Umama Fatema, former spokesperson for the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, has said the July uprising has unfortunately been turned into a "money-making machine."
She made the remark during a two-hour and 24-minute Live session on her verified Facebook account on Sunday night, where she shared a detailed account of her involvement with the platform and her eventual exit.
Umama said: “July–August was a lived experience, and it never occurred to me that one could make money out of it. So why on earth would I turn it into a money-making machine? But unfortunately, that is what it has become. It has happened very commonly, on a very regular basis.
“People say I made millions. All I can say is, I have a pretty good life. I come from a well-off family. I have never had to struggle financially. I do not need to use any identity to get a scholarship abroad. Allah has blessed me with a good CGPA, and I have studied a good subject as well. Thankfully, my family supports me. They do not see me as a money-making machine. They see me as a human being and want me to do something meaningful for the country.”
Referring to how the label of “coordinator” was misused immediately after the uprising, Umama said: “From the morning of August 5, I saw people using the ‘coordinator’ identity to take over spaces. Just the day before, people were reluctant to even identify as a coordinator. Suddenly, I was hearing about extortion and control under that name… It felt like a ‘coordinator force’ was forming, like the Rakkhi Bahini. I thought, what is the point of this platform anymore? Instead of controlling it, we should decentralise and expand it. That was not a wrong thought. But saying it made many people turn against me.”
She continued: “The [July] declaration event for December 31 was announced suddenly, then later cancelled. I was very upset about it. By mid-January, I heard they were forming a political party. I was not interested in being part of a party. By the end of January, I decided to leave the movement. In the second week of February, some members approached me and said, ‘Apu, come back. Let us rebuild the platform together.’ Later, I was accused of trying to take control. But I always saw my involvement as a responsibility. To me, the platform had lost its value — although for many, it was precious, as it gave access to DC–SP offices and government departments.”
She added: “I have wasted a lot of time in the past year. If I had focused on my own work, I could have done something better. The mental toll has been heavy, because we had dreams to do something for the country. Others might not have had that dream — maybe their dream was extortion. You brought me in and used me like tissue paper. But I am not a tissue paper!”
