Rahmatullah Sabbir, a student of Brajmohan (BM) College in Barisal, was permanently injured in the police firing during the movement to overthrow the dictator Sheikh Hasina. A splinter of the bullet is still lodged in his eye. Sabbir sometimes has to scream in severe pain in his eyes.
As a wounded warrior of the anti-discrimination movement, he shared his situation with Amar Desh, saying, "Even now, I find comfort in thinking that I can see the fall of the dictator Hasina, even if it is in exchange for one eye - this is a great comfort, a great success. However, sometimes I feel very sad seeing the impasse in my family."
Sabbir had a family of four, including his elderly mother and two brothers. However, he was the sole breadwinner in the family. His elderly mother had hoped that he would finish his education and get a good job to take care of the family.
Sabbir said, "Since my elder brother is physically ill, he is also unable to earn any income. My younger brother is still studying. Overall, I am the only earner in the family, and I have become a burden to the family, even though I am supposed to be the breadwinner."
It is known that the entire family is now sinking with a debt of more than 5 lakh taka for medical treatment in a family of poverty and hardship. In an exclusive interview, Sabbir, speaking about his plight, said, "I have just passed my honors-masters in Bengali literature from Barisal Government BM College. My late father and mother, with great difficulty and by borrowing from others, got me educated. My old mother and two brothers had hoped that I would take care of the family by doing a good job. But after losing my eyes in the police firing, that hope has now faded a lot."
Sabbir said, 'I have been participating in the student movement since the anti-discrimination student movement began on July 24. Since July 9, I have been participating in the movement every day with the students of BM College. While participating in the movement, I have been attacked by the police and Chhatra League several times. On August 4, the day before the fall of the government, at 5 pm, we were indiscriminately shot by the police in the C&B Road area.
At that time, three pellets fired by the police hit my eyes. I fell on the road covered in blood and was rushed to the Sher-e-Bangla Medical College (Shebachim) Hospital in Barisal. Since my condition was critical, I was admitted to the National Institute of Ophthalmology Hospital in Dhaka that night for advanced treatment. I was released after two months of treatment there.
Sabbir said, "Although it was possible to remove two splinters from my eyes, one splinter is still inside my eye, which the doctors said will never be able to be removed. One of my eyes was completely destroyed by police firing. I cannot see fully with the other eye either. The family's condition is also quite bad." At that time, he immediately called on the government to take steps to provide employment to the families of the martyrs and injured soldiers.
Fuzaifa Rahman, coordinator of the BM College student movement against discrimination, said, "Sabbir was a frontline fighter in the 1924 uprising. That's why he was targeted by the police. He lost his eye in the police firing."
Md. Shahadat Hossain, member secretary of the Barisal Metropolitan Branch of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, said, "The government has already taken steps to provide proper treatment to the injured soldiers of July. Apart from this, we are hopeful that the government will do something good for the families of all the injured and martyrs."
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