‘Free again’: Hope and fear as Bangladeshis eye uncertain future

When Nazmul Arefin caught wind that Sheikh Hasina – the lady who had led Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years – was about to flee the nation, he dropped the whole lot and ran onto the streets of Dhaka.

Outdoors, 1000’s of anti-government protesters had been already marching throughout the capital, though none knew what awaited them.

A weeks-long nationwide marketing campaign of civil disobedience – which erupted over civil service job quotas – had triggered a violent crackdown, leaving a whole bunch useless in its wake.

And whether or not extra bloodshed would observe remained an open query: “We had been sceptical about whether or not the military would help the individuals, or facet with the federal government – that was the doubt within the thoughts of everybody,” Mr Arefin says.

“If regulation enforcement and the military had turned on us yesterday, it might have turn into a bloodbath.”

However the 38-year-old’s worry was shortly changed with ecstasy, after information unfold like wildfire that Ms Hasina had resigned, and residents started to declare Bangladesh “free once more”.

As scenes of protesters storming her official residence and looting the whole lot from velvet chairs to domesticated animals had been broadcast around the globe, Mr Arefin was witnessing one thing else.

“It was like a pageant on the streets,” he tells the BBC.

“It was wonderful – individuals of all ages and lessons got here out, from rickshaw pullers to excessive society individuals, there have been households taking selfies with military officers. We had been shouting and celebrating for a brand new Bangladesh.”

The prime minister’s downfall was one which few noticed coming and the shock was palpable.

“The web had been out for many of the day, so once we heard the military chief was addressing the nation on tv, that was our first trace,” Shariful Islam, who was at residence along with his household when the information broke, advised the BBC.

When it turned clear what was unfolding, he says everybody “misplaced it” – his aged dad and mom and four-year-old daughter included.

“Oh my god, we had been all shouting, dancing, clapping, celebrating, it was a style of freedom, like one thing you barely expertise.”

Ms Hasina, who had been in energy since 2009 and dominated the South Asian nation for greater than 20 years in complete, had began her profession as an emblem of democracy, overcoming navy rule to usher in a brand new period of hope.

At first, she was celebrated as a secular Muslim who had introduced stability and financial reform to Bangladesh, lifting hundreds of thousands out of poverty within the course of.

However when her lengthy tenure lastly got here to an finish on Monday, most had been remembering her as an autocrat, who had sought to entrench her authority by silencing dissent.

“This was a dictatorship that lasted 15 years, no-one might communicate their minds, individuals had been thrown in jail for expressing their views, there have been gross human rights violations, individuals disappeared. The truth that that is ending – that’s why the streets had been full,” Mr Islam says.

As Bangladeshis wait to see how the vacuum created within the wake of Ms Hasina’s departure will probably be stuffed, hope and trepidation loom massive.

“Individuals are pleased a dictator has stepped down, however there’s uncertainty [over] what’s going to occur… the law-and-order scenario is making individuals anxious,” Avirup Sarkar – who works for the World Financial institution in Dhaka, tells the BBC.

Sayem Faruk – an entrepreneur who runs an AI agency within the metropolis – says that the very first thing that should occur is an finish to any looting and violence.

“We’re going to train vigilance within the subsequent few days because the caretaker authorities is fashioned and because the military begins taking management of the scenario.”

The necessity for calm and peace on the streets has additionally been a top-down message from a number of the college students who began the protest motion again in July and have turn into its de facto leaders.

“Freedom is tougher to defend than to achieve,” Asif Mahmud, a number one determine within the demonstrations, wrote in a message to his tens of 1000’s of social media followers on Tuesday.

And one other pupil who has been marching for weeks – 22-year-old Sazid Islam – advised the BBC that though there’s a sense that “freedom of speech has been restored” in Bangladesh, many who’ve been on the frontlines know the scenario stays fragile.

“The fears I’ve now are that, since we have now immediately gained our political rights, if the scenario deteriorates, we might face suppression once more. Particularly if we fail to uphold the values of the revolution.”

Whether or not on a regular basis Bangladeshis will meet this second by banding collectively and never permitting outdated non secular or political divisions to take maintain can also be a subject of dialog.

“For those who can name this a revolution. The difficulty now’s how quickly are you able to handle this?” Sumon Rahman, a journalism professor on the College of Liberal Arts Bangladesh, advised the BBC.

“I stay fairly near the PM’s residence and I introduced my children there to see what’s taking place. There was quite a lot of vandalism.”

Prof Rahman’s home within the Dhanmondi space is a brief stroll from the previous residence of the nation’s founder, the toppled prime minister’s father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, which had been became a museum. It was set ablaze in Monday’s protests.

“The protesters burned it down completely. I additionally noticed many footage of the burned home shared on Fb. The vandalism occurred late into the night time,” stated Prof Rahman.

“There have additionally been studies of assaults on non secular minorities, however it’s unclear now if they’ve been attacked as a result of they’re minorities or as a result of they’re supporters of [Ms Hasina’s] Awami League.

“For those who take a look at the historical past of Bangladesh… When there’s a revolution, there will probably be counter-revolutions, coups, counter-coups. For those who actually need to reform the system, it’s a big obligation, and you can not simply immediately take away the equipment because the nation will merely disintegrate,” he provides.

Samiul Haque, a strategic guide from Dhaka, says a lot of his friends are going to need to see a very new fashion of politics in Bangladesh, one which is constructed “from the bottom up”.

“Younger individuals really feel that there shouldn’t be a return of the Bangladesh Nationalist Get together and Jamaat-e-Islami,” the 32-year-old explains, referencing the nation’s opposition events.

“Inequality had grown a lot in Bangladesh as political and financial elites had cosied as much as the federal government. They had been reaping a lot profit that what we noticed was a class-based motion – college students began it, however even rickshaw pullers and regular individuals joined it. All of us felt sufficient is sufficient.”

For some within the nation, although, essentially the most quick concern is one among security.

An Indian employee in a Bangladeshi clothes manufacturing facility in Dhaka advised the BBC that he was fearful his household, who type a part of Bangladesh’s minority Hindu neighborhood, might be focused due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shut alliance with Ms Hasina’s now fallen authorities.

“I’m listening to about some Hindu properties being attacked however I’m not positive if it’s true. However my space is peaceable. Many Muslim neighbours have assured us about our security,” he says.

“I hope to get out together with my household as quickly as I can. However I do hope to return – my life is right here; my profession is right here. Bangladesh has given me the whole lot.”

However Mr Arefin hopes that the nation’s higher angels will win out within the subsequent few days and weeks.

“From this level, we’re calling it Bangladesh 2.0 and we need to have a diversified and corruption-free nation, the place everybody can have freedom of speech, and nobody will probably be afraid to lift their voices.”

And Mr Faruk says that he has religion that the demonstrations – which have unified many within the nation of 170 million – will stamp out divisions, quite than amplifying them.

“This started as a motion towards discrimination and this discrimination applies not solely to jobs however in every single place in Bangladesh – assaults on minorities, the fundamentalist forces. We have to management these as nicely if we don’t need to flip right into a failed state.”