A future with a food cart: July uprising victim Ratul charts a new life
Determined to support his family and stand on his own feet, Ratul recently started a food cart in Uttara Sector 7 in front of Uttara High School
Police grabbed Raisul Islam Ratul by the waist and shot him at close range in the stomach. His intestines spilled out. When others rushed to help, police opened fire indiscriminately, killing six to seven people on the spot in Uttara that day.
It was the second day of a massacre at the hands of the Awami League regime on 19 July, 2024.
Ratul survived, but at a devastating cost — he lost a kidney and now lives in constant pain, reliant on painkillers to function. Despite his condition, he refuses to be a burden on others.
Determined to support his family and stand on his own feet, he started a food cart in Uttara Sector 7 in front of Uttara High School.
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After a post about his cart went viral on social media recently, we interviewed Ratul. He recounted how his life was turned upside down on the fateful day in July.
Once a 12th-grade college student with dreams of studying abroad and supporting his family, Ratul's courage during the July uprising came at a high price. He dared to question oppressive authority. Now, he lives through unbearable physical agony and strolls towards an uncertain future.
What happened to Ratul?
Ratul was deeply disturbed when footage surfaced following the police killing of Abu Sayeed on 16 July. He joined the uprising on July 17-18 as protests against Sheikh Hasina's regime grew larger and wider across cities.
On 18 July, Ratul visited Bashundhara's residential area out of curiosity, where private university students protested. "I saw so much blood – more than I'd ever seen before," he said, "Injured students weren't even getting proper treatment."
Moved by what he witnessed, he decided to distribute first-aid kits the next day. He bought supplies from pharmacies and patrolled Uttara on 19 July, planning to help injured protesters.
But things quickly escalated on that Friday. Nationwide protests erupted after Jummah prayers. Near the Azampur foot-over-bridge by the Azampur BDR Mosque, police targeted protesters and opened fire near mosques.
"It made me furious," Ratul recalled. "They were shooting people and swearing. I confronted them, asking why they were doing this."
"I can hope for help, but I can't depend on it. I didn't join the uprising expecting anything in return. Everyone appreciates my initiative [food cart]. I don't want to live in other's mercy, but I'll be happy if people support me."
Moments later, police grabbed him by the waist. "I realized they were going to kill me. I said I wouldn't move, and before I understood what was happening, one of them shot me in the stomach at point-blank range."
His intestines spilled out, and the police fired at anyone who tried to rescue him. "At least six to seven people were killed there," Ratul said.
'Why are you treating the traitors?'
Fellow protesters managed to rush Ratul to Uttara Adhunik Medical College, where an emergency doctor gathered six colleagues to operate on him for six hours.
"I was awake the entire time. I kept my eyes open because I thought if I closed them, I'd never wake up again," he said. "I saw them tear my T-shirt and push my intestines back into my stomach. The pain was beyond comprehension."
When police raided hospitals that evening, they learned Ratul was in the ICU. Vans arrived to arrest him, but the doctors refused to release him.
"They told the doctors in front of my parents that [protesters] are traitors. "We shot them to kill, why are you treating them?'," Ratul recounted them saying.
His injuries were life-altering. One kidney was entirely destroyed, and a large portion of his abdomen had to be surgically removed. "I suffered the agony of death. I literally used to look out for the angel of death thinking I would die any moment."
He was released from the hospital in late July.
A future with a food cart
Although Ratul can walk and talk now, he lives with chronic pain, eased only by painkillers that can potentially cause more damage to his remaining kidney.
After Sheikh Hasina fled, various organisations helped Ratul access treatment at the Combined Military Hospital (CMH). However, doctors said a full recovery was impossible in Bangladesh.
Still, Ratul refuses to rely entirely on others. "I can hope for help, but I can't depend on it," he said. "I didn't join the uprising expecting anything in return."
Facing mounting medical costs – Tk10,000 every 10 days – Ratul decided to take matters into his own hands.
With his ageing, unemployed father who is also in poor health, Ratul launched a food cart in late December, hiring a chef to manage operations, while making sure he also remains present. It cost Ratul about Tk70-80,000, which he managed on loan.
"Everyone appreciates my initiative. I don't want to live in other's mercy, but I'll be happy if people support me," 17-year-old Ratul said.
Balancing his board exam preparation, medical needs and the food cart's success is a monumental challenge. "I'm all alone," Ratul admitted. "I don't know how far I can go."
Ratul intends to sit for the HSC exam this year.
