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هذه الصفحة غير متوفرة باللغة العربية وهي معروضة باللغة English

المقال

26 يوليو 2024

الكاتب:
Masum Billah & Faisal Mahmud, Al Jazeera

Bangladesh: Rickshaw pullers risk their lives amid protest clashes to save their livelihoods and bring people to safety

" How Bangladesh rickshaw pullers saved lives amid quota protest clashes", 26 July 2024

the rickshaw pullers didn’t just escape — they saved lives as Bangladesh descended into the bloodiest clashes it has seen in years. What had begun as a student-led protest for quota reforms in government jobs had erupted into a nationwide upheaval, fuelled by escalating violence and broader frustrations with the government.

...

Through it all, the city’s defiant rickshaw pullers were out on the streets.

...

An estimated 400,000 to 600,000 rickshaws navigate the city’s thoroughfares on any given day. The protests, the shutdown of businesses and the subsequent, strictly enforced curfew dealt a devastating blow to their earnings: Shaheen’s earnings plummeted to 150 taka ($1.28), — compared to the 800-1000 taka ($6.8 to $8.5) he usually earns — barely enough to cover the 120 taka ($1) rent owed to the rickshaw owner.

But staying at home amid the mayhem on the streets wasn’t an option.

...

Venturing out amid the clashes was a matter of survival. “We brave the violence because we are hungry,” he said. “What is the use of living if I have to see tears in my mother’s eyes due to hunger?”

On July 19, that survival instinct also helped save many others.

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