“I can get my son back if the government intervenes. I have been waiting for my son for so long, and I cannot hold myself any longer,” said Hazera Khatun, mother of BNP leader Sazedul Islam Sumon who disappeared two years ago.
She was describing the ordeal she had been going through since her son disappeared while addressing a press briefing at the National Press Club yesterday.
The briefing was arranged by family members of 19 men, who all were said to have been subjected to enforced disappearance by law enforcement officials between November and December, 2013.
Sumon, general secretary of BNP’s Ward 38 unit, was allegedly picked up by RAB between December 4 and 5, 2013.
Sumon’s sister Marufa Islam Ferdousi said the consequences of a disappeared person never ends only with him. “The victim could be the only breadwinner of the family. Thus the whole family suffers when such crimes are committed.”
Rehena Banu Munni, sister of another disappeared man named Selim Reza Pintu, told the briefing: “I do not want my brother back. Rather, the government can kill our entire family. We cannot take it any longer.”
She told the Dhaka Tribune at the end of the briefing she went to police several times for help but they never agreed to file a case over the disappearance of her brother. “Later, I filed a case with a Dhaka court but still police do not seem to care at all.”
Nizam Uddin Munna’s father Shamsuddin said he would urge the government to disclose where his son had been buried. “This is how we can at least visit the grave of my son and pray for him.”
Mashiur Rahman, brother of Mazharul Islam Rasel, said he was not sure about seeing his brother again.
Sayeda Shammi Sultana Nipa said her husband was picked up by plainclothes policemen and never returned.
“I have a son and he is passing his days without the care of his father. I now live with my in-laws. I am very worried. What will happen if my husband never returns?
“I have no job and am now fully dependent on my in-laws. How can I survive with my child if my husband does not return?”
Hridi Hossain Kochi, daughter of Parvez Hossain, said she wanted her father back who would take her to school and park.
“It has been long since I saw my father. I want to go to school with him. My mother cannot buy me an ice cream because she has no money,” she said in a voice choked with emotion.
Dhaka University Professor Asif Nazrul and Ain O Salish Kendra Director Nur Khan were present at the briefing but did not give speech.
Nur Khan told the Dhaka Tribune it was the government’s responsibility to find out the disappeared men.
“Also, if the victims are in custody, legal steps should be taken or they should be freed,” he said.