Street children in Chittagong are allegedly being used to carry out subversive activities during the recent political unrest.
The Dhaka Tribune found child labourers and homeless children involved with subversive activities such as hurling crude bombs and torching and vandalising vehicles during the opposition’s political programmes. Many were used as human shields in front of processions.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune, a six-year-old homeless boy Sumon (not the child’s real name) at the capital’s Colonelhat area, he said he was receiving Tk100 for hurling “red balls” each day.
“I have hurled crude bombs five times in the last two blockades under orders from local opposition men,” he said. Sumon said the men had instructed him to leave the crude bombs on the road if he failed to set them off on time.
For Sumon, hurling bombs was easy money compared to collecting waste from the city streets. His two other friends Kadir and Sagor (not their real names) were also involved in this “trade,” Sumon confided.
Another 10-year-old, Mishu (not his real name), a garage worker at the AK Khan Intersection area, said he had joined the BNP processions seven times during hartal and blockades in November in exchange for money.
His employer had kept the garage closed during the shutdowns and blockades fearing vandalism.
“I get Tk50 for joining a procession. But I got Tk100 once for being in the front lines of a procession,” he said.
Children victims of bomb attacks
A number of school-going children have fallen victim to violence in the opposition movement.
A seven-year-old, Minhaj Hossain Belal, lost his left eye when he was going to school after being hit by a splinter when blockade supporters hurled a crude bomb in the city’s Akbar Shah on the morning of December 3.
Sumaiya Akhter Sadia, 5, a playgroup student, received splinter injuries to her head at the same place on December 2. She was going to school with her mother on a rickshaw. The rickshaw puller was also injured.
Ariful Islam, a 14-year-old madrasa student, was severely injured when he picked up a crude bomb near his home assuming it was a ball on November 30.
Two homeless children Surma, 9, and Lal Mia, 8 were hurt by crude bombs at Beltola in the city on November 5 when they were scavenging for waste paper and scraps on the streets.
Sub-Inspector Monirul Islam of Akbar Shah police station said about 200 children in City Gate, Uttar Kattali and Colonelhat were involved in political violence.
Azizur Rahman, the officer-in-charge of Pahartoli police station, said children were also being used as informers to alert Jamaat-Shibir activists of any police movement.
“We have detained a number of kids from various spots. However, we released them later as they could not say anything about the party men who had hired them for conducting sabotage,” he said.
Sujayet Islam, the deputy commissioner (West) of CMP, said it was regrettable that children were being used in subversive activities.
“This will lead the illiterate and poor children into becoming criminals in the long run,” he said.
Syed Md Sajjad Kabir, a psychology teacher at Chittagong University, said the violence could severely damage the children’s development.
“The victims are becoming fearful about their surroundings, which will put a negative impact on their future life. The children engaged with subversive activities are being led into the dark world of crime through this process,” he said.
Banaz Kumar Mazumdar, additional commissioner (crime and operation) of CMP, suggested increasing social awareness to save children from being used in violence besides policing activities.
The Dhaka Tribune reported earlier that children and women in Dhaka were also being used to carry and set off bombs and burn vehicles in exchange for money.