A surreal day: Revisiting the first day of country under curfew
The government had announced curfew in Bangladesh, something that has not happened in years, Friday night, after more than 100 people were reportedly killed in three days of protests for quota reform
Two days into the internet blackout in Bangladesh, Mizanur Rahman suddenly remembered that his pre-paid electricity wallet was running in the minus. He rushed to check the details, and found that the wallet was at minus 200, which means he might run out of electricity any moment.
He tried to recharge his electricity wallet through mobile banking channels, but in vain, as MFS services also collapsed with the internet blackout.
He went to the stores outside to look for a way to recharge electricity wallets, but it was a curfew day after all, and most stores were shut and the streets were mostly empty.
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"One guy at a store said that he tried to recharge electricity to a customer but he didn't receive the pin in return, which needs to be inserted in the electric meter," Mizanur said. "As long as the internet blackout persists, there is no way you may recharge electricity, the store guy said."
"I am genuinely scared of what is going to happen if I run out of electricity. There is no sign when internet might be back or the curfew withdrawn," he added.
The government had announced curfew in Bangladesh, something that has not happened in years, Friday night, after more than 100 people were reportedly killed in three days of protests for quota reform. At least 56 people were killed Friday alone.
On Saturday noon, when curfew was relaxed for two hours, this reporter took a rickshaw, paddled by an elderly rickshaw puller.
"Last time I saw a curfew was in the early 90s when the Babri mosque was demolished," he told TBS.
Besides curfew, there is an internet blackout too. So, we had no way to immediately verify if there was truly a curfew in place back then, but colleagues at the TBS confirmed last time we had a curfew was back in 2007 during the 1/11 era.
Whereas some people distantly remember the last curfew, Mahmud Khan hardly has any memory of that event as he lived in village back in the day.
When Khan was stuck in an hour-long traffic in Kanchpur road on the night of July 18, he didn't realise there was a mass protest on the Dhaka-Chattogram Road. He came from Chattogram for a surgery to remove a tumour.
Even on the afternoon of July 19, amid the nationwide internet blackout, Mahmud hoped to see his doctor the next day. However, he never imagined a curfew would be imposed on July 20.
"I am supposed to return to my workplace next week, but without the surgery, I cannot continue working," Mahmud, who is currently at his home in Savar, told The Business Standard.
He also informed that at around 1PM, two military jeeps patrolling the Savar highway asked locals to keep up with their normal life, and not break anything or start any procession.
"But the local people said, if we see police forces creating problems, we too will create problem," Khan said.
TBS journalist Abidur Rahman, on July 20th morning, witnessed a horrifying scene in Rayerbagh.
"There were tens of thousands of people on the street from Kajla Jatrabari to Rayerbagh amid the curfew. People are enraged and angry," Abidur said.
"In Rayerbagh, one person was killed and hung. The deceased was stripped down before the killing. I couldn't verify who he was, because protesters become enraged if asked anything. I couldn't recognise his face too, as it was bloodied," Abidur said.
Shahjahan Sheikh, another press professional, set out from his Mirpur home in the noon for his office.
He saw some 200 protesters near the indoor stadium at Mirpur-10. When he was passing them, he saw the BGB opening fire.
As he neared the Kazipara-Shewrapara areas, clashes between the protesters and security forces escalated to the extent that air in the area was filled with tear gases and sound grenade.
"I was terrified and feared for my life. I got inside a narrow lane and went back home through the alleyways," he said.
TBS photo journalist Mahedi Hasan witnessed clashes between protesters and security forces in Rampura. He said the area from BTV building to Malibagh Chowdhury para was riddled in conflicts.
"Military vehicles dispersed the crowd, but they once again took position after the army vehicle left the area," Mahedi said.
The curfew in Shekertek area began with a gruesome murder.
TBS journalist Nylah Shah recorded the harrowing details from Bilal, a building manager in Shekertek area.
"It was shortly after midnight (20 July). Two men stopped their motorcycles at the entrance to Shekertek. They were carrying machetes and bamboo sticks. They spotted someone on the road and started beating him up, dragged him around and finally stopped in an alley."
My wife and I watched him get beat up from inside the building. I have two babies, so we turned off the lights and went inside our flat. When the sun came up, I stepped out and saw the body lying there in front of our building. The security guard's wife in the opposite building, who live on the ground floor as we do, watched him get hacked to death through her window. The other guards on the streets saw the body get picked up later at around 5AM by a rickshaw. We're guessing its's someone familiar to him. Later I went and cleaned up the blood spilled in front of our gate," described the manager.
The curfew was expected to bring calm after three days of rage and deaths. However, it remains to be seen if it succeeds in doing so, or the protests, rage, and deaths continue.
TBS journalists Nylah Shah, Abidur Rahman, Nasif Tanjim, Kamrun Naher, and Mahedi Hasan contributed to the report.
