Mohammad Ihtesham Hassan :

NEARLY a month after taking office, the chief adviser of the interim government, Dr Muhammad Yunus, announced through a televised speech on September 11 that the families of the martyrs, as well as the students and citizens injured during the July uprising, will receive rehabilitation and their treatment costs will be covered.

Access to timely medical treatment can mean the difference between life and death and whether an individual suffers permanent disability. We have seen reports of protesters succumbing to injuries after fighting for their lives for days, which leads us to wonder whether the lack of financial support for treatment contributed to these tragic outcomes. In several instances, individuals have suffered permanent disabilities, such as loss of vision or the need for amputations, because they could not afford necessary medical procedures on time.

There are heartbreaking stories like that of Arif, who was shot during the protests and had to sell his wife’s jewellery to pay for his treatment. In another case, an infant was sold for Tk 37,000 to cover the hospital bills of a father injured during the protests. These are just two examples of many untold stories, reminding us of the sacrifices made by those who risked their lives by protesting on the streets for a new Bangladesh.

The interim government faced criticism for planning a memorial event for the martyrs on September 14, which was later postponed. Critics, including the Private University Students Alliance of Bangladesh, suggested on their Facebook page that the Tk 5 crore allocated for the event could instead be used to provide financial assistance to 500 families of the martyrs, with a cap of Tk 1 lakh for each family.

In these volatile and fluid situations, determining priorities can be challenging. The new government has not had it easy, facing one crisis after another from day one. Various groups and entities have approached the government with their own demands — such as the HSC cancellation and Ansar protests. Then, the recent unprecedented flood occurred, which has had devastating effects on more than 5 million people directly.

As a result, perhaps no concrete steps were taken at the national level for those who risked their lives and continue to endure immense pain after being shot and grievously injured until recently. Additionally, the families of the martyrs are currently facing the dual burden of emotional agony from losing their loved ones and financial hardship, as many of the martyrs were breadwinners or earning members of the family. This is leading to a new segment of the population falling into poverty, either due to the loss of the breadwinner or the costs of financing the treatment of injured family members.

There will be times when the government makes mistakes, and the people will hold the government accountable for its actions. This is what democracy is all about: creating a space for people to speak and reminding the government that it is there to serve the people and the country, not to feel entitled or to alienate and disassociate itself from the people by making unilateral decisions without understanding the ground reality or taking public opinion into account. It is refreshing to see that a space has now been created for people to discuss the government’s actions and hold it accountable for any missteps, enabling course correction or nudging the government to focus on the necessary areas.

The fact that the government has now finally addressed the situation by putting the memorial event for the martyrs on hold until a complete list of the injured and martyred can be made comes as a welcome step. The announcement by the chief adviser himself that the treatment for those who were injured will be covered, alongside providing support to the families of the martyrs, is commendable. What could be added to the list is that, depending on the severity of the injury and the status of the injured individual in terms of economic contribution to the family, a stipend could be provided to them so that families do not undergo economic hardship due to the loss of income from the injured patient being unable to work and provide for the family.

The government has established the July Martyrs’ Memorial Foundation to provide financial and humanitarian assistance to the families of those injured and killed during the protests. The foundation is open to accepting donations, grants and aid from citizens, the diaspora, organisations and others. It is important that we now collectively come forward and do our part to help those in need. Given that the Chairman of the Foundation is the Chief Advisor himself, this also instills trust that the effort is headed in the right direction.

However, transparency is imperative, and it is important that the processes are made public. While the announcement has been made that the government will now take up the role of providing for the injured and the families of the injured and martyrs, it is crucial to know how soon the project can be implemented, as time is of the essence. It must be ensured that a fast-track system is followed to make the process smooth, as we know how bureaucratic and full of red tape the existing system can be.

Mohammed Ihtesham Hassan works as a research associate at Power and Participation Research Centre.