Three days on the streets of Dhaka

In the aftermath of the fall of Sheikh Hasina and her government, law enforcement agencies are no longer on the scene. 

As a result, thousands of students like us have stepped forward to maintain peace and order in the country. They cleaned up vandalised government institutions, painted graffiti on the walls, collected trash, controlled traffic, protected police stations and patrolled the streets at night to keep robbers away. 

It's almost midnight as I'm writing this, and I can hear whistles from the streets, the sound reassuring the residents that they are safe. 

It was Tuesday, the 6th of August. A friend of mine from Dhaka Residential Model College (DRMC) called me in the middle of the night.

"Yusha, we're controlling traffic at Asad Gate tomorrow. Be there, or I'll break your face the next time I see you."

And so I was there the next day, stick in hand, partly to fulfil my responsibility towards the country but mostly because I like my face unbroken. 

‘Look at these kids, look how they handle it’: Students win over city dwellers with traffic management

Six of us controlled traffic for four hours starting at 3pm. 

Truth be told, we underestimated the amount of effort it takes to control traffic. 

The sweltering heat of the sun, the constant sound of car horns and smoke and dust from the roads combined made it seem like a hellish landscape from a dystopian video game. 

We got knackered after about only an hour, cursing our friend who came up with this brilliant idea. But our sorrows were soon drowned out by the love and affection we received from the people. 

Commuters praised us as they passed by, patting our backs for our efforts. Many of them distributed water bottles, drinks and snacks among us from rickshaws or on foot. 

By the end of the day, we got two to three cartons of mineral water, soft drinks and countless snacks in just 4 hours. We had to refuse about two-thirds of them just because we ran out of space to keep the stuff. 

Many restaurants also came forward to help us by providing us with packaged snacks. We returned home with our bag packs full of drinks, biscuits, buns, fritters, bananas etc. 

We left with a newfound respect for the traffic police who spend the whole day ensuring the smooth passage of vehicles in such an adverse environment. I joked to my friend that I would start taking bribes if I had to do this for a week straight.

In the following days, we cleaned the streets and painted graffiti on the walls with slogans on them. We swept the roads and collected garbage, focusing more on plastic packets. 

I'll be honest, picking up trash from the drains while standing in the rain is not my idea of a fun day. But just as before, the love and appreciation we got from people more than made up for it. 

They cheered us on from the balconies, throwing down water bottles and snacks for us.  Controlling traffic was easier from the second day as we slowly got the hang of things, learning how to deal with the flow of cars more efficiently. 

But the most fun activity by and far has to be painting. Seeing an artwork come together bit by bit has a different appeal altogether. 

You can see the bravery and sacrifice of our martyred brothers reflected in our work, depicting Mugdho distributing water with a smile on his face, Abu Sayed standing fearlessly in front of bullets and many more. 

We took inspiration from comics and animes too. Gojo Satoru saying "Nah I'd win" or Batman watching over Dhaka is Gen Z's way of protesting against the corrupt system. 

Azwad Yusha/TBS Sketch

From pandemics to wars to economic recessions, this generation has seen it all. We grew up with a feeling of frustration and helplessness enveloping us. 

We saw no way out of the vicious cycle of authoritarian regimes in our country. But the past few weeks have given us a glimmer of hope. 

A hope that real change will come to this country, freeing it from the shackles of years of corruption and discrimination and rejuvenating its spirit.

[The author is a 12th grade student in Dhaka]