Life's changed in Nasirnagar

For Haridas Sutradhar and his family, life has changed and changed utterly. 

Nine days after the hate attack on Hindus in Nasirnagar, the 45-year-old carpenter of Kasipara was sitting in a corner of his badly damaged home, as if he was hiding from someone or something.

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He knows he can't afford to be hiding like this for long, but can't come to terms with what has happened to him and his community on October 30.

Haridas has four children -- all studying. Over the past few years, he had been working very hard as his two daughters -- Prottasha Sutradhar and Priti Sutradhar -- are growing up. 

And he wasn't doing badly either. He bought some gold ornaments thinking he might need those someday for his daughters' wedding. He also saved Tk 70,000 for his elder daughter, Prottasha, now a BA second-year student at Nasirnagar Degree College.

He and his wife Dipali Sutradhar were in talks with several families, looking for a groom for Prottasha.

But last month's synchronised attacks by religious zealots on his home and scores more in Nasirnagar upazila changed all that.

The attackers destroyed anything that came in their way and looted the ornaments he bought, the money he saved and most other valuables, including mobile phones and wrist watches.

“They destroyed not my home and looted not my valuables, but my dream, my happy family,” said a dejected Haridas, looking away.

Almost all the 107 families of Kasipara have been affected, 30 of them seriously. And they all have a similar story to tell: their homes attacked, valuables looted and they are living in fear. They hardly go out, especially before dawn and after dusk.

Panic grips these Hindu villages as soon as dark falls. No one can be seen outside, no sound of radio or TV can be heard.

Before the attack over a Facebook post from the account of a Hindu fisherman demeaning Islam, Haridas's life ran almost like a clock.

“Every day, I would get up early, worship, go to kitchen market for the day's shopping and then go to work,” he said.

In the afternoon, he would take tea with his family and closest neighbours. At night, he would watch TV (which has been vandalised) with his wife and children before going to bed.

Since the attack, however, he sits and sits, too distraught to work. He also fears further attacks.

Priti, who studies in the same class as her sister Prottasha, used to collect flowers in the early morning for worshipping with their mother. But with their little family “temple” gone, there has been no worshipping and no flower picking in the last nine days. 

The second-year exams of the two sisters ended on November 3 and their third-year classes started on Monday. Neither of them is thinking of attending classes for security reasons.

“My sister and I have been sleeping at a neighbor's home,” Prottasha told The Daily Star yesterday. “We stay in our home during the day and go to the neighbour's in the evening to spend the night there.”

“We wake up around 5:00am but wait till the sun rises to come out,” said Priti.

Their brothers, Khonkon Sutradhar, a BA first-year student, and Pranoy Sutradhar, a fifth grader, have stopped going to classes and playing cricket.

Being the male members of the family, the two are now worried about the family's security.

“Safety of the family is my main concern. Playing and hanging out with friends are optional now,” said Khokon.

As an added responsibility, he now guards their neighbourhood with other Hindu youths.

With everything gone, Haridas had been struggling to buy food for the family until Monday, when the local administration and the police department gave him Tk 9,000 and three bundles of tin sheets.

Yesterday, he bought some small fish and vegetables with some of the money. When The Daily Star correspondents went to his house around 11:00am, his wife was cooking lunch in whatever remains of their kitchen. That, they said, would be their first proper lunch since the attack.

By now, Haridas has realised he needs to start everything all over again. The first step is to repair his house with the money and the corrugated iron sheets he got from the government.

“I have to start working again. I have no other way to survive,” said Haridas.

But Bimol Chowdhury, 50, of Ghoshpara is still not sure if he can start his poultry farm again.

The attackers looted Tk 2 lakh in cash, four tolas of gold and 600 chickens he was farming in his home.

“I started farming two years ago and it brought some fortune for me and my six-member family,” said Bimol.

Three rooms of his house have been badly damaged, but his main concern is not repairing it, but the safety of his four daughters.

“I got Tk 9,000 and three bundles of corrugated iron sheets but that can't give back my life. I see gloom days ahead,” he said.