'Fayez married me out of love for orphans. Now I have no one'
Amid the violence centring the quota movement, he was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where on-duty doctors declared him dead. He was later buried in his village in Lakshmipur
Md Fayez, 32, was heading home after work in Jatrabari at around 5:30pm on Sunday (21 July).
His mother called hearing about the commotion and unrest in the capital.
"I'm headed home now, ma. There's constant shooting. Hang up the phone, ma."
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Before Sabura Begum, his mother, could disconnect, she heard a loud bang.
And then nothing.
Fayez was killed by two shots fired on his head and neck.
Amid the violence centring the quota movement, he was taken to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital where on-duty doctors declared him dead. He was later buried in his village in Lakshmipur.
Md Fayez had moved to Maldives on an expatriate visa at a young age to take care of his family.
He lost his job in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and came back to the country.
He then started working as a pipe fitter.
Soon, he married Noor Nahar, an orphaned girl from Tongi in Gazipur. The couple welcomed their firstborn Rafi Mahmud after four years of marriage.
Rafi is now only 18-months-old.
His contractor Kashem, who had taken him to the DMCH when he'd been killed, spoke to TBS and said Fayez used to get a daily wage of Tk700 and lived in the Jatrabari Signboard area with his wife and son.
After the sudden death of her husband, Noor Nahar and her 18-month-old son Rafi Mahmud took shelter at a relative's house in Tongi.
"After losing Fayez, I have no one else in this world. I'm all alone…I lost both my mother and father, and I have no siblings. Fayez married me out of love for orphans. My husband was my only refuge and support.
"And now I have no one. Who will look after me? What will happen to our little Rafi? They shot him dead. Who killed him and why, who will answer?"
Noor said she laid her husband to rest at her father-in-law's house. "His family can barely make ends meet. So now I have taken refuge at my aunt's house in Tongi. My aunt herself is ill. Her family is also half-starved. I don't know what the future holds for me and my son."
Fayez is the eldest among three siblings. His father Alauddin, a carpenter, spoke to TBS on Monday morning.
"My son was not associated with any kind of politics. He was a mere staff worker for sanitary fittings. Who would look after his wife and my grandson? My daughter in law is an orphan.
"I used to work at the Chattogram Port. I lost my job in a movement during the military government. This time I lost my son during yet another movement," he said.
"Two bullets killed my son! I want justice for his murder."
