<i>God's gift now lives in frame</i>

Thirteen-year-old Hridoy was shot dead in the BDR carnage last year. His father in tears talks to The Daily Star at his Jigatola residence on Tuesday with the photo of his beloved son in the background.SK Enamul Haq

One year into the death of her son, Hamida Begum still searches for an answer. For her, some compensation was no consolation, will never be.
"Did the money call me mother?" says Hamida. "Give me my son back, I will return you the money." The compensation -- Tk 11 lakh -- came from the prime minister and other ruling party leaders.
The life of Hridoy Hossain Rakib -- a "God's gift" to Hamida's poor family -- was cut short at age 13 by stray bullets in indiscriminate firing by BDR jawans at Pilkhana in Dhaka last year.
Sitting in his very basic room, his father Raja Mia, a vegetable vendor, recounts the talents of his son -- an extraordinary boy for a very ordinary family. "It always surprises me."
A rundown cot sits in a 12 feet by 8 feet room. A dusty bed cover, a wooden chair and some necessary household materials define the room. It is without a window. A little sunlight comes in through the door when it is open, but is not enough to light up the entire room. It accommodates his wife, one son, four daughters, a son-in-law and a grand child.
The picture of Hridoy hanging on the wall is a sad reminder of loss. A small piece of white cloth covers the face of Hridoy in the photo frame -- a desperate effort by the family not to think too much about the loss.
"It breaks my heart when I look at the picture. So we keep the face covered," says Raja, his voice thick in emotion, eyes wet in tears.
"Even a few days before his death he told me 'I'll take care of you, Abba, when you are old. I won't let you work'," Raja recalls.
Hridoy used to accompany his father five days a week to Karwan Bazar to buy vegetables from wholesalers.
He had carried the basket full of vegetables on head to the van to save his father Tk 100 in labour charges a day. Both worked until 3:30 in the morning.
"At night, he slept just a couple of hours. He must go to school," Raja continues.
Back from school, Hridoy used to visit his father, who sells vegetables on a van on Haji Afsaruddin Road in the city's Jigatola. "He was too young for work. But he wasted no time. Nor did he play with his friends. He helped me a lot," says Raja as he wipes his tears with a towel.
Attentive to studies, he dreamt of becoming a police officer or government official. He ranked ninth on merit among the 30 students in his class. "Classmates and teachers loved him so much," says Hridoy's 20-year-old sister Rekha Akhter.
Hridoy's family had spent Tk 1,500 per month for his schooling. "But the little boy's contribution to the family was far more," Raja says.
Hridoy was much loved in the neighbourhood of Jigatola, where Raja Mia's house is, for his wits and decent manners.
Raja cites a small example of his son's moral righteousness. Hridoy had bought three singaras on credit as he was short of money. He did not forget it and paid the money back to the restaurant owner. It happened a day before his death.
Hridoy was selling vegetables on a rickshaw van -- a few yards north of Jigatola crossing on the February 25 morning when gunfire rang out inside the Pilkhana BDR headquarters. Hridoy took the first bullet in his leg, then a second in the head before he collapsed.
"My son did not have breakfast on that day. Leaving him near the van, I went to a nearby restaurant. I had my breakfast there and bought some bread and vegetables for him," Raja says.
On his way back to the van, Raja was told by a man that his son had been wounded by bullet. Raja passed out there and did not know what happened next.
His sense of loss deepens, as his other children are not as caring as Hridoy was. Raja is not proud of his firstborn in particular. "My elder son doesn't help me at all. He wastes my money often."
Stricken by poverty, Hamida has taken up the job of a housemaid in Dhanmondi and earns Tk 500 a month -- an amount just not enough for the family.
Apart from the small business, the family had some income from two rickshaws that Raja owns. "Before Hridoy's death I had saved Tk 26,000 from renting out the rickshaws. Hridoy looked after the vegetable shop. After his death, I spent all I had," he says.
Raja sold out a rickshaw for some money to spend on the funeral rituals for his son.
Hridoy's family received Tk 10 lakh in compensation in two phases from the prime minister, Tk 50,000 from local lawmaker Fazle Noor Taposh, Tk 10,000 from Jatiya Party Chairman HM Ershad and Tk 25,000 from Bhola Samity.
With the money, landless Raja purchased 12.5 decimals of land in his village at Langolkot, Narayanganj. For him, the land is something to keep the memories of his son alive in his family.
A year before his death, Hridoy earned the family Tk 16,000 by selling mangoes in summer -- an initiative of his own. Raja saved the money.
Raja who earns only Tk 200-250 a day now plans to spend the money on his son's first death anniversary. "I will feed orphans in my village and pray in the mosque for him."