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“When people go to my father and tell him that his son has gone blind, he cannot easily accept it. That makes me cry. But I cannot cry in front of my father – he is an elderly man. This makes my other brothers cry.”
July fighter Aman Ullah, who lost his eyes after getting hit by bullets, shared his sorrow while talking to the Daily Sun.
Such grief is anguishing many who lost their eyes during the July Mass Uprising in 2024 that ousted the Sheikh Hasina-led government after her long 15-and-a-half-year rule.
Some of them told the Daily Sun that they are now a burden to their families, and many of their near and dear ones now look down on them.
The government is not looking after them properly, they said.
Despite the patients’ serious condition, the relevant state hospitals have not been recommending that the government send these victims abroad for better treatment as they are still carrying bullets in their eyes, said some victims.
Aman, 22, said, “I was injured on three separate days. On 3 August, I was first wounded as rubber bullets fired by law enforcers hit my left leg in the Andar Kella area. On 4 August, I was beaten with batons in the New Market area. On 5 August, bullets pierced my two eyes in the Laldighi area, blinding me forever.”
“Three bullets pierced both my eyes. Two were removed during an operation, but one is still lodged in my right eye,” said the fighter.
The doctors said that the remaining bullet cannot be brought out as the process might worsen his condition.
“I think if I can get treatment abroad, I will recover. For this, the recommendation from a government hospital is needed, but I could not get one,” he said.
Aman added that the government assured them of training and rehabilitation but implementation is still a far cry.
Durjoy Ahmed, 30, who passed the HSC examination, worked at a travel agency. During the July Uprising, he joined the movement.
“On 20 July, I, with other protesters, was demonstrating near the Maddhya Badda U-loop in the capital. Suddenly, police fired shots. I and two others fell down after being hit by bullets.
“Two died on the spot. I am alive but lost my two eyes. Now, I am a burden on my family,” he said.
“A bullet is still in one of my eyes. If the government wants, it can send me abroad so that I can recover,” said the fighter.
Nur Alam, 35, lost one eye completely while 70% of the other one was damaged during the uprising in the Signboard area in Jatrabari, Dhaka, on 18 July.
“I request the government to arrange proper treatment for me so that I can work to support myself and my family,” he said.
According to the National Institute of Opthalmology & Hospital, a total of 864 July fighters were admitted to the institute with injuries to their eyes. Of them, 493 lost one of their eyes while 11 lost both eyes.
But the three aforementioned July fighters told the Daily Sun that at least 20 lost both their eyes. As they often meet at different programmes, they know it well.
Mohammad Faruk Hosen, joint secretary (July Uprising Cell) of the Ministry of Liberation War Affairs, told the Daily Sun that if the July fighters apply to the ministry, they will request the relevant government hospitals to recommend that they be sent abroad for better treatment.
“Without a recommendation from the doctors, the ministry cannot do anything in this regard,” he said.