Ten-year-old Shan Miazzi stood before the State Guest House Jamuna, the office of the interim government’s Chief Adviser, Dr Muhammad Yunus, holding a picture of his father.
When he was just five months old, his father, Sohel Miazzi Rana, was detained by the Rapid Action Battalion.
Since that day, no one has seen or heard from Sohel.
Shan was not alone. Around 25 other relatives of missing persons had organised a human chain there, demanding to know the whereabouts of their family members.
Their loved ones, allegedly detained by state agencies during the 15-year rule of the Awami League, have vanished without a trace.
These families are haunted by the uncertainty of whether their loved ones are alive or dead, as they wait for any information that might bring them closure.
They alleged that their family members were being held at “Aynaghar” (House of Mirrors), a detention facility where victims of enforced disappearances were kept during Sheikh Hasina’s regime.
The protesters also blocked the road in front of Jamuna demanding answers.
Among them was Tasnim Shipra from Lakshmipur, who held a placard demanding the return of her uncle, Belal Hossain.
Belal was taken by Rab-11 in 2013 from a tea stall near their home.
“We want to know whether my uncle is alive or not. On December 15, 2013, Rab-11 took my uncle along with two others. The bodies of the other two were recovered, but we have no news of my uncle,” said Tasnim.
She said while her uncle was not directly involved in politics, he was a friend of BNP leader Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Annie.
Nazma Akter, another protester, said, “My husband was taken away in front of me on March 27, 2019. Since then, I have gone to many places, but to no avail. The police did not even accept my report of my husband’s disappearance,” she said.
Nazma’s husband, Sujan Mia, a BNP leader, disappeared without a trace, and her efforts to find him have been met with silence.
“I want my husband back. If he is dead, I want to know that too. At the same time, I demand justice for those who took my husband,” she added.
Sajedul Kabir Sajel from Cox’s Bazar also joined the gathering, holding onto a memory that continues to haunt him. His mother, Rezia Begum Revy, and his 12-year-old sister, Afsana Nuri Alia, were taken by law enforcement in 2015. While his sister was released, his mother was not.
“My mother was an insurance worker. On September 22, 2015, my mother and sister were taken from the Shyamoli Transport counter in Gabtoli. While I got my sister back, I haven’t seen my mother since. I demand that the current interim government return my mother immediately,” Sajed said.
On August 6, a day after Sheikh Hasina’s fall, members of Mayer Daak, a platform of the families of people who fell victim to enforced disappearances, gathered in front of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence office to know the whereabouts of their missing relatives.
At least three victims of enforced disappearances, were released on the same day.
The next day, DGFI said there were no detainees in their Dhaka facility.
On the same day, Michael Chakma, 40, a UPDF activist who was forcibly disappeared on April 16, 2019 from Narayanganj, returned to a friend’s house in Chattogram.
