/ Many injured staring at bleak future

People are filled with hope for a better tomorrow with incoming reforms, but that is not the case for those who sacrificed their future for the fall of the Awami League regime. 
Many have lost their ability to work after being severely injured during the July-August uprising.
It has put unbearable pressure on their families already struggling to cope with financial hardship amid economic headwinds left by the ousted Sheikh Hasina government.
They have pleaded for help from the interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus.
Some have suggested they will have to beg without the support they need.
The Daily Star found more than 200 such patients undergoing treatment in some of the major government hospitals in Dhaka two months after the regime’s fall.
For Mozammel Haque and his family, the future looks bleak after the 21-year-old student lost vision in both eyes because of multiple shotgun pellet injuries he received during the quota reform protests in Narsingdi town on July 18.
He was rushed to a local hospital and later transferred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology & Hospital (NIOH) on August 6, where he has been receiving treatment ever since.
Tears rolled down her face as the 48-year-old mother, Moriyam Begum, described the situation.
“My son is now dependent on others. We are growing old, and I don’t know how my son will live his life after we are gone,” she told The Daily Star on October 2 at the NIOH.
Mozammel, a final-year BA student of Narsingdi Government College, had already filled out the form to sit for his exams. “How can he take the exam now as he has lost vision in both eyes?” Moriyam asked.
She had hoped that after graduation, her son would get married, take responsibility for the family and relieve the burden from his father Nur Mohammad Madhu, a 55-year-old day labourer.

“But everything changed in the blink of an eye, and so did his future,” Moriyom said.
She added that her son used to contribute to the family with a part-time job, but now he is in such a condition that he will not be able to do anything to support himself.
“I still can’t believe that my son is almost blind. When we see him, both my husband and I cry out loud,” she said.
According to her, the hospital has been covering the cost of his treatment since August 8, but before that, they had already spent more than Tk 60,000, which they had borrowed.
“What we want now is better treatment for my son. This government came to power because of the sacrifices of many. They deserve the best treatment. If that treatment isn’t available here, they need to be sent abroad,” she added.
Speaking to the newspaper, Mozammel asked the government to send him abroad, as he believed he could regain his vision if treated outside the country.
“I need nothing – no compensation, and no rehabilitation. If I can see again, I will find a way to live my life,” he said.
Like Mozammel, 34 others injured during the protests are receiving treatment at the hospital, looking for answers to the question – how they will support themselves and their families without the ability to work.
Most of them have lost vision in one eye, while some have lost both.
Besides eye injuries, Mallik Hafizur Rahman Litan, 40, sustained severe head wounds after being beaten by Awami League goons on August 5 in Bagerhat town. He is also undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Easy bike driver Litan, the breadwinner for his five-member family, underwent surgery and lost vision in his left eye.
“With just one eye, it won’t be possible to drive the easy bike. I’ve been in the hospital for the past two months, and I have already spent all my savings. My family is now surviving on loans. I don’t know how much longer I’ll need to stay here,” he said.
He urged the government to rehabilitate him, provide him with employment, and ensure access to medical treatment when necessary.
Another 79 people injured during the protests are undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR), said the hospital sources.
One of them, vehicle mechanic Sagar Miah, 29, was hit by pellets on his face in police firing during the movement at Notun Bazar in the Badda area of the capital in July.
After an operation on his left eye on September 30, he could see slightly but not clearly. He also sought the government to take responsibility for the injured and their family members.
“Without government help, we will have to beg,” he said.
Two bullets pierced through the torso of Mohammad Sujon, 21, an employee of a cable TV operator, in the final moments of the uprising on August 5 in Old Dhaka’s Naya Bazar.
He needed two open-heart surgeries and another on his intestine to survive. The doctor said his rehabilitation would take at least three years with medication and other sorts of treatment.
Still, he will never fully regain the ability to work, according to the doctor at Sir Salimullah Medical College Mitford Hospital.
His family of four is fully dependent on his income, as his father is unable to work after suffering two strokes. 
They live with Sujon’s elder sister Sumi Akter and her 10-year-old child after her husband left her. The boy dropped out of his madrasa after the family was hit by the tragedy surrounding Sujon’s injuries.
Speaking to The Daily Star, Sujon and Sumi urged the government to bear the cost of his treatment until his recovery, and make arrangements so that he can work and earn for the family afterwards.   
Another 34 injured, mostly with bullet wounds, are undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital while 25 others are being treated at the Super Specialized Hospital BSMMU.
A few others are receiving treatment at the National Institute of Neuro Sciences & Hospital.
They are among more than 19,200 people who needed hospital care for injuries caused by attacks during the protests, according to a government report.