Fourteen-year-old Shahadat Hossain Shaon emerged as a ray of hope for his day laborer father Md Bashir Alam (60) as he was very good in study among his five siblings.
Shaon had a dream to join Bangladesh Army and he wanted to bring financial solvency. But his dream witnessed a tragic end when he was fatally shot dead by police on August 5.
Like thousands of cheerful people, he took part in the joyous procession in the city’s Jatrabari area following the downfall of autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina.
But the fate did not favor Shaon even to reach an adult age as he was fatally shot dead by police when he went out to express joy along with hundreds of thousands of people on the streets in the city’s Jatrabari area following the downfall of autocratic ruler Sheikh Hasina.
Shaon was a Najera, a class before starting memorizing the holy Quran, and class-two student at Nure Madina Al Arabia Madrasah in front of Dholaipar High School besides his residence in Paschim Dholaipar area.
Shaon, being the youngest son of Bashir, used to show his father a dream of changing their fates once he completed his study and joined the military force.
“My son Shaon was very good at study. Among my five children, four sons and a daughter, only Shaon was continuing study,” Bashir said in an interview with BSS at his house in Paschim Dholaipar area at Jatrabari in Dhaka city.
“He had a dream of joining the Bangladesh Army. And we had a dream of changing our fates through Shaon,” Shaon’s weeping father was losing control of his emotions while revisiting memories and dream of his son .
Shaon was like a stick for his father as he used to help his father in his work of selling Halim in front of Jatrabari Boro Madrasah at Kutbkhali area.
Shaon used to tell his father that he will fulfill his dream of performing hajj travelling by airplane, which is like a daydream for the lower income people like Bashir.
“Abbu (dad) you are now doing hard work under the sun and rain. Abbu, you will lead a very happy life one day. I will fulfill your dream of traveling by airplane to perform Hajj,” Bashir quoted his son as he used to tell him.
Jatrabari area including Kajla and Shonir Akhra on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway was turned into a battlefield since July 17 as people of all ages and genders joined the street demonstration under the banner of anti-discrimination student movement.
According to an eyewitness, a woman was seen chanting slogans on the streets with her six to seven-month child on her lap.
All of Shaon’s family including his father and elder three brothers-Md Hanif, Md Saddam and Md Yeasin- actively participated in the movement in Dholaipar, Kajla and Jatrabari areas.
According to eyewitnesses, when the government was apparently able to suppress the movement in different parts of the city after imposing curfew on July 20, the Jatrabari area remained under the control of protesters until the downfall of the fascist government.
According to Shaon’s father, ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s comment of ‘Rajakarer baccha’ hurt Shaon badly and inspired him to join the street protest.
“Sheikh Hasina termed us as sons of Rajakars. We will dedicate our lives for the country to probe ourselves that we are not sons of Rajakars,” Shaon’s father quoted him as he told his friends.
Describing the incident of Shaon’s martyrdom, eyewitness Md Hamim, an 11th grader of Government Shaheed Suhrawardy College, said hearing the news of fall of fascist Awami League (AL) government hundreds of thousands people from all ages and genders thronged streets in Jatrabari area.
“I and my cousin along with thousands of people went to Jatrabari on foot from Dholaipar over the flyover. When we reached Jatrabari, we saw two policemen firing live bullets randomly from the roof of Jatrabari Police Station building,” he said.
Hamim, who was on the street demonstration since July 17, said at one stage his cousin suggested him to leave the spot as there was a very bad situation amid indiscriminate live bullet firing.
“When we were trying to leave the spot around 2.40pm, I saw Shaon was falling down on the flyover with bullet injuries in his head. A policeman fired three live bullets at Shaon while the first one missed the target but the second one hit his hand and the third one hit his head,” he said.
In a video it was shown that soon after Shaon received the bullet injuries on his hand and head, Hamim was the first person who went to rescue Shaon, but he could not do anything due to random firing.
Later, Hamim along with help of others rescued Shaon and took him to a private medical in Doyaganj. Later, they took him to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where the duty doctor declared him dead.
Shaon’s father Bashir and mother Shamsun Nahar Begum became bewildered by losing their most beloved son, as he was supposed to have emerged as a godsend to them to change their fate.
When this correspondent went to Shaon’s residence in Paschim Dholaipar along with his father Bashir by a rickshaw, Bashir was crying throughout the way and was saying, “Many people tell me ‘you will get a huge amount of money’. I told them what will I do with this money?”
“Please, take the money and I will also give more money and everything I have, but please give back my son, who will call me Baba (dad) again and make my heart pleasant,” Bashir said in a crying voice.
Noting that Shaon used to urge him to mosque for offering prayers and taking snacks and food, he said, “I lost my golden plate. Now, who will ask me to go to the mosque? And who will take care of me?”
Mentioning that Shaon’s memory is continuously hunting him for the last two and half months, he said, “Shaon used to sleep with me. In the morning of August 5, I asked him to wake up and go to bed (Khat) from the floor. Then he smiled at me, but did not utter any words. It was my last interaction with him. Still I cannot forget that scene”.
Stating that he still hears the voice of Shaon in the air, Bashir said, “I am not stable since I lost my son. I became seriously sick. My non-stop crying has badly damaged my eyesight”.
Shaon’s mother Shamsun Nahar Begum said in an emotion choked voice that Shaon was sleeping with her till 2pm on that day.
“On the day, I made gulguilla (a type of local cake). It was his last meal on my hands. After eating some gulguilla he said the cake was very tasty and ate some more,” she said while burst into tears.
Shamsun Nahar said, “When he was going out hearing the news of Sheikh Hasina’s fleeing, I asked him “Where are you going”? But he did not look back at me, rather he showed me a sign of bye using his hands from the back side. Because, he was apprehending that if he looked back I would have barred him”.
She said her son narrowly escaped a bullet on August 4 when he was on the streets in Kutubkhali area.
Describing Shaon’s fashion sense, his mother said on the day of his martyrdom, Shaon was attired in black matching dress.
“My heart has broken through his death. I still now feel that he did not die. I feel he might have gone to any relative’s house. He will return soon and hug and kiss me in his identical manner,” weeping Shamsun Nahar said.
Shaon’s eldest brother Md Hanif, who runs a shop on footpath, said he went to Dholaipar to join the movement at 8am on the day while police were firing indiscriminately at the protesters.
“At least 25-26 people were shot dead in front of us while I took a body to the DMCH, where the duty doctor declared him dead,” he said, adding, “But returning from DMCH, I heard that my brother received bullet injuries and subsequently died”.
Hanif himself also received rubber bullet injuries. With this injury, he said, “I went to our village home with my brother’s body. After burying him, I took treatment for my injury there”.
Shaon’s teacher Mufti ABM Sharif Ullah, founding principal of Nure Madina Al Arabia Madrasah, said Shaon had a smiling face. His behavior was very good. He never misbehaved with anyone.
“Whenever I gave him any work, he did it immediately. He was an affectionate boy. When I was arrested by the fascist Awami League government in 2021, he cried for a long time. As his father is very poor, I used to bear his educational expenditures,” Mufti ABM Sharif Ullah said.
About assistance, Bashir said none from the government or any other organization inquired about their wellbeing except Bangladesh Jamat-e-Islami gave them Taka 100,000.
About their dire economic situation, he said, “I could not visit a doctor due to the financial crisis. My wife is also very sick. Since Shaon left us she also cannot sleep. She is suffering from chest pain”.
He said they need Taka 400-500 medicines everyday while the price of a tablet for pain is Taka 1,200 (one tablet in a month).
“We could not accept brutal killing of our son . . . we only want justice for killing of our son.”
