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Families of people who allegedly became victims of enforced disappearance continue to live in painful uncertainty, clinging to memories of their loved ones and waiting for their return.
On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, many families are still searching for answers about relatives who disappeared during the previous government’s tenure.
A government-formed commission received 1,913 complaints and identified 1,569 cases as enforced disappearances after verification.
It classified 287 cases as involving missing persons presumed dead.
Human rights activists and family members say merely documenting the cases is not enough. They are demanding independent investigations, identification and prosecution of those responsible, disclosure of information about secret detention centres, and compensation and rehabilitation for victims’ families.
One of the most emotional accounts came from Amena Akter Misti, whose husband Mohammad Firoz Khan Pintu allegedly disappeared in Chattogram in August 2012. Fourteen years later, she still does not know whether her husband is alive or dead.
“When my husband disappeared, our child was only two years old,” Misti said, describing years of waiting and hardship.
She said she wants only to know where her husband is and what happened to him. She broke down in tears while recalling how her family struggled after his disappearance.
Another woman, Mukta Khatun, said her husband Miraj Sheikh was allegedly taken away by Coast Guard personnel in Mongla in April this year.
She claimed that repeated efforts to locate him resulted in harassment, cases and imprisonment. She said she spent 27 days in jail and has still received no information about her husband.
Former disappearance victim Abdul Kaiyum, founder of Voice of Enforced Disappeared Persons, also recounted being taken away in 2017 and allegedly subjected to 23 days of torture.
He said he was later disappeared again after securing bail and being released from prison.
Families and rights activists stressed that enforced disappearance leaves relatives trapped between hope and despair. Unlike a death, where families can mourn and perform funeral rites, disappearance leaves them without knowing whether their loved one is alive.
The government has taken steps to establish a legal framework against enforced disappearance, while a bill on preventing and providing remedies for enforced disappearances has been placed before Parliament.
Rights groups, however, have raised concerns over whether investigations can be truly independent if law-enforcement agencies are involved.