They were brothers, fathers, sons, uncles, husbands and their absence was acutely felt. Standing with tearful eyes in a human chain in the capital, their loved ones asked the government where they had gone?
Many cried loudly, some wept silently, others stared off into the distance.
The people at the human chain were not certain whether their loved ones were dead, or whether they were alive. The relatives of the disappeared knew this much: their family members had been abducted, and were never seen or heard from again.
Most of the participants at the peaceful event did not want to speak with the media.
The hope of finding their relatives alive is waning, but the desire to find closure and bury them if they are dead remains a potent desire among family members.
“There was no general diary against my son. But law enforcers abducted him. I request the government, even if I have to risk my life, to return my son to my embrace. If you cannot, then give me his body so I can put it on my shoulder,” Mohammad Shamsuddin, father of Nizamuddin, a Chhatra Dal leader said.
He said: “If you cannot return the body, then please let me know where you have put him…so that we can offer prayers for him.”
“Please return my brother. He is very young. RAB told us they would free my brother after asking him some questions but nine months have passed and he has not come home,” said Farhana Sultana, sister of Tejgaon Swechchhasebak Dal leader, Adnan.
Missing BNP leader M Ilyas Ali’s elder son Abrar Ilyas Ornob said: “We are waiting to know what became of my father. Twenty eight months have passed.”
BNP leader Khaleda Hasan’s wife, Shammi Sultana; Khalid Hossain’s wife, Sharmin Sultana; Samrat Mollah’s sister, Kanij Fatema Rita; Sohel Sarkar’s father, Shamsur Rahman; Tarikul Islam’s father, Nurul Islam; Moinul Hasan’s father, Safaruddin; Nizamudddin’s father, Shamsuddin Ahmed; Jahirul Islam’s mother, Hosne Ara Begum; Sajedul Islam’s sister, Marufa Islam Ferdousi; and Adnan’s sister, Farhana Sultana; attended the human chain programme.
BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said killings and abductions would no longer be tolerated and called upon the people to mount a strong resistance against disappearances and killings.
The BNP-led 20-party alliance formed a human chain marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances yesterday. Party leaders and activists formed a human chain for one-hour stretching from Fakirapul to Bijoynagar via Nayapaltan at 11am.
“The government has caused fear to spread in the country. Democracy is being destroyed by killings and abductions. The government is oppressing opposition leaders and activists using state forces,” Fakhrul said.
The spokesperson of the party said the human chain showed that people would not accept any more killings and abductions.
“Stop it. I ask people of the country not to sit idle and let this continue. We have to be united against this,” he said.
Thousands of party leaders and activists formed the human chain carrying pictures of the missing and demanding to know what happened to them.
Apart from BNP supporters, Jamaat-Shibir supporters also formed a human chain calling for all abducted opposition leaders and activists to be freed.
Mirza Abbas, the BNP Dhaka city unit convener, said people were being abducted everyday.
