Dhaka: Squeezing covered with rubber Robotic prosthetic armBangladeshi protesters test replacement weapons for missing limbs injured during the deadly revolution to oust autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina.
“I will be able to do some daily tasks with this prosthetic arm,” said Hafeez Mohammad Hussain, a 19-year-old student whose right arm was torn off in the August 5 firing.
On the same day, protesters stormed Hasina’s palace as she fled to India by helicopter.
Amidst the chaos, Hussain said a police officer raised a shotgun and opened fire on him. He felt pain from gunshots in his back and legs.
Surgeons removed the gunshot wound, but were unable to save his arm.
“I can’t write anymore,” Hussain said. “I’m struggling to learn how to write with my left hand.”
He was fitted with a prosthetic limb on Thursday, along with four other students who also lost their arms during the months-long protests that have killed at least 700 people during a police crackdown.
Robolife TechnologiesA Bangladeshi institute that makes artificial hands said the artificial limbs use sensors connected to nerves to move.
The company says it allows users to understand things, type and use the phone.
“If you ask me if they work like an organic hand, I would say no,” said Antu Karim, who is working on a government-backed project to fit organs.
“But these hands allow boys to hold a glass if they’re thirsty, or a spoon to eat,” he added. “At least, they won’t be looked down upon for not having arms.”
– ‘Trust others’ –
Hasina’s 15-year tenure was widely seen Violation of human rightsincluding the mass detention and judicial killing of his political opponents.
Limbless protesters supported the injured in protests earlier this month demanding an interim government to take over after Hasina’s fall.
Many say they did not get the help they needed.
Four other former protesters who laid down arms on Thursday included Mohammad Mamun Mia, 32, a father of two, whose hand was chopped off by a gang he said was loyal to Hasina’s Awami League party.
The new arm is far from perfect, but it has made a huge difference.
“I will be able to do some routine tasks with this hand,” he said, adding that while he can no longer work driving tractors in the fields, he now hopes to open a small business.
Arif Hussain Sagar, 19, had his hand amputated after he failed to recover from an injury he sustained during the protest and doctors were worried about gangrene.
“I can no longer do any regular activities,” Sagar told AFP. “I depend on others to eat or bathe.”
The new arm would return a degree of normalcy to his life, he said.
Injured Naeem Hasan broke down in tears when the assailants attacked him as he went to donate blood to help those injured in the fire.
A new hand will help him fulfill his simple dream.
“I have a one-year-old daughter who wants me to hold her,” Hassan said.
