On the morning of August 5, 2024, twenty-year-old Abu Hanif stood among hundreds of protesters in Narayanganj’s Chashara intersection, chanting for justice, dignity, and reform.
By midday, he lay unconscious - his right eye shattered by a rubber bullet.
One year later, Hanif still lives with the pain, but not with regret.
“I endure unbearable pain every day,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
“The searing ache spreads from my eye to my head. I can no longer see with one eye. I have seen people martyred right before my eyes - yet Allah kept me alive and for that, I am grateful.”
Hanif’s story is emblematic of the July uprising’s human cost.
A madrasa student from Khairaki village in Ishwarganj, Mymensingh, he had dreamed of becoming an Islamic scholar and contributing to peace and justice.
He enrolled at Jamia Usman Ibn Affan (RA) Al Islamiya Qawmi Madrasa in Narayanganj, hoping to build a life of service. But the political movement that swept Bangladesh in July 2024 changed everything.
Initially hesitant to join the protests, Hanif finally stepped into the streets on August 4, moved by the death of fellow student Abu Sayeed in Rangpur and the escalating violence against demonstrators.
The next day, he returned to Chashara, where he witnessed another protester shot dead before his eyes.
Moments later, Hanif himself was struck - his retina torn, his vision lost.
Fight for survival
Fellow protesters rushed him to a pharmacy, then tried to shelter him in a private home. But the area was swarming with police and ruling party affiliates.
Only after news broke that prime minister Sheikh Hasina had resigned did Hanif’s friends manage to get him to the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Dhaka.
Emergency surgery was performed within hours.
Doctors confirmed he would never regain sight in his right eye. Two more surgeries followed, but his condition remained unchanged.
Foreign specialists later confirmed that only advanced treatment abroad might offer partial recovery.
Hanif was discharged in May 2025 with a promise of further care. But that promise, he says, has stalled.
“Even when I went for treatment two weeks after Eid, I was denied entry - despite being scheduled for surgery,” he said.
“This government came to power through our student movement, and now these state-run hospitals are making our treatment uncertain.”
He now studies at Jamia Muhammadiya Shamsul Uloom Madrasa in Savar, though frequent pain and tearing make it difficult to concentrate.
He has nearly run out of medication and cannot afford to buy more. The Tk2 lakh in government assistance and Tk1 lakh from the July Foundation helped temporarily, but the long-term burden remains.
Promises unkept
Hanif is listed as a Category A injured protester.
The government pledged that one family member of each injured protester would be offered a job. That promise, too, remains unfulfilled.
“Even a job would help my family survive,” he said. “One of my fellow protesters regained 50% of his vision after treatment in Chennai. But my family is too poor to afford that.”
His plea is simple: that the government take responsibility and send him abroad for advanced care.
In November 2024, the interim government announced a roadmap for lifetime medical care for July victims, including unique ID cards and overseas treatment for complex cases.
But Hanif says he has yet to benefit from these measures.
A voice for the forgotten
Hanif also expressed concern about the country’s deteriorating condition.
“Recently, an NCP activist was attacked in Gopalganj. Incidents of mugging, murder and unrest are rising. The government remains silent and the police are inactive. Ordinary people have no safety.”
He continued: “Many July fighters like me are now adrift - some lost limbs, others lost their eyesight, and some lost their lives. Our only demand is that the government ensures proper medical care and rehabilitation for the injured and grants due respect to the martyrs and their families.”
Despite everything, Hanif remains resolute.
“We took to the streets for our country. I only want our dreams not to vanish in the dark. Our treatment must be guaranteed as our right.”
When asked whether he would join future protests, Hanif didn’t hesitate: “Anytime, under any circumstances - I will rise again for my country.”
“There’s no doubt. I will never back down.”
