Story of Hasan
“No one believed there would be a real cyclone. Villagers stayed in the village till 10:00pm, fighting to save their houses. When the houses started falling one by one, people started marching towards the cyclone centre forming a long line fighting the strong wind. I was carrying my infant in one hand and with the other hand I he was guiding my little niece. At one point I found my nephew Hasan following me to heels. As I had two kids to take care with my two hands, I could not look after Hasan. Forceful wind and incessant rain made everyone nervous. As soon we walked on the dam, a strong current of water wrenched away my niece from my hand. When I was looking right and left for my niece, I found Hasan was floating on the water. With one hand Hasan held a broken tree and in his other hand was my niece. When I got close to Hasan he said 'Uncle, my father is not with me, please do not leave me here, take me with you'. I assured Hasan that I would not leave him. We started walking again and soon we could see the cyclone centre just about 200 yards ahead of us. Suddenly something shook me violently and I was afloat. I took control, hugged the kids to my bosom and looked back for Hasan; he was not there. Next moment my eyes were set at a broken part of the dam. There was a whirling current of water and Hasan was in the eye of the whirl going down. I went to the cyclone centre, kept the two kids there and went back to the broken part of the dam to look for Hasan. I searched desperately for Hasan but could not find him, he was gone. Oh, if only I tied Hasan with me by a rope! ” says Hasan's uncle Badsha while recalling the dark chapter of the Sidr night of 15 November 2007. At this point he threw a question at me “Sir you are educated, you have studied a lot and have built this dam, still why does the dam break down? Can you not build a dam which will not collapse even during the mightiest cyclone or flood?”
Hasan's dead body was found on Saturday (17th November). Hasan's father came back from the sea the same day, but Hasan did not need a father anymore. Hasan had an inseparable relationship with his mother. He handed over his 9-month old brother Saiful to his mother and Morium to his grandmother during the cyclone. His mother asked “How will you go?” Hasan answered “Am I not grown up, an 11-year old man?” Hasan's mother regrets Hasan would not have died if they had taken shelter in the cyclone centre in time.
Hasan's family is now standing on debris. Local Union Parisad Chairman Hiron Kazi donated Tk.10,000 to Hasan's family. Probably more support will be available for this family, but Hasan who was lost in the chasm of the dam, will he ever come back to comfort his mother?
Hasan's family lives in Char Najib village of Kalapara. It is in Patuakhali district in southern Bangladesh. Hasan's father was trapped in the sea during the cyclone.
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