“Bangladesh is bleeding when democracy is in the hands of a murder,” read a sign at a protest outside the University of Arizona’s administration building on Wednesday, July 24.
International students gathered on campus to protest the violent actions taken by the Bangladesh government against students in the South Asian country.
The protest was organized by the UA Bangladeshi Student Association. People of all ages came together holding protest signs and chanting phrases like “long live democracy, we want justice.”
University students in Bangladesh are protesting and demanding the end of a quota system that reserves government jobs for family members of Freedom Fighters, veterans that fought in the war of independence from Pakistan for Bangladesh in 1971. Student protesters in Bangladesh believe jobs should be given based on merit.
What started as a peaceful protest soon turned violent in Bangladesh, resulting in the killing of nearly 200 people, a curfew and an internet blackout, according to the Associated Press.
Many of the protesters on the UA campus are international UA students from Bangladesh, far from their family and friends.
“I left everyone behind: my family, my cousins, my relatives, my friends back in my country Bangladesh,” said Samiah Hassan, a PhD student studying materials science and engineering.
Hassan came to the U.S. last August and has not been back to her country since; now, she is not able to make contact with her family.
“I have been really, really mentally stressed because I couldn’t focus on my research work, not my academia,” Hassan said, because her thoughts are with her country and family.
The internet blackout in Bangladesh has caused unrest amongst UA international students.
“For me it is like I got detached from my family,” said Tahsin Nishat, a UA PhD student studying civil engineering. “I was depressed, I was tense, I was worried about my family.”
“I feel like if I had been with my people I could do something, but staying here all I’m doing is worrying about my family and friends and my own people, but I cannot do anything,” Nishat said.
Nishat turned these helpless feelings into impactful actions.
So, Nishat tried to do something from her end; she called for a demonstration event. The goal of the event was to communicate with others what is going on in her country to spread the news, create awareness and show solidarity with the protesters in Bangladesh.
A UA graduate research assistant, who asked to remain unnamed, is one of those protesting at UA.
“Honestly I am scared for my family because here I am, raising my voice, and I don’t know if there will be any consequences for my family back there,” they said. The graduate research assistant also has not been able to make contact with their family, and said an internet blackout in this century is unacceptable.
The student protestors in Bangladesh have a right to demand, said the graduate research assistant, and so the UA group came out July 24 to show solidarity for their brothers and sisters facing injustice.
The UA protesters are calling for the resignation of the current Bangladeshi government and for this government to take responsibility for those who have lost their lives, Nishat said.
Md Abdur Rahman Apu, a PhD student at the UA, is yet another international student from Bangladesh who could not make contact with his family, and was protesting for the restoration of democracy in the South Asian nation and against the violence from the government..
Apu said Bangladesh has turned from a democracy to an autocracy.
“The government took blood in the hands of their own people, instead of protecting them,” Apu said.
The UA protesters gathered under tents to shield themselves from the intense July sun, chanted together and used their right to peacefully protest for two hours. Their hope is that their solidarity will be heard from Arizona to Bangladesh and that their movement will be able to educate others on what is going on in their home country.
“All the [Bangladesh] students wanted was a fair quota system,” Nishat said. “For that they have to lose their lives.”
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