Once a source of joy, now a sound of fear, trauma – a haunting echo
When TBS met Jihan at the school’s main gate today (23 July), fear was written all over his face. As a commercial aircraft passed overhead, he instinctively looked to the sky – startled and anxious.
For years, the sound of aeroplanes flying over the campus of Milestone School and College in Dhaka's Uttara had filled students like Jakaria Islam Jihan with excitement. Enrolled since class five, the now ninth-grade Bangla medium student would rush out to the playground with friends to watch aircraft soar above.
But all of that changed on Monday (21 July).
A Bangladesh Air Force jet crashed into one of the school buildings, killing at least 32 people, including Jihan's nine-year-old cousin Junayed. Dozens remain injured, some critically.
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When TBS met Jihan at the school's main gate today (23 July), fear was written all over his face. As a commercial aircraft passed overhead, he instinctively looked to the sky – startled and anxious.
"I grew up listening to the sound of planes," Jihan told The Business Standard.
"In our initial years here, we used to wait eagerly for them, rushing to the field with our friends whenever one flew by. It was never scary – it was something we celebrated. But after seeing the crash with my own eyes, that same sound now makes me feel like the plane is going to fall on us."
Recalling Monday's horrifying moment, Jihan said, "We were in Building 7 when the crash happened. There was a loud bang, and everyone started running. Suddenly I remembered my cousin Junayed was in the building that was hit.
"We tried to rescue trapped students but couldn't get close due to the fire. Later, we broke a grill from the other side and pulled out several students. Although I managed to rescue my cousin, a large portion of his body was badly burned, especially his airway – he couldn't breathe properly. He died at the hospital."
Choking back emotion, Jihan added, "I have decided not to continue studying at a school over which such aircraft fly. We're also going to move out of our home and leave this place [Uttara's Diabari area]."
For sixth-grader Siam, a student of the Bangla medium section as well, an aeroplane's shadow once inspired playful joy.
"I never imagined that a plane flying over our heads could actually crash inside the school. While playing in the field, we used to run along with a plane's shadow. It felt exciting when we could keep up with it.
"But now, if I hear a plane even in my sleep, I wake up in fear. That crash happened right in front of our eyes — and I keep thinking, what if it had hit our building instead?" he told TBS.
Parents, too, are shaken.
Hasina Akhter, mother of a twelfth-grade student, rushed to the school after hearing of the crash that day.
"I found my daughter trembling in fear. She was in another building, but when she saw the fire, she ran to help rescue children. She saw the burned bodies of kids. Now she's traumatised," Hasina told TBS.
"I never liked the sound of planes when I enrolled my daughter here, but the children enjoyed it and had grown used to it. I never imagined these planes would one day take our children's lives. I urge the government to immediately shut down all training flights over this school. We no longer want to live in fear of the skies," she added.
Golam Mostafa, a teacher at the college section of the institution, was on campus during the crash.
Speaking to TBS, he said, "We heard the jet approaching with a deafening noise – far louder than usual. Moments later, it crashed. We just ran to rescue the students."
He said most of the children who were on campus that day are now suffering from trauma.
"Planes were part of daily life for them. But now, the sound of a plane only brings fear. We must support our students emotionally and mentally. Parents and teachers must work together to help them recover."
