Looking for a HERO

After a very long time I have started to find heroes in our country. It isn't that they were not there, they always existed - it's just that I didn't know how to look for them.

Sometimes horrible things have to happen before you can identify these fearless, courageous men and women who are ready to give up their physical safety, even their lives, just to fight for justice, to save others.

Those doctors and healthcare providers who cared for Ebola patients, some of them dying while caring for those infected, those youngsters who went into the Rana Plaza rubble to pull out survivors or corpses without a second thought, those aid workers who died in a helicopter blast while trying to get to a remote earthquake spot – there can be no words to describe their heroism.

But today I want to talk about a few local heroes who decided to take on one of the most formidable of adversaries. The first one is Abdul Kadar who, in my eyes, is one of the bravest young men in this country – because he refused to buckle down under the intimidating pressure of law enforcers. In a rare example of a law enforcer being punished for torture, a Dhaka court sentenced an OC to three years imprisonment and a fine of TK 10,000. It may seem like mild punishment for the torture this OC had inflicted on a young man, who had to suffer both physically and psychologically because he refused to comply with corrupt law enforcers. But in a country where people fear the wrath of the police more than they fear hijackers and robbers, the fact that Kadar, after three long years of court battles, got a cop behind bars, is no small feat. It is almost next to impossible. 

On July 16, 2011, Kadar, a Dhaka University student studying biochemistry and molecular biology, was going back to his hostel when he was stopped by plainclothes police who started beating him indiscriminately with sticks. Kadar protested and said he was a DU student which seemed to egg on their fury. He was taken to the Khilgaon Police Station. At around 10 am, OC Helal Uddin came in and asked Kadar to confess to crimes he had not committed. When Kadar refused, the OC mercilessly beat him and at one point stabbed his leg with a knife. After this, Kadar was arrested for robbery and possession of illegal arms. Publicity in the media, however, got the court's attention. Based on a Daily Star report, the High Court directed the government and the police to initiate special probes following which OC Helal and sub-inspector Shahidur Rahman were suspended. Kadar was later acquitted of the cases. In 2012 January, Kadar filed a case against Helal for torturing him and implicating him in false cases. 

Ironically, Kadar had once wanted to be a police officer. Obviously this horrible nightmare has changed his mind and he is quite happy with his job as a lecturer of a small college. Most of all he is satisfied that justice had been served.

Limon, another brave youngster, was not so lucky. In 2011 a member of Rab shot him in the leg and left him bleeding for hours before getting him to a hospital. By that time it was too late and his leg had to be amputated, leaving the teenager disabled for life two weeks before his HSC exams. Many false cases were filed against him leading to untold suffering for him and his family. It was media pressure and the efforts of various human rights bodies that made sure that Limon finally got all false charges dropped. Despite his ordeal and the loss of a leg, Limon decided to continue to study. The subject he chose was law. He and his family are still fighting their case against six members of the elite force. 

The other hero I would like to mention is Ismat Jahan, a young Chhatra Union activist, who was beaten by police when she, along with fellow activists, had proceeded to lay siege to the DMP headquarters on May 10. They were protesting the police inaction during the horrible sexual assaults on at least twenty women and a minor child near the TSC on Pahela Baishakh. They wanted the assaulters to be caught and punished. The police stationed nearby on April 14 had refused to help some Chhatra Union members who were trying to save the victims. Later, when two of the attackers were handed over to the police, they mysteriously released the culprits a few hours later.  The incidents of sexual assault were captured on CCTV cameras and some of the footage recorded with mobile phones went viral on social media. On May 10 when Chhatra Union activists approached the vicinity of the DMP headquarters and tried to remove the barricades, the police just swooped on them with their batons and boots. Ismat Jahan, who tried to run, was caught by her hair and kicked and hit with a baton. What is really remarkable about this woman is her fearlessness and commitment to the cause she believes in. A video clip of her being interviewed by The Daily Star shows her sitting calmly, her leg in a bandage, as she very clearly states that she would continue with the protests and also invites everyone to join her and her fellow activists to make sure that women can safely come out on the streets. Obviously the cowardly, sadistic policemen who attacked her will not be pleased when they see this video clip. Ismat Jahan, no doubt, knows that she will be under scrutiny and may have to pay for her protests as her fellow activists also know. But this has not daunted her or her comrades. 

It is this kind of determination and courage that are the hallmarks of a hero. And it is with great respect, admiration and humility that I salute these young men and women who, risking their personal safety, are ready to speak out against injustice. No matter how intimidating their opponents.
 

The writer is Deputy Editor, Editorial & Op-ed, The Daily Star.