Golam Nafiz, a 17-year-old student, had just completed his SSC exams from Banani Bidyaniketan School and College, the same institution where I studied and passed my SSC exams. Though I didn’t know Nafiz personally, the shared memories of our school make his story resonate deeply with me. He was a bright student, full of dreams, with the ambition to become a pilot someday. But his life was tragically cut short on August 4th, during a clash surrounding the student quota reform movement.
On that fateful day, Nafiz had joined the protest at Farmgate, leaving his cellphone at home. Around 3 PM, he called his mother from a friend’s phone to assure her that he was safe. Little did she know that this would be the last time she would hear her son’s voice.
As the situation escalated, Nafiz was shot under the Farmgate foot over bridge. Even in his final moments, as he lay on the footrest of a rickshaw, his hand still gripping the frame, there was a glimmer of hope that he might survive. However, despite the efforts of a rickshaw puller named Nur Mohammad, who tried to get him to a hospital, and the brave attempt of a photojournalist, Jibon Ahmed, who captured Nafiz’s last moments, he couldn’t be saved.
The photo of Nafiz, dangling from the rickshaw, bloodied and with the national flag tied to his head, went viral on social media. It was this heartbreaking image that led his parents to find his body.
Nafiz’s parents, Golam Rahman and Nazma Akhter, are now left with the unbearable pain of losing their son. As they unwrapped Nafiz’s new college uniform, a blue-colored ball, and a remote-controlled toy car from his childhood, the reality of their loss became even more profound. Their son’s dreams, his bright future, and everything he had planned for, now lie in that quiet, empty room.
Nafiz’s father, Golam Rahman, who had searched frantically for his son in hospitals and police stations on that dreadful night, now struggles with the thought that he might have been able to save him if he had found him sooner. He holds on to the memory of his son as a national hero who gave his life for the country. His mother, Nazma Akhter, mourns the loss of the son who would no longer hug her from behind or engage in the lively debates he was so passionate about in school.
This tragedy has left a deep scar on all of us who studied at Banani Bidyaniketan. Although I didn’t know Nafiz personally, his story is one that touches us all. He was more than just a student; he was a young life full of potential, taken too soon.
As we remember Nafiz, let us also honor the courage of those who stand up for what they believe in. And may we strive for a future where no mother loses her child, and no father has to search in vain for his son.