
Speaking about financial assistance they got after her husband’s death, Asma said she received financial help from Jamaat-e-Islami, which helped her run her family still now. But, she said, she didn’t receive any support from the government or any other organization.
 
“I’m appealing to the government to rehabilitate my family,” Asma pleaded.
 
Former Ameer of Pratappur Union Jamaat, Maulana Al Amin said on August 5, under the banner of anti-discrimination student movement, the students and locals of Pratappur brought out a procession.
 
“When the procession reached in front of former chairman Zakir Hossain’s home, he and his associates suddenly opened fire, killing Alam Sardar, Anas Billah, and Adam Ali,” he added.
 
Noting that Jamaat-e-Islami has provided financial and food assistance to all the three families, Al Amin said it wasn’t enough for them to survive.
 
He urged the government to provide financial support to them and rehabilitate the families of the martyred people.
 
Martyr Alam’s father Rahim Sardar (60) and mother Rashida Khatun (55) said they are very poor—their only homestead was washed away during the Cyclone Amphan.
 
“We can barely manage our livelihood. Now we have no idea how our son's wife and three children will survive. We appeal to the government to support our son’s family,” they pleaded.