'Jolted awake in horror': Nightmares from deadly Mirpur clashes haunt residents

Raifa Islam was only 9-days-old when she first heard the sounds of teargas shells and bullets tearing through the air on 17 July. 

For the next five days, she would scream and tremble with her eyes wide open every time a shot was fired in the Mirpur-10 area during fatal clashes between quota reform protesters, law enforcers and activists of the ruling Awami League's various associate bodies.

"The clashes ended two days ago. But Raifa still shivers and cries whenever she hears a loud sound, even when she's asleep," Abdur Rahman, her father, told The Business Standard today.

"It was worse than a battlefield on Thursday and Friday. Several teargas shells fired from helicopters fell on the alley next to my house. The sounds of shots being fired rang throughout the days."

Rahman, himself, sometimes has nightmares about the clashes. He is not alone.

As the quota reform protest took a violent turn across the country, the capital's Mirpur turned into a warzone.

"Sometimes I'm jolted awake in horror. I feel like a bullet will be fired any moment again," said Rahman.

Masud Ahmed, a resident of Mirpur's Kazipara, said, "Police fired shots in our alleys during the skirmishes. Many from my areas were injured. I am still afraid to go out." 

Meanwhile, as most people are choosing to stay at home amid a nationwide curfew, businesses are counting losses every day. 

Daily wage earners are bearing the brunt of the violence. Md Kabir, a rickshaw puller from Mirpur-10, one of them.

"It has become difficult to live day to day. I have to pay Tk350 to the rickshaw-owner every time I take a rickshaw from the garage. But these days, I do not even earn Tk300 a day while I used Tk1,000 before the clashes," he told TBS.

"As people are not coming out on the streets, my income has dwindled to the point where I can't even pay the rickshaw owner. I want this situation to end."

Abu Rayhan, manager of Prince Sweets and Bakery in Mirpur-10, opened his shop after a week of closure. He gave a similar depiction of the state of business in the area.

"I closed my shops on 17 July as the situation turned extremely violent. Around 40 kg sweets and fast-food worth Tk10,000 have gone rotten. All my employees have no income now. I took a risk and opened the shop today," he said.

"On a usual day, we would be making sales up to Tk50,000. I haven't been able to sell even Tk100 so far today." 

Some others fell victim to vandalism and looting during the clashes. 

"The clashes erupted out of nowhere. I ran to home with my life after closing shop somehow. There were Tk42 lakh worth goods here. They looted over half of those," Ilias Hossen, a fruit shop owner in Mirpur-10 lamented.

The remnants of the clashes are still visible in Mirpur. 

Broken windows, glass shards, torched stores, uprooted trees, damaged road dividers can be seen piled up here and there. Daily life had come to stop. 

Now, residents and businesses want life to return to normalcy. 

"When the clashes began, I closed my shop and took shelter inside it. I haven't experienced something like this before in my life," Mojibur Rahman, owner of an electronics shop in Mirpur-11.

"I hope this situation will get resolved soon and I will be able to go back to business as usual."