July graffiti. File photo

DHAKA, Sept 01, 2025 (BSS) - The July Uprising, which shook Bangladesh in 2024, claimed the lives of many, but the deaths of children during the protests have left an indelible mark on the nation's heart.
 
Among the youngest victims was six-year-old Jabir Ibrahim, who became one of the first faces of the tragic movement when he was caught in a violent clash near Uttara's Scholastica School on July 5.
 
Jabir's father, Kabir Hosen Bhuiyan, shielded his family from police gunfire, only to be fatally struck. Jabir, though injured by a bullet, survived, but his childhood was forever shattered. His older sister, Neha, now carries the heavy grief of watching her father death in the streets, while his brother, Mahtab Abullah, too is left with an unhealable wound from that day.
 
“My father was a martyr of the people's uprising,” Neha said quietly, as they continue to seek justice for their loss.
 
Elsewhere in Narayanganj, Riya Gop, a sweet six-year-old, was sitting in her father's lap when a stray bullet pierced her skull. Riya had been looking forward to a simple family meal on a quiet afternoon, but instead, her life was tragically cut short as violence reached the doorstep of their home.
 
"She was everything," said Riya's mother, unable to hold back the tears as her child's body was taken to the hospital.
 
In the Jatrabari area of capital city, seven-year-old Abdul Ahad was another victim. On July 19, he was playing near his home when violence erupted. A bullet struck Ahad in the head and despite doctors' efforts, he was declared dead later that night. His father, Abul Hosen, struggled to find meaning in his son's death, remembering the moment he was lost in an instant.
 
"We returned home with our son's body. That was the first time we went back," he said, reflecting on the profound sorrow that accompanies a return to a home now emptied of joy.
 
Not all the deaths occurred in the midst of protests. Naima Sultana, a 15-year-old art lover, was sketching quietly in her home in Uttara when a bullet struck her in the head. Her mother recalled that Naima had just spoken about drawing a coffin-a morbid premonition that became all too real.
 
"She didn't know it would be her own," her mother sobbed, clutching Naima's unfinished sketches.
 
Seventeen-year-old Shafiq Uddni Ahmed Ahnaf was another innocent casualty. A bright student at BAF Shaheen College, Ahnaf had dreams for his future. But on August 4, as he walked home from school in Mirpur, a bullet ended his life. His classmates left flowers on his empty seat the following day. 
 
Similarly, Abdullah Al Mahin, 16, died on the same day in Uttara from a shotgun blast during the protests. He had joined the demonstrators, a rare act of defiance among his peers. These tragic stories are a testament to the violence that swept through Bangladesh during the summer of 2024.
 
According to the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, 132 children and teenagers lost their lives in the uprising, along with 11 women. Over 500 people were left blind and nearly 20,000 others were injured. The families left behind bear the weight of these statistics, as their children are no longer with them.
 
"For us, these numbers don't mean much," said a father from Azampur, whose son was killed during the protests. "These were not rioters. They were our sons and daughters, killed in their homes, in their schools and in our arms."
 
The movement that began with cries for democracy has left deep scars, not only on the political fabric of the nation but on families who will never be the same. 
 
The children, caught in the crossfire of an uprising they did not understand, were the most innocent victims of all. And as their families mourn, the unfinished homework and shattered dreams of these young lives continue to haunt a nation desperate for justice.