Slain Ruplal's 14-year-old occupies his father’s empty seat to run his family
Yesterday morning, Joy Robidas was seen sitting on a small wooden stool on the roadside in Taraganj bazar area, repairing shoes. Photo: S DILIP ROY
He once dreamed of studying hard and building a bright future for himself. But the nightmare of August 9 has shattered those dreams forever.
For the family of slain cobbler Ruplal Robidas of Ghonirampur Dangapara village in Rangpur's Taraganj upazila, education has become a luxury. Their daily struggle now is simply to survive.
With his father's body brought home, 14-year-old Joy Robidas lost his childhood too. A ninth-grader at Taraganj Government Model High School, he has been forced to take up his late father's profession -- mending shoes.
Yesterday morning, Joy was seen sitting on a small wooden stool on the roadside in Taraganj bazar area, repairing shoes with his tools arranged neatly beside him. The stall is in front of Abu Hanif's shop, the same spot where his father had worked for 12 years. The son now occupies the father's empty seat to run his family.
"I opened the shop at 10:00am and worked till 4:00pm. I earned Tk 280 in a day," Joy said, his voice trembling.
"I know how to mend and polish shoes, but I cannot make new ones yet. Slowly I will learn. From now on, I must work every day to earn for the family."
Tears welled up in his eyes as he added, "I dreamed of studying and establishing myself. But after my father was beaten to death, everything collapsed. He was the only breadwinner. Now I have to feed my grandmother, mother, and two sisters. I don't know if I can continue my education, but I want my sisters to study."
His mother, Malati Rani Robidas, said in a choked voice, "Without Joy, there is no man left in our family. He is our only support now. However little he earns, we must somehow survive on it."
"My heart breaks that I cannot send him to school anymore. Some inhuman people have destroyed our happiness forever."
"We have lost our father. The pillar of our family is gone. Now my little brother has to bear the burden of earning for us. That is the most painful for me," His elder sister, Nupur Robidas said.
"If our father were alive, my younger brother wouldn't have had to drop out of school and work on the footpath mending shoes. If I had any means, I would not let him work—I would keep him in school."
Nupur has passed the HSC exam last year while the youngest one is studying in class six.
Shopkeeper Abu Hanif, who witnessed the transition of the stall, said, "For 12 years, Ruplal worked in front of my shop. He was a simple and honest man. He loved reading newspapers and dreamt of educating his children. Now that very spot is occupied by his school-going son."
"It breaks my heart to see this. Ruplal's dream has been destroyed, and society as a whole must take responsibility when a child is forced to abandon school for survival."
Teachers too are distressed.
Rezaul Haque, of Taraganj Government Model High School, said, "It pained me deeply to see one of our students working as a roadside cobbler. If his father had not been killed, he would never have had to shoulder this burden. This is a lesson for society."
On the night of August 9, Ruplal Robidas, 48, and his nephew-in-law, Pradip Lal Robidas, 47, were returning home in a battery-run van. At Burirhat Bottola in Sayar union, locals stopped them on suspicion of being van thieves. Within minutes, a mob formed and beat them to death.
The following day, Ruplal's widow filed a murder case with Taraganj Police Station, accusing 700 unidentified persons. Based on video footage, police have so far arrested six men—all of whom are now in jail.
For Joy, however, the arrests bring little solace. The dreams his father once nurtured for him now lie broken on the roadside, alongside the shoes he must mend to keep his family alive.
