On July 19, 30 UBC community members gathered outside the UBC Bookstore chanting “we want justice” while holding Bangladeshi Flags and signs reading “stop violence against students," in solidarity with students in Bangladesh.
There have been nationwide protests in Bangladesh regarding the allocation of government jobs. In Bangladesh, there is a quota system that reserves 30 per cent of civil service jobs — which are often highly sought after and well paid — for families of veterans who fought in Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
This system has been in place since 1972, but was abolished by current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2018 after weeks of students protesting for the abolition while also facing violence and arrests from police. This was until the High Court of Bangladesh reinstated the decision in early July.
On July 21, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh scaled back the High Court’s decision by making the job reserved for veteran’s families five per cent, and the protests have shifted to demand apologies and resignations of those responsible for the violence that was deployed against students that resulted in deaths and arrests.
Bangladeshi Student Association Co-President Rudaba Tabassum said “we have never as a country … been in a situation like this where our own families, our loved ones are so unreachable.”
On July 18, the government imposed nationwide curfews and an internet blockade that are ongoing.
Tabassum said it’s important for community members to gather in solidarity even if they are not in Bangladesh as they need “international pressure” for the Bangladeshi government to make change.
“That's why we as Bangladeshi students feel the need to gather … to be able to get that attention from the world that this is something that's been happening and we should talk about it [and] should create that pressure around this subject,” said Tabassum.
Musanna Galib, a member of the Bangladeshi Grad Alliance, said “our goal is to reach global media, people from all around the world so that they know what's going on.”
“We need their support.”
A previous version of this story misstated that Galib was the president of the Bangladeshi Grad Alliance, when he is not. This article was updated on July 25, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. to reflect this change.
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