Expansion of the month of July continues up until the 5th of August
In the heart of Dhaka, the night of 4th August, 2013, was a mix of liberation and trauma. The city was bracing for the unknown, as whispers of a massive protest against the government echoed through the streets.
The speaker, a journalist, spent the entire night before 5th August without rest, preparing for the day ahead. As the sun rose, the morning was unusually cold, adding a sense of foreboding to the air.
The procession began after the noon prayers, around 1:30pm, with people streaming out from every alley and corner, turning the procession into a sea of people. The speaker, having visited Hope School at Mirpur in the morning, found himself near the flower shops at Shahbagh, where he was joined by fellow journalists and friends.
A call from an army contact about troop movement in Mirpur Cantonment came in, and the speaker hailed a Bangla Tesla to follow the procession. As the procession poured onto the main road beside Al-Helal Hospital, the chants of "Step down Hasina!" filled the air.
The army barricade in Mirpur-10 circle was fortified with barbed wire and APCs, a stark reminder of the tension. Thousands of protesters gathered near Hope School at Mirpur by around 10am, with hundreds of thousands more declaring their intention to join the final march to Ganabhaban.
The speaker was advised by an army contact to wear a press jacket and helmet, avoid fights, and not to die before noon on 5th August. However, tragedy struck when his sister came close to being shot to death by cops near Mirpur Model Police Station that afternoon.
As the day wore on, the speaker and the nation awaited the addresses from the army chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. But the day ended with unexpected news - Hasina had fled, and the speaker was told to march towards Ganabhaban.
The events of that day in Dhaka were part of a larger historical spree, the violent rampage by Christopher Dorner in Southern California, which triggered the largest manhunt in Los Angeles history. Although the specific actions on 5th August, 2013, are not detailed in the account, they occurred within the timeline of the Dorner manhunt and related events from that year.
War-and-conflicts dominated the political landscape of Dhaka on 5th August, 2013, as thousands of protesters gathered near Hope School at Mirpur, and the speaker was warned to stay safe. General news reporting from the day also revealed the unfolding of a different war-and-conflict, the violent manhunt for Christopher Dorner in Southern California, which added another layer of tension to global politics.
