Dating with danger

Thoughts of his family and worry over their future engrossed him throughout his journey. He knew an arson attack on his truck was enough to ruin everything.

Rashidul, a trucker for more than seven years, had held the steering wheel in the morning last week with shaky hands and dared not open the windows for a single moment.

"My heart beat faster whenever I saw someone beside the road. I felt like they were there to throw petrol bombs at my truck," he said.

His fears stem from facts. Even though truckers are the ones who play the vital role of ensuring food-supply to the capital and other places, they have frequently come under arson attacks since the blockade began early last month.

Rashidul's rice-laden lorry left Kushtia for Dhaka's Babubazar in an unprotected convoy of 20 trucks. The truckers always tried to be close together so that they could come to each other's aid in case of "emergencies".

Anticipating trouble on the usual Kushtia-Pabna highway, they took the alternative Kushtia-Rajbari highway.

"Our drivers were doing well. We had a brief stopover in Rajbari," he said.

The most difficult part of their journey began after sunset.

"We had already crossed the Paturia ferry ghat and it was dark," he said, adding that most of the arson attacks on vehicles had been carried out at night.

"I was driving at 40-45 kilometres an hour during the day. But even though it was night, I had to accelerate to 60 kilometres an hour to avert untoward incidents," he said.

"Panic consumed me when I reached Savar and saw two suspicious looking people standing beside the road," he added.

They were not arsonists. The convoy reached their destination safely.

"I was overwhelmed with relief as soon as I parked my truck," he told The Daily Star at Babubazar Tuesday night.

But Rashidul's relief was short lived. A few hours later, he had to start for Kushtia again. He is paid by how many trips he makes.

His income has significantly dropped because of the blockade. It was only his fifth trip since January 6.

During the journey, his worried family members called him repeatedly over the phone to know whether he was safe.

They have nothing to do except pray for his safe return as he is the only bread earner in the family.

Our Kushtia correspondent visited Rashidul's home at Ballabhpur.

"Every time my son goes out on a trip, I can neither eat nor sleep. I just keep on praying," Rashidul's mother Jahanara Begum said.

"My son is always nervous these days. He thinks his job is dangerous but he is helpless," she added.

Before leaving Kushtia on February 10, the trucker had said, "I have been driving a truck of Swarna Rice Mills for the last seven years but never felt so scared."

During his journey to Dhaka from Kushtia, he was on the phone with this paper several times answering queries like how he was feeling and what the situation was on the road. It was at Babubazar where The Daily Star staff correspondent finally met him before Rashidul left for Kushtia.