Saluting the spirit of our young people

July 24, 2024

DHAKA – There is no shame in admitting that in the last few days many of us have cried helplessly, over the senseless deaths of students—teenagers or in their early twenties—the same age or close to the ages of our children. The first time we saw the video of Abu Sayed, one of the coordinators of the movement in Rangpur, being shot to death as he spread out his hands in surrender, our hearts broke at the ruthlessness of a law enforcer, repeatedly shooting at a young man who was practically unarmed. But our hearts filled with awe at the bravery of this young man who was so steadfast in a cause that demanded equal opportunity for young people to compete for government jobs.

Amidst the anguish and despair, this is what stands out the most—the spirit and courage of our young people. Our young students have proved to us once again that they are a conscious generation—contrary to common perception of them. They are well aware of the reality they are surrounded by and do not live in a bubble. We got a glimpse of this clarity of purpose during the 2018 Road Safety Movement by school students after a few of their fellow students were crushed by a raging bus at a bus stop. Their outrage took a positive form as they organised themselves into monitoring groups and started checking vehicles for their fitness, licenses etc. They were doing the job the traffic police were supposed to be doing and trying to implement basic road safety rules that should have been enforced by the government a long time ago. They showed us what their state had failed to do, which was to keep people safe from the road crashes we have become notorious for. On the streets, we saw uniformed school kids stopping vehicles—even VIP cars going the