‘Free again’: Hope and fear as Bangladeshis eye uncertain future

When Nazmul Arefin caught wind that Sheikh Hasina – the woman who had led Bangladesh with an iron fist for 15 years – was about to flee the country, he dropped everything and ran onto the streets of Dhaka.

Outside, thousands of anti-government protesters were already marching across the capital, although none knew what awaited them.

A weeks-long nationwide campaign of civil disobedience – which erupted over civil service job quotas – had triggered a violent crackdown, leaving hundreds dead in its wake.

And whether more bloodshed would follow remained an open question: “We were sceptical about whether the army would support the people, or side with the government – that was the doubt in the mind of everyone,” Mr Arefin says.

“If law enforcement and the army had turned on us yesterday, it could have become a massacre.”

But the 38-year-old’s fear was quickly replaced with ecstasy, after news spread like wildfire that Ms Hasina had resigned, and citizens began to declare Bangladesh “free again”.

As scenes of protesters storming her official residence and looting everything from velvet chairs to domesticated animals were broadcast around the world, Mr Arefin was witnessing something else.

“It was like a festival on the streets,” he tells the BBC.

“It was amazing – people of all ages and classes came out, from rickshaw pullers to high society people, there were families taking selfies with army officers. We were shouting and celebrating for a new Bangladesh.”

The prime minister’s downfall was one that few saw coming and the shock was palpable.

“The internet had been out for most of the day, so when we heard the army chief was addressing the nation on television, that was our first hint,” Shariful Islam, who was at home with his family when the news broke, told the BBC.

When it became clear what was unfolding, he says everyone “lost it” – his elderly parents and four-year-old daughter included.

“Oh my god, we were all shouting, dancing, clapping, celebrating, it was a taste of freedom, like something you barely experience.”