'Don't you want to be a martyr's mother?' Father remembers Osman's last words to his mother
“In his short life, my son never told a lie. He fulfilled his duties to us beyond what the Quran states. My son was truly brave,” says Abdur Rahman, Osman's father
On 4 August, Osman Patwari, a student of Chattogram Polytechnic Institute, sought his mother's permission to join the protests.
"Ammu, do you not want to be a martyr's mother?" he had asked.
Despite his parents' reservations, Osman left home that day to join the protest in Lakshmipur, where he was shot and killed.
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Osman's father, Abdur Rahman, spoke about his son's sacrifice today (31 December) at Chhatra Shibir's conference in the capital's Suhrawardy Udyan.
"Osman called me that morning and said, 'Abbu, please forgive me, I will go to the movement.' I told him, 'Son, the country's situation is not good. Don't go.' But he replied, 'If all parents hold back their children, then how will the oppressor fall?'"
Osman was aware of the evident risks. Before leaving, Osman asked his elder brother to take care of their parents if he became a martyr. He also wrote a letter to his younger sister, apologising to her.
"He sought his mother's permission. His mother recited Ayatul Kursi and stroked his head before he left," Abdur Rahman shared.
A month after his burial, Osman's body was exhumed for investigation.
"He was found in the same condition as when he was buried. Seven bullets were in his abdomen. The blood that flowed on the first day remained the same. When I touched him, his body was warm," Abdur Rahman said.
"I went to a religious scholar and asked why his body was warm. That scholar informed me that martyrs never die; they are alive. I wrapped Osman with a cloth brought from Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and buried him again," he added.
Abdur Rahman reflected on Osman's character, saying, "In his short life, my son never told a lie. He fulfilled his duties to us beyond what the Quran states. My son was truly brave."
Abdur Rahman also criticised the politicisation of martyrs' sacrifices.
"Do not divide the martyrs. If such divisions had existed before, a single autocrat would not have fallen," he said.
"Those accomplices of fascism in the administration must be found and brought to justice. The police have emptied the bosoms of hundreds of parents like us," he declared.
"Sheikh Hasina has lost relatives but not a child. We who have lost children know this pain. We demand justice for the oppressor Sheikh Hasina, so the souls of thousands of martyrs can find peace."
