A son's silent sorrow: Wordless grief in Tarique Rahman's eyes
Tarique Rahman had tried to overcome the grief of losing his father and brother by looking into his mother’s eyes, but those eyes, too, closed forever.
Having lost his mother, a profound sorrow engulfed Tarique Rahman as his eyes holds wordless grief of silence.
Leaving his mother at the hospital bed, he returned home at midnight. At around 6am, he rushed back to her side and remained beside the bed in her final moments.
Afterwards, he returned home again, offered prayers for his mother and then left his residence straight for the party's political office.
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Tarique Rahman went to BNP's Gulshan office around midday yesterday (30 December). Within a few hours, the atmosphere there changed completely. Since last Thursday (25 December), the party had been observing celebrations marking his return to the country after 17 years, but yesterday, a pall of gloom descended on the party office.
Tears filled the eyes of leaders, activists and supporters over the loss of BNP chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia.
A shadow of grief was clearly visible on Tarique Rahman's face. Just hours earlier, he had left the hospital at night with a faint smile, but the following dawn brought the permanent agony of losing his mother forever.
As discussions went on in meetings, Tarique Rahman sat motionless, like stone.
When discussions were being held on Begum Khaleda Zia's funeral prayers (Namaj-e-Janaza) and burial process an invisible emptiness weighed heavily inside Tarique Rahman.
On one hand was the death of his mother, on the other the burden of the responsibilities she left behind. Which would he shoulder first? His helpless, speechless eyes seemed to search for the answer.
Tarique Rahman was beside his mother at the time of her death.
BNP chairperson's personal physician, Dr AZM Zahid Hossain, who had been constantly attending her treatment, said that Begum Khaleda Zia breathed her last at around 6am on yesterday.
At that time, her son, BNP Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman, was standing beside her somberly and silently.
Zahid added that initially, Tarique Rahman was allowed to enter the ICU alone. Later, other family members went inside. In her final moments, Tarique Rahman stood by his mother's side, raising both hands in prayer to Allah.
At the hospital, in the last moments of Begum Khaleda Zia, memories may have flashed across Tarique Rahman's mind of his mother's unwavering struggle to protect the country's democracy, along with the regret of not being able to serve her due to long years of separation.
When Khaleda Zia joined politics after her husband Ziaur Rahman's tragic death, Tarique Rahman stood beside her even then. At that time, Tarique was very young. But as the course of Bangladesh's politics changed, the shock also struck the Zia family.
That shock forced Tarique Rahman into exile. Before that, he endured severe physical and mental torture. The same fate befell on his younger brother Arafat Rahman Koko, who could not overcome it.
Khaleda Zia's younger son Koko died in Malaysia on 24 January 2015. Tarique Rahman could not have last glimpse of his younger brother. Khaleda Zia was so devastated then that she had go through medication to induce calmness, relaxation, or sleep.
Three years later, Khaleda Zia was sent to prison. That chapter left the Zia family and BNP leaders and activists shattered. In the following years, the nation repeatedly received news of Khaleda Zia's declining health.
After being freed following the mass uprising, she was sent to United Kingdom for treatment. At that time, party leaders and activists hoped their leader would not leave them so soon, that she would vote in the 13th National Parliamentary Election and, even if not publicly, would continue to guide the party from behind the scenes.
However, concerns deepened over Khaleda Zia's condition as she had been undergoing treatment at Evercare Hospital since 23 November. She remained in the prayers of the people of the country. All possible efforts were made, including attempts to take her abroad and bring in foreign specialist doctors, but her physical condition did not permit air travel.
Perhaps the almighty also wished that the uncompromising leader's departure should take place on the soil of Bangladesh for her lifelong resolve. She always used to tell: "I will not leave the country or its people. This country is my only address. I have no address outside the country."
Khaleda Zia may have been waiting for her elder son Tarique to witness his regal return. Overcoming all obstacles, her son returned to the land of red and green, capturing the attention of the entire nation.
That scene was also covered by foreign media. But within five days, Tarique was drenched in the pain of losing his mother.
Before he could fully understand life, Tarique Rahman lost his father in 1981. Thereafter, along with his brother, he joined his mother in the struggle to rebuild the country. Along the way, he lost his brother as well. That death too was not natural. Arafat Rahman Koko had to leave the world due to the wounds of torture.
After more than a decade, news of another death struck the family. This time, Tarique Rahman was left an orphan. He had tried to overcome the grief of losing his father and brother by looking into his mother's eyes. But those eyes, too, closed forever.
Yet, at the time of farewell, Khaleda Zia left behind some messages for Tarique- Never abandon the country despite countless adversities, fight against expansionism and, if necessary choose a thorny life path for the sake of the nation and its people.
The struggle ahead may not be easy for Tarique Rahman, now alone without his mother. But to fulfill the aspirations of the masses, that long journey must be undertaken.
