Although the average number of deaths in road crashes is different in the reports of various organisations, the reality is that every day dozens of lives are cut short in Bangladesh as the result of road crash.
Families, children and relatives as well as loved ones of the road traffic victims miss them each and every day. However, survivors of road crashes and the families who have lost loved ones suffer a lot throughout the life. One other hand, more road crash victims are added every day.
“I know from our family’s experience how painful it is to lose a loved one in a traffic crash. I lost my father in a road crash when I was only six years old. Even after
29 years, the loss of my father pains me, our family and relatives every day. We miss our father each and every day,” said Komla Begum whose father was killed in a road crash in 1994 at Banani in Dhaka city.
Komla’s father Amin Uddin of Brahmmangram village under Dakshin Banigram Union at Kanaigaht upazia in Sylhet was an expatriate. In 1994, he came home on leave for two months. Later, he visited Dhaka for visa purpose and died on the spot in a road crash.
In that time, Komla had a younger brother aged 4 years named Mizan and another younger brother aged six months named Sultan. “I heard from my mother that my father took me in his lap before leaving home to go to Dhaka that day. No one else should lose their father in a road crash like this,” said Sultan, who is now about 30 years old.
Like Komla and Sultan, for thousands of families, every day is a day to remember loved ones who were killed in road crash or injured.
To remember the people lost and renew the commitment to ending traffic fatalities, the ‘World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims’ is observed in the third Sunday in November. This year, the day will be observed on November 19 (today) with the theme ‘Justice’ and the slogan ‘Remember Support Act’.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims was adopted by the United Nations in 2005 with the aim of remembering and supporting victims and families and taking action to prevent future deaths and injuries on the roads.
Aminul Islam Sujon, technical adviser, (road safety, Bangladesh) at Vital Strategies; said that this is an opportunity to provide a platform to the road traffic victims and their families and share their sufferings with concerned policy makers. So that policymakers would understand and take necessary measures to support those affected road traffic victims, he added.
Talking to the Daily Bangladesh Post on Saturday, the expert on public health and road safety further said that this day also highlights the importance of road safety as a whole. “We encourage the concerned organisations of the government, such as BRTA, DTCA, DMP, and DNCC to initiate coordinated strategic media campaign and strengthen on-going awareness programs towards ensuring road safety in Bangladesh,” he said.
Different organisations have chalked out various programmes to observe the day in Bangladesh.
Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS), and global public health organisation ‘Vital Strategies’ will jointly hold a roundtable dialogue at the conference room of Nagar Bhaban of DNCC in the city at 11:00 am today (Sunday). An art exhibition of road crash victims will also be inaugurated there.
Mayor of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) Md Atiqul Islam will attend the event as the chief guest, where experts on road safety, government officials, rights activists and experts on public health will take part in discussion.
Road Safety Coalition Bangladesh will bring out a procession from in front of the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopaedic Rehabilitation (NITOR) in the city. Later, a seminar will be held at the auditorium of NITOR.
Film Star Ilias Kanchan, founder and chairman of Nirapad Sarak Chai; told the Daily Bangladesh Post that his organisation will observe the day.
About the day, Ilias Kanchan said that the families of those who died in road crashes will remember the victims on this day and other victims. On the other hand, those who don’t have a road crash victim in their family should never become a victim and wish that no one else becomes a victim.
The World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims is a chance to unite the people who are road crash survivors and family who have lost loved ones, and all people working for road safety.
