Shahinur MIah

The July Mass Uprising – A Young Father’s Life Changed in Seconds

Mohammad Shahinur Miah was a 28-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, a father of two young children, and the only brother among five sisters. Before August 2024, he was an active, hardworking man who supported his family by driving an auto-rickshaw. He also knew electrical work, and people in his village often called him when they needed help with small electrical jobs. He was not wealthy, but he had dignity, usefulness, and the ability to stand on his own feet.

On the afternoon of 2 August 2024, after receiving an urgent call from his cousin, Shahinur joined a nearby demonstration in Habiganj during the July Mass Uprising. He had been at the protest only a short time when security forces opened fire with rubber bullets at close range.

Dozens of pellets struck his face and eyes.

He collapsed unconscious after the attack. His cousin and fellow protesters rushed him to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, where he received emergency treatment before being referred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology and Hospital (NIOH) and later to Ispahani Islamia Eye Institute and Hospital, in Dhaka for specialized eye care.

The injuries were devastating. More than 30 rubber pellets remained embedded in his face, including pellets lodged inside both eyes. Despite multiple surgeries and continued treatment, Shahinur permanently lost vision in his left eye, while his right eye retained only very limited vision.

In an instant, a healthy young father became almost completely dependent on others. He could no longer drive. He could no longer do the electrical work that once gave him income and identity. Even walking became frightening because he could not properly judge whether the ground was level or uneven. His wife had to guide him step by step through daily life.

When Aparajito first contacted Shahinur, his physical injury had already become an emotional crisis. He was deeply distressed and spoke openly about not wanting to continue living in that condition. He said he could not even see what was on his plate when he ate, and that his wife had to help him with almost everything. He kept asking what the point was of keeping such a life.

For his wife, the pain was also profound. Shahinur and his wife had married out of love, not through a family-arranged marriage, and their bond was strong. After the injury, she desperately searched for any possibility that could bring back his sight. At one point, she even asked whether there was any country where she could donate one of her own eyes to her husband. Her question reflected not medical possibility, but the depth of her love and helplessness.

Rehabilitation Support from Aparajito-24 Foundation

 

From the beginning of its work with Shahinur, Aparajito-24 Foundation understood that his rehabilitation could not be limited to medical appointments alone. His injury affected his eyesight, his livelihood, his confidence, his marriage, and his will to live. He needed support as a whole person.

Aparajito coordinated medical consultations, reviewed his medical documents, monitored his treatment, and arranged for team members to accompany him to appointments. His reports were also reviewed with specialist input, including consultation with a retina surgeon in the USA. The medical opinion remained consistent: the vision Shahinur had already lost could not be restored. The priority was to preserve the limited vision remaining in his right eye, monitor his eye pressure, continue medication, and prevent further deterioration.

Accepting this reality took time. Shahinur continued to hope that one final evaluation outside Bangladesh might offer a different answer. Because some of his earlier eye surgeries in Dhaka had involved a Nepali medical team, he had developed confidence in Nepali eye specialists and requested to go to Nepal for further evaluation. Aparajito-24 Foundation arranged for Shahinur and his wife to travel to Nepal for this purpose.

The doctors in Nepal conducted the necessary examinations and reached the same conclusion: there was no surgery that could bring back the vision he had lost. Their advice was to protect the remaining limited vision through regular monitoring, eye pressure control, and continued medication.

Although the conclusion was painful, the Nepal visit helped Shahinur and his wife reach an important stage of acceptance. After many months of uncertainty, repeated appointments, and emotional struggle, they could finally begin to understand that the goal was no longer to recover the past, but to build a livable future.

Aparajito-24 Foundation also provided counseling and psychosocial support for both Shahinur and his wife. These sessions played a major role in his recovery. Over time, Shahinur became calmer, more stable, and more confident. His wife also benefited from the mental health support, as she was carrying the burden of caregiving, fear, grief, and uncertainty along with him.

To support the family financially, Aparajito-24 Foundation purchased an auto-rickshaw for Shahinur. Since he can no longer drive safely himself, the vehicle is rented out and now provides a regular source of income. Together with the support he receives from the government, this has helped bring his family to a more stable financial position.

Today and Future Aspirations

 

Today, Shahinur is in a much better place than when Aparajito first found him. He still lives with severe visual disability, and he still grieves the loss of his former life. He misses working, driving, being called by neighbors for electrical work, and feeling useful in the way he once did. But he is no longer the same hopeless man who questioned whether his life was worth living.

He is now a dedicated volunteer with Aparajito 24 Foundation and willingly assists whenever assignments are entrusted to him. This involvement has helped restore his confidence, sense of purpose, and connection to his community.Shahinur’s greatest aspiration is not simply to receive assistance; it is to become productive again. Aparajito 24 Foundation hopes that, with continued support, he will be able to engage in meaningful work suited to his abilities, increase his family’s income, and continue rebuilding his independence, dignity, and self-confidence.

Shahinur’s journey is not simply a story of injury. It is a story of a man who lost his sight, nearly lost his will to live, and then slowly began to stand again, with the love of his wife, the support of Aparajito 24 Foundation, and the possibility of a future built around dignity rather than despair.