IT WILL soon be a year since the authoritarian Awami League regime was toppled in a mass uprising. Yet, the injured protesters still struggle to access long-term health care and rehabilitation. In attempts to violently repress the protest, the police and the Awami League’s armed goons fired bullets, sound grenades and other ammunition, which left at least 834 people dead and 20,000 more injured. About 600 people lost partial or full vision from pellet injuries. The interim government repeatedly promised quality medical care and sustainable rehabilitation for the injured, but the programmes still lack coordination to realise the promise. On July 6, at a meeting organised by Visionary Voice, a platform of volunteers supporting the injured protesters, speakers noted that the government fell behind in preparing a list of injured and martyred protesters. For medical support and access to compensation, victims need to get enlisted, but the enlistment and verification process is complex and unfriendly, particularly for working-class victims. Meanwhile, injured survivors, the majority of whom are from the working class, keep living in a state of financial and physical instability.
The government announced that families of the deceased would receive Tk 10 lakh in savings certificates while the injured victims would receive Tk 3 lakh, Tk 2 lakh or Tk 1 lakh based on the severity of injuries. Injured protesters considered the scheme unjust and arbitrary as many had already spent more than the amount on treatment. Volunteer groups supporting injured victims in navigating health bureaucracy have repeatedly said that the government needs to consider the cost of treatment incurred before the fall of the Awami League regime. The compensation scheme cannot be an arbitrary figure. Moreover, the compensation disbursement process is also flawed. Some injured received assistance multiple times while many are left without any help. The government’s injury categorisation and assessment scheme also appear flawed. People with severe injuries allege that they are wrongly categorised and fear that they will not receive the required support. There has so far been no progress in rehabilitating either the injured or the families of the uprising martyrs.
It is high time that the government delivered on its promises by ensuring long-term, free quality medical care and rehabilitating the injured and families of the martyred. It should expedite the verification process and publish the list of injured and martyred victims. Instead of arbitrarily announcing a financial package for the injured, the government should consult global models that are used to assess physical injury, psychological pain and economic loss for the victims in post-conflict situations.
