The last thing 16-year-old Aminul Islam Amin told his mother before leaving home on July 21, 2024, was, “Maa, give me Tk 20. I want to buy some jhalmuri from the street”. After she gave him the money, he stepped outside and never returned home.
His father, Md Obaidul Islam, had left shortly afterwards to drive his auto-rickshaw. While waiting near the Kajla bus stand area in Jatrabari, two boys ran to him asking for help to take someone who was shot to the Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
As he drew closer, he was stunned to discover the victim was his own son -- a moment he described as feeling the ground pulled from beneath his feet.
“I held him and kept calling his name,” he recounted. Doctors later told him Amin had died before reaching the hospital.
Nearly two years later, Amin’s parents still live in disbelief. Across Bangladesh, dozens of families continue to live with similar memories of unfinished conversations, abandoned dreams and children who never came home.
According to the July Shaheed Smrity Foundation, at least 128 children were killed and 2,557 were injured during the 2024 July uprising.
The Daily Star, in an analysis last year, found that 89 children were killed during the uprising -- with 57 in Dhaka and 32 outside Dhaka.
Among them were 42 students and 29 child labourers. Seventy-nine children died from gunshots or shotgun pellets, while one child was killed by shrapnel from a stun grenade.
The victims ranged from four-year-old Abdul Ahad, who was shot while standing on the balcony of his family’s eighth-floor apartment, to teenagers who had only just begun planning their future.
In its report, the United Nations Fact‑Finding Mission on the July uprising stated that children were not only caught up in the violence but were also exploited by both the then Awami League government and opposition groups, with allegations of them being recruited and paid to take part in the violence.
It also documented allegations that security forces deliberately shot children, seriously injured others, and subjected minors to unlawful arrests, torture and other forms of abuse.
The Daily Star spoke to a dozen families and found that behind every number is a family still living with an empty chair, an untouched memory and questions that remain unanswered.
For Bahadur Khan, the memories of his 12-year-old son Sayad Mohammad Khan became unbearable.
“Sayad loved football and dreamed of studying in a madrasa. He wanted to become a religious scholar. On the day he was killed, he had just gone downstairs after seeing smoke from the rooftop,” Bahadur said.
During the violence, Sayad was shot in the leg near New Market. CCTV footage showed him dragging himself into an alley before collapsing.
After burying his son, Bahadur could no longer stay in the same rented house.
“Every corner reminded us of him,” he said. The family eventually moved, unable to bear the memories inside that house.
Most families interviewed for this report said they had received financial assistance from the government and various political or charitable organisations.
While they appreciated the support extended to them, the prevailing sentiment was that no amount of compensation could ease their grief.
Demanding justice, the families said they had little information on how far investigations into their cases had progressed.
Contacted, child rights expert Laila Khondakar said the deaths during the July uprising represent one of the gravest violations of children’s rights.
“During conflicts children are often treated as soft targets. Attacks on them generate greater public attention and outrage. No political interest can justify putting children at risk,” she said, stressing that protecting children is the responsibility of parents, communities and the state alike.
Laila also noted that many of the children who died were innocent bystanders. “Some were watching from rooftops or balconies, while others had simply stepped outside to buy something or were on their way home.”
“Anyone responsible for killing a child must be held accountable,” she said, calling for long-term psychological support for parents and siblings who continue to live with the trauma of losing a loved one.
