Studies go on but in fear
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Things may not seem that bad in the capital, but elsewhere the almost two-month-long blockade coupled with frequent hartals has hit every aspect of people's lives very hard. With inter-district communications snapped, businesses have come to a near-halt, education is in tatters, farmers are counting heavy losses and people venture out of their homes in constant panic. In this series, we look at how the blockade and shutdowns are affecting public life outside Dhaka.
Every morning Sabera Ishrat of Gollamari and her friend Tamanna Afroz of Nirala in Khulna city meet at zero point to get on a bus that would take them near their destination -- close to two primary schools in two remote villages about 30km south of Khulna.
The two friends have been doing this every day except Friday for the last couple of years.
But over the last two months, this routine has been thrown out the window.
The seemingly endless blockade and hartals marked by petrol and crude bomb attacks on vehicles have made their commute an ordeal.
There are fewer buses on roads, and the wait to get on one of them is longer. Sometimes they have to take a detour, costing time and more money, not to mention the danger of being attacked.
“I have to take the risk and endure the hassle to keep the school going. But I cannot ignore the fear of attack on my way to school and return home,” said 35-year-old Sabera.
Many of the 2.61 lakh female primary school teachers commute and Sabera and Tamanna are just two of them.
They have been braving the unrest, violence and attacks since January 6 to keep their schools open. They have been doing this when most of the schools in urban areas, especially in Dhaka and Khulna, have very poor attendance of children.
Parents are understandably reluctant to send their kids to schools.
Ashoke Kumar Samadder, primary education officer of Khulna district, said schools have been kept open in the city and rural areas. But student attendance in the city is very low. “It appears parents are unwilling to send their children to schools on security grounds,” he said.
“But there is no such problem in the suburbs and rural areas,” he said.
Bangladesh has more than 1.0 lakh primary educational institutes with 1.95 crore students, according to Bangladesh Economic Review 2014, a government publication.
Sabera said attendance at her school was unaffected despite the ongoing political turmoil.
A trip inside rural areas of Bagerhat and Khulna also made it clear; the schools had children either in classrooms or playing on the playground during breaks. There was no sign of anxiety among them.
While the children get to schools in rural areas without trouble, it is the teachers who are risking their lives.
Early this month, a truck came under arson attack on Khulna-Mongla highway, which Sabera and Tamanna take. The incident has made them more nervous.
Teacher Jahanara Khatun, who has to travel 21km from Jessore to get to her school, said, “During the initial days of the blockade, every moment on the highway was scary. I felt that it [a petrol bomb] would come any time.”
For nearly 40 days, she has gone to school in motorised three-wheelers, and not on the usual bus. The change in mode of transport costs her Tk 120 a day, which was just Tk 50 on the bus.
Teachers do not get paid much and the extra costs put additional pressure on her family.
“None is free from fear of attacks. But we have to be courageous. Rural areas have so far been immune to the turmoil. So if we do not go, children will stop coming to school,” said Jahanara.
Facing the same dilemma, Tapu Rani Roy, a 33-year-old college teacher, has to travel nearly 25km to Digraj near Mongla port from her home in a village of Bagerhat.
She is out the door by 7:00am and in college by 9:00am. “The roads are quiet early in the morning which makes me even more nervous,” said Tapu while returning home from work one afternoon.
After their work is done for the day in the late afternoon, Sabera and Tamanna has to take the bus home where their kids wait for them. But the two have to wait inside the bus until all seats are taken.
“There is no alternative transport here on this highway. So, we have no choice but to ride the bus. Appeals to get a move on since the sun is setting make no difference to bus staff,” said frustrated Sabera.
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