'I woke up late, so I survived': Man recalls day when bullets from Myanmar hit his house
A border resident recounts how he evaded a hail of bullets that came from Myanmar amid the conflict between the junta and rebels
"If I had woken up early, I would have been hit by bullets. I survived because I woke up late that day," said Shahidul Islam, a resident of Ghumdhum Betbunia Bazar in the Naikhongchhari border area of Bandarban sitting in the tea shop he owns.
Sitting there, Shahidul was narrating his experience of surviving a hail of bullets that hit his house and were fired from across the border amid the conflict between the Myanmar junta and rebels on Tuesday (6 February).
His name had come up during a conversation with Ward-5 member Anwarul Islam when discussing the border situation.
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Shahidul wanted to show the condition his house was left in as he narrated the incident.
His house is half a kilometre away from a camp of the Myanmar border guard.
Going to Shahidul's house, multiple bullet marks were found on one side of the wall of the paved house.
Bullet went through three inches deep into the iron door of the house.
The tin-shed roof has also been punctured by bullets.
Most of the trees near his house have been damaged by the firing.
Mortar shells and bullets hit the ground, creating craters.
BGB members came and removed them, Shahidul said.
"Even though I get up early every morning, I woke up a little late that day. I was still in bed. But before I could understand anything, bullets hit my house. It was 8:50am. If I had not been on the bed, bullets would have hit me," the 25-year-old said.
Due to the conflict inside Myanmar spilling over near the border area, he stayed up till 3am the previous night.
Describing the incident, Shahidul Islam said, "Even though it is a border area, our house is located in such a place where bullets are never supposed to reach. We are supposed to be safe no matter the chaos across the border. But the gunshots of that day still ring in my ears."
"That day there was more tension in the Tumbru area than other days. I stayed up till 3:00am fearing there might be some conflict. That's why I woke up late the next morning. But, suddenly there was a hail of bullets hitting my house. Gunfire shots were all around me," he added.
Shahidul said the window pane near the bed he was sleeping on, broke due to the firing.
"Glass shards from the window fell on the back of the bed. If those had fallen on me, I would have died for sure," he said.
There were only three people in the house that day – Shahidul, his brother and father.
As the situation worsened, the remaining members of the family were sent to live with relatives' in Cox's Bazar.
"If there were children at home that day, they would be playing outside. Surely the bullet could have hit them," Shahidul said.
"I am afraid to stay at home since that day. I sleep alone in the shop. My brother and father stay at home. Now every sound I hear sounds like a gunshot," he added.
Shahidul's father, 70-year-old Syed Noor Sikder, said, "I was in the toilet during the firing that day. I was shocked to hear the sound of gunshots and bullets hitting the house."
"My brother is a freedom fighter. Such a situation did not arise after the 1971 war," he added.
Syed Noor Sikder's elder brother Nurul Islam is a freedom fighter and retired army man.
Narrating the incident, Nurul Islam said, "That morning I was sunbathing with my family members in the yard. Around 8:30am gunshots were heard. I immediately ducked down and moved to a safe position. Then I asked my family members to get into the house."
