The unbridled joy of freedom
Every December, Amin Hemrom is overpowered by emotions -- so powerful that, on occasions, they lead him to tears of joy. On those days, he says, his heart beats faster and his breaths get heavier as he recalls the wartime memories.
In May 1971, when attacks on Bangalee homes and killings of Bangalee people by Pakistan occupation forces were escalating in different parts of the country, his parents were deeply worried.
Seeing many of their neighbours heading for India, his parents wasted no time to flee from their Santal village of Rudro Kunda in Nachole upazila in Chapainwabganj and cross the border.
After a perilous journey, mostly on foot, they reached Malda of West Bengal and took shelter in a camp called Camp Pukur. The next day, they were sent to a school at Bangitola, where they stayed for about a month.
Later, they were transferred to Kutub Shohor camp in Malda where Hemrom, then in his mid-20s, met Sangram Majhi, an indigenous community leader from Rajshahi's Godagari area. This chance meeting changed the course, and the way Hemrom sees it, the meaning of his life.
"One day he [Sangram] held a meeting with indigenous youths like me and called upon us to join the Liberation War," Hemrom told The Daily Star recently.
Immediately, Hemrom and five other indigenous young men went to the Muktijodhha Camp at Gour Bagan area in Malda, where they took basic training for about 15 days. The camp authorities then sent them to Shiliguri where they took training on guerrilla warfare.
After the training was over, they were sent to the frontline under Sector 7 under the leadership of Birshreshtha Captain Mohiuddin Jahangir, one of the seven greatest war heroes.
Born in Barisal, Captain Jahangir incidentally fought his last battle in Hemrom's hometown in Chapainawabganj, on December 13, 1971. Shot in the head while trying to attack the Pakistani military camp in Rehaichar Moholla, he breathed his last the next day.
"He [Captain Jahangir] always inspired us. I feel proud that I fought under his leadership," said Hemrom, a listed freedom fighter.
In one of his most memorable battles, he said, their group attacked a Pakistani military camp in his home town in Chapainawabganj and killed a collaborator.
On that day, one group of 14 freedom fighters led by Commander Abdus Samad and another group of equal number of freedom fighters led by Commander Idris entered Bangladesh crossing Kolabagan border of Sonamasjid area of Chapainawabganj, some 70-80km from his home.
The two groups attacked the Pakistan forces and their collaborators simultaneously from two sides at Argara Hat of Shibganj upazila, forcing the occupation army to retreat, he said.
Their group also launched multiple attacks on the Pakistan forces in Gomostapur, Bholahat, Krishtopur and Rohonpur and drove them away.
After the war was over, Hemrom and all his family members, including his parents and siblings, returned home.
"I cannot express how I felt on the day I returned home. When we left the country, our land was occupied by Pakistan forces. But now our land was free," said Hemrom, now 75.
Memories of the war are often filled with dread, but it makes him proud, he says.
But sometimes Hemrom gets frustrated because of the growing communal intolerance, inequality and rights violation of minority communities.
"Sometimes, it feels like our country is independent, but we are not," he said.
After 50 years of the country's independence, Hemrom says he wants everyone to live in peace and harmony.
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