A twenty year-old man injured in a petrol bomb attack on the eve of his voyage abroad has had his dreams of a better life go up in flames.
Twenty-year-old Jilkad Islam was supposed to be packing his bags ahead of his flight to Saudi Arabia where had a job offer lined up.
Instead he is writhing in pain at the Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), after his passenger bus was firebombed in Comilla, killing seven outright and injuring 16.
Jilkad was not the only one on the bus who was looking forward to a new life.
Six were admitted to the DMCH along with him. One patient, Rashedul, has since died.
Rashedul was scheduled to go to Qatar on February 3. Rashed’s uncle, Yousuf, was also scheduled to go to Qatar but was burned to death inside the bus.
On level four of the Burn Institute yesterday, Jilkad was found groaning in pain as his father, Jahirul Islam, dressed his wounds with new bandages with the help of a ward boy.
Asked what would come of his son’s foreign work prospects, Jahirul said he did not know what the future held. “What can I say? I have paid Tk3.45 lakh for the trip to Saudi Arabia.
Everyday the recruiting agency calls to ask about his condition, but I have no answer for them.”
“The medical check-up was done and we received confirmation for Jilkad to go to work in Saudi Arabia. Now everything is uncertain,” Jahirul said.
The elder son of cattle trader Jahirul, Jilkad is from Singair in Manikganj. Jilkad’s brother, Akram, is a student of class five at a local school.
Jilkad and three friends had taken a trip to Cox’s Bazar on January 26 ahead of his scheduled departure for Saudi Arabia.
He was burned in the attack on February 2 on a Dhaka-bound Icon Paribahan bus from Cox’s Bazar.
When the bus reached the Chouddogram area of Comilla, arsonists threw a petrol bomb at the bus, leaving seven people dead and 16 injured.
Dr Partha Shankar Pal, resident surgeon of the DMCH Burn Institute, told the Dhaka Tribune that Jilkad is now out of danger but had sustained 20% burns and would take time to heal completely.
“Of the one hundred and twenty-four patients that have been admitted to the DMCH Burn Institute since the blockade began, 57 are still undergoing treatment,” he said.
At DMCH, 15 patients are currently in critical condition with seven being treated at the Intensive Care Unit and eight others being treated at the High Dependency Unit.
Nine patients have died while being treated at DMCH.
Across the country, 38 people have died from burn injuries sustained in petrol bomb attacks. The total death toll from blockade-related violence stands at 72.