What's happening in Bangladesh?-a RL post

[abyss_valkyrie]

Hello, guys. This post is a RL post, heavy with the current unrest in Bangladesh & mentions of death, so feel free to avoid it if you want.

Many of you may not know, but I am a Bangladeshi who lives in Saudi Arabia. Currently there's a lot going on in Bangladesh from the last couple of days. As news was spreading fast and people tried to get it trending on social media through tikotok, instagram, facebook etc., the government shut down the internet since last night, data, wifi, both & phone communications are down today. No one is able to contact anyone throughout Bangladesh and no news is being received about the situation, at least not fully.

I'll cite some things from wikipedia as I may not be able to write that well.

The 2024 Quota Reform Movement,^[45] dubbed as Bangla Blockade by the protesters, is an ongoing protest movement spearheaded by the students, as well as teachers,^[46][47] of both the public universities and private universities of Bangladesh. The movement demands the reform of the conventional system of quota-based recruitment of government jobs in the country.-Wikipedia

On July 1st, students started a normal, peaceful protest about the quota system in our country. What should have been a protest only turned into a violent all out war in a matter of days. The police are shooting & killing students of universities who simply asked for a change & their rights. So to give an idea, I'll first introduce y'all to the main characters:

The prime minister of Bangladesh: Sheikh Hasina.
She's the daughter of the father of nation (Sheikh Mujib) & has forcefully been in power for the last 10 years, without a fair election. Yes, our govt. has always been full of corrupted politicians but she's been on another level! I won't go into extreme details.

The Student League (Chatro league in bengali):
So there's a group of blind supporters of Sheikh Hasina-The Awami League & the student equivalent of that is the 'Student league'. These guys are as terrifying as they come, from beating up students who speak up against the govt. to torture etc., they do it all and get away with it.
On the other hand, there are other politicians who aren't as big of a deal.

General students & civilians who aren't part of political parties:
And there are the civilians who just want to live a normal life & unfortunately in most cases-can't. If we expect to get jobs based on merit alone without connections or even bribery in many cases, it's next to impossible. It's very hard to lead an honest life there even without luxuries, so many people like my dad left their country to work in other countries. But it's not possible for everyone or should even be needed in a country.

The freedom fighters (and their relatives & descendents):
They fought for the independence back in 1971. Sheikh Mujib was a prominent leader of the movements at that time among many others. After the war, the freedom fighters were given preferences and benefits, which is totally fine & as it should be. That extends to the relatives of freedom fighters' (children, grandchildren of freedom fighters) quota for jobs, university seats and so on. This quota however has been abused by the supporters of Sheikh Hasina.

The traitors (Rajakar):
The people who betrayed the country & worked with the opposing side during the war-dubbed the 'Rajakar'. Traitors, basically.

The problem lies here- anybody who doesn't support Sheikh Hasina or her ideals are said to be 'Rajakar' or traitors. She uses this in any interview to control her supporters who always get fired up & cause mayhem.

Coming back to what's happening:
The normal students in this scenario are the protestors. They asked for a quota reform based on this:

This leaves only 44% chances for the general population in a country of around 170 million people. The unemployment rate in spite of the literacy rate is insane!

Once the students asked for this, Sheikh Hasina, in a press conference basically questioned that if the quota is reduced for the freedom fighters, will that portion now be given to the 'Rajakars'? This fired up everyone as she basically implied that everybody who isn't with her is a traitor to our country. The student league(her supporters) started beating up everyone around & it was a bloody situation.
Wiki:Around 300 Chhatra League members, armed with GI pipes and sticks, threw bricks and glass bottles at the students. Shots were reportedly fired, injuring two journalists, including one from Dhaka Tribune and over 50 student protesters.
The police who should have calmed down the Student League started attacking the Student protestors.

The biggest turn: was when they shot one of the protesters about 4 times when he hadn't done anything but stood. I think it shocked all of us enough to come out of our bubble because for the first time, civilians who have nothing to do with political parties got shot to death for no reason. The number of deaths keep rising as we speak. The student league members are walking around with knives, pipes, anything to use in various neighbourhoods. Roads are being blocked, cars and buildings are being set on fire.
Wiki:Police also charged batons and fired tear gas canisters at the students and lobedb tear gas shells at the BRACU campus.^[128][129] Reports indicated that approximately 30 students were killed by the Bangladesh police.^[130]

The first martyr student. He is now the face of the protestors; Abu Sayed, only 22 years old, a university student. Shot by rubber bullets multiple times from what I've learnt that caused him to die in the hospital later on.

The situation at present:
4G network was shut down at the sites of protest but it wasn't enough. Now all of Bangladesh has no intenert for more than 36 hours. All phone communications are down. They have now set up a curfew. Rumor has it that the army has been deployed. For what?! To fight University students?!
Wiki:The Bangladesh Police, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Prime Minister's Office and Bangladesh Chhatra League's official website was hacked by a pro-protester group^[136] as a response to the violence and attacks carried out by the police and the Chhatra League.^[137][138]
At around 9 pm, the government shut down internet access across the entire country.

The reason I'm even writing all of this is because...I feel helpless, yet full of hope that these youngsters may just be able to change something in my country for the better. They are fighting back in their own way. But if this doesn't work, nobody will ever stand up for justice again. Not in another few decades. This needs International coverage and intervention, because if it's left in the hands of the leaders of my country, we're done for.

The only reason I'm able to write anything now is because I came back to Saudi Arabia today. When we had planned to return from my vacation in Bangladesh, never would I have thought I'd be worried about the conditions of the road & if we could make it safely to the airport. We did & here I am, trying to get as much reach as possible.

Iconic lines thrown at the police by a few female teachers and students:
"Check this guy's back, I don't think he has a backbone." It sounds hilarious in Bengali.
"Hey, don't insult the police in English, they can't understand you." No, cause even a 15 year old Bangladeshi who has had basic schooling knows enough English to communicate.

A few pictures:


Their signs read-"Went to ask for my rights & became a traitor." "Not you, not me, we are not traitors."

Tumblr posts that also talk about this:
There is a decade and a half of grievances littered with disappearances, killings, disproportionate violence towards people, unfair systems, CorruptionTM, etc etc. There were very few parts of our lives as Bangladeshi citizens that were untouched from the lurking, cloying darkness of the government's incompetence and corruption, and this is not to mention the treatment of ethnic minorities.
To read more about their thoughts go here:
https://www.tumblr.com/ori-flails/756519158492053504/fyi-to-whoever-sees-this-if-the-situation-in?source=share

Thanks to profietrole_reads I found this comprehensive post:
https://www.tumblr.com/ori-flails/756522002775506944/httpswwwinstagramcomcubangla-on-18th-july