July Uprising: Omor’s belongings now only memories to his family

BSS :

The belongings of promising freelancer Sajidur Rohman Omor, who embraced martyrdom in 2024 July Uprising, is now nothing but holds only memories of him to his family. His family members find his existence in the belongings he left behind.

While visiting their rented house in the Dogair Bazar area of Demra, this correspondent found his laptop, visiting card, professional ID card, passport and a certificate of recognition to his excellence in IT work kept on the table, in which he used to do freelancing work.

Omor’s elder brother Sirajul Islam (24), a third year (honors) student at Shaikh Burhanuddin Post Graduate College in the city, is now using his laptop.

Showing those belongings, Sirajul said he feels his younger brother’s existence whenever he opens the laptop as many pictures of Omor are saved in the computer.

“It is my brother’s laptop. He used to do freelancing using this computer. He was an expert in graphic design, networking and security issues,” Sirajul said tearfully, showing the laptop.

Omor succumbed to his bullet injury — which he sustained on July 21 when the law enforcement agencies launched a heavy crackdown on the student-people uprising — on July 24 while undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit (ICU) of the National Burn Institute. Thus, a promising life was cut short at his death.

Sirajul said they were vocal against injustice, corruption, oppression on the people carried out by the then autocratic government. “We had been active in the student movement since the beginning of the quota reform campaign. We wished for the success of the movement to get rid of the injustice. Therefore, we all joined the movement,” he said.

Sirajul recalled that the anti-discrimination student movement eventually turned into the student-people uprising with the participation of the people from all strata when police opened fire indiscriminately at the protesters from July 17.

But the irony of fate is that, though the movement succeeded in ousting the nearly 16 years of autocratic rule on August 5, Omor could not witness the victory of the cause he fought for.
Sirajul and his brother Omor joined the street movement in the Kajla area on Demra road separately on July 19 when members of law enforcement agencies were firing indiscriminately at the protesters.

“On July 19, I found Omor chanting slogans in the Kajla area. Seeing him, I was very scared as there was indiscriminate firing on the street. Many people embraced martyrdom in front of me while many people were taken to hospital with critical bullet injuries,” he recalled.

Later, he and his elder sister Mahbuba Akter strongly barred him from joining the street protest.
“When my elder sister debarred Omor from joining the demonstration, he replied to her, ‘Bullets pass through my side, but don’t hit me. If any bullet hits me, it will be a great matter. I will be a martyr’,” Sirajul recalled Omor’s determination to the cause he fought for.

He said Omor was in the movement at Jatrabari area around 1pm on July 21 when the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division announced the verdict over the quota system in government jobs.

“But around 1.30pm, someone came to our house and informed my family members that Omor sustained bullet injury on Jatrabari-Demra road. At that time I was at Jatrabari too. When I tried to confirm his whereabouts, I came to know that he was taken to Dhaka Medical (hospital),” Sirajul recalled the time when he got the devastating news.

Sirajul said he directly went to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) from Jatrabari and found his younger brother on life support with a bandage on his head while he was totally senseless. But doctors were not confirm whether the bullets were lodged inside or exited through the other side.

“The doctors told us that after observing Omor for some time, they would take a decision over the next course of action. However, in the afternoon, doctors asked us to manage blood for him,” grief stricken Sirajul said.

In the later part of the day, Omor was shifted to the ICU of the National Burn Institute where he was undergoing treatment until he breathed his last in the morning on July 24, he added.

On July 21, Sirajul recalled, the doctors conducted a CT scan and confirmed that the bullet exited from the head and said Omor was not in a stable condition to undergo surgery as his skull was divided into two pieces. If he survives, they would think of taking him for surgery.