Children aged between 18 months and 11 years are seen screaming from the pain caused by splinters in their bodies. One is frustrated he is going to miss his first ever public exams coming ahead. Their parents – injured, too – are counting every minute, anxious by the thought that they might not see their children jovially engaged in regular activities in near future.
The disheartening picture prevails in Dhaka Medical College Hospital’s ward 206, which is accommodating victims of last week’s grenade attacks on a Shia Muslim gathering at the Hussaini Dalan in Chawkbazar.
As of yesterday, two died in the attack while over a hundred people were injured.
Halima Begum, one of the victims of the attack, was found busy trying to make her one-and-a-half-year-old boy sleep.
Halima, whose husband Munir Hossain also sustained injuries, said: “My son Kayes continuously cries. He has splinters in his left leg and right foot. Doctors said he was too young to go through an operation.
“I do not know when I will see my son back to normal life.” Halima cannot hold back her tears.
Two more children also suffered injuries on that night as unidentified attackers threw grenades at a gathering of Shia Muslims who were preparing to bring out their traditional Tazia procession on the occasion of Ashura. The children themselves are Sunni; their parents went to participate in the procession to fulfil a “manat,” a promise to Allah in return for relief from troubles.
One of the children, Mohammad Hasan, is just six. His mother Rina Begum said she and her son were opposite the graveyard when the attack took place. She tried to save her son but failed.
“My child is hurt on both hands and the doctors have not removed the splinters yet. They said a splinter entered his neck and seemed life threatening,” she told the Dhaka Tribune on Thursday.
Later, Residential Surgeon Riaz Morshed said they had checked on the patient and prescribed medicines to prevent infections.
Mohammad Sohan, 11, fear that he might miss his PSC exams starting November 22.
Playing on his mobile phone, Sohan said his condition was better than before, but sometimes the pain gets unbearable.
His day labourer father said he went to the Tazia procession every year.
“I am not much educated myself, so I invested in my son’s education. For poor people like us, it is very hard to recoup the time that is lost from my son’s life,” said the distressed father.
Sohan has injuries in his stomach and waist and had gone through an operation already. Residential Surgeon Riaz Morshed told the Dhaka Tribune that the three children were recovering fast and hopefully will get well soon.