He went to bring breakfast for sibling, never to return

Arafat Hossain Akash, the elder son of Akram Hossain from Noakhali district, had dreams like any other teenager. 

Although he could not take his SSC exams after failing the test exam, Akash did not let this setback define him. 

Instead, he joined his father in running a fruit business on the bustling pavements of the Chittagong Road area in Siddhirganj.

A week ago, 16-year-old Arafat had brought his younger brother from their Noakhali home to see a doctor in Narayanganj.

On the morning of 21 July, Arafat set out to get breakfast for his brother. 

Caught in the midst of violent clashes during the quota reform movement, Arafat was struck by two bullets. 

The young boy, who left to fetch breakfast, returned home in a body bag.

According to family members, bullet-riddled Arafat was rushed to a nearby private hospital in the Sign Board area where doctors said he had sustained bullet wounds to the thigh and bladder. 

Later, he died on the way to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.

Ravaged by grief and illness, Arafat’s father Akram Hossain is slipping in and out of delirium.

The dreams he once held for his firstborn son have been cruelly shattered.

He had brought the boy from their village home to the city, hoping to shield him from harm. The grief is overwhelming, particularly the anguish of not being able to protect his son.

“Akash was never involved in politics or any sort of activism,” his cousin brother Pavel said with a heavy heart.

“Why did he have to die? He was completely innocent, killed for no reason,” he lamented.