Shamsul praying to Allah. Shamsul has been attacked with strong acid. Here is his story:
Shamsul Hoque is 30 years old and from Thakurgaon in North-eastern Bangladesh. Shamsul had a shop where he repaired TVs and electronics. He was doing business together with a friend, who had a tailor shop next door. Business went okay for Shamsul, and he started lending a bit of money to his friend who was in trouble. After some time Shamsul realised that his friend was not willing to repay the loan. The shop that his friend occupied also belonged to Shamsul, and the friend did not want to pay for electricity and water either. Shamsul was not happy with the situation.
In the beginning, the two were best friends, but then Shamsuls friend got married and things started to change. The relation between Shamsul and his friend became more and more problematic. One night Shamsul was sleeping in his shop. It was dark, and suddenly his friend came into the room during night and threw a bucket of acid over him. The acid came all over Shamsuls body and went deep into his eyes. The incidence happened one night in April 2007. Shamsul cannot remember which date it was.
Shamsul was rushed to the hospital in Dineshpur - the Medical College. His condition was very severe, and the hospital was not able to treat him properly and to keep him alive. More that 60 per cent of his body had been seared by the strong acid.
Some people from the non-governmental organisation BRAC had heard about the case, and they came to the hospital and got Shamsul transported to the City Hospital in Dhaka city. Shamsul was kept alive at the City Hospital, and after some time he was transferred to the Acid Survivors Foundation in Dhaka. Here they were able to save his life and get him through the critical time.
Shamsuls friend, who threw acid at him, had in the meantime gone to India. But after some time his friend came back to Thakurgaon so that he could continue with his business. After one week of the incidence, a police case was filed against Shamsuls friend, but police did not want to take the case further. The police told Shamsul and his family that it was too late to file such a case. So after some time they gave up. Long time ago, BRAC had also filed a case against his friend. Apparently it had gone to the High Court, but Shamsul was not quite sure. Shamsul did not think that anything would happen. Now it was five years ago, and his friend was still living with his family and doing business in Thakurgaon - so why should anything happen to him now? There were hundred thousands of unsolved court cases in Bangladesh so he was convinced that nothing would ever happen to his friend. He was just praying to Allah.
Shamsul still do not know exactly why his friend threw acid at him. He borrowed his friend 2000 taka (25 USD), which he did not want to repay. Maybe that was one reason. The other reason could be that his friend was jealous at him. Shamsul had bought a small piece of land where he built a wooden hut. His electronic repair shop was doing fine, and after some time he managed to replace the wooden hut with a tin hut. Later on, this tin hut was then turned into a real building. He was doing fine, but his friend got jealous. Also one of the neighbours, who was living next to Shamsuls new plot, did not like him. One day when they were playing football, the neighbour and his friend did not accept a defeat against Shamsuls team. A quarrel broke out, and they became enemies. Shamsul thinks that this is another reason for why his friend threw acid at him. Maybe the neighbour was also involved in the acid attack, because now he and his friend are doing business together.
Shamsul is married and has one son. He got married in January 2007, just three months before he was attacked with acid. His son is now three years old. Shamsul tells that his wife wants to stay with him, but that her family do not allow that. His wife and son now live with his family-in-law, who do not allow them to see Shamsul.
Shamsul now lives with his parents.
