Milestone School: Students struggle to move past horrific memories

One student says he knew three children who died in the jet crash. All of them were in third or fourth grade

Rohan, a student in fourth grade at Milestone School and College, stood outside the campus on Saturday afternoon in Dhaka’s Diabari.

“I saw many bodies that day,” he said. “Hearing the sounds, I sat down and covered my ears. Then I saw the flames burning and many people lying strewn about.”

At the time an Air Force jet crashed into a school building, he says he was about 50 yards away.

“That’s where I was standing,” he said, pointing.

Asked if the crash still scared him, he nodded.

So far, 35 people have died as a result of the fighter jet crash on Monday. Most of them are children.

The incident has left scars on every student at the institution. Many are having trouble moving past the horrific disaster.

Tahsin, a student in sixth grade at the school, was standing a bit further away.

He said that he knew three of the students who were killed in the incident. All of them were in third or fourth grade.

Asked when classes would resume, Tahsin said: “They told us classes would start on Sunday, but now I’ve heard that they will start on Tuesday.”

Asked if he would be scared coming to classes on the campus, he said: “There will be a bit [of fear]. It is normal to feel scared.”

Mahbub was standing just outside the campus. He is a student of the institution too and is giving his Higher Secondary School exams.

Mahbub said, “I did not have an exam that day and I was having a snack when the incident happened. Hearing the loud noise, I thought a gas cylinder had exploded. But later my younger brother came and told me a jet had crashed.”

“It’s natural to feel scared. So many kids died. That’s hard to forget. Why were they conducting fighter jet training above an educational institution? And one that I later heard was defective, too.”

Mahbub called for those responsible to be brought to justice.

Many people came to the Diabari campus on Saturday from parts of Dhaka. The crowd was looking eagerly at the crash site. Some could be seen walking around the campus with a smile, having fun with their friends and family.

Mukta came to the Milestone campus from Khilkhet with her two children.

Asked why she had come, she said: “I came to see. Such a major accident occurred here. So many of our children have died. I came to see that.”

As the parent of a student, had she experienced any trauma since the incident?

“Of course. Even after this major disaster, planes are still flying over the school. There’s a lot of noise.”

Mukta’s son Sifat is a student in sixth grade at the Khilkhet branch of Milestone School.

He said, “I will be afraid to go to school. A plane fell on Milestone. Another day something else might happen at another Milestone branch.”

Selim had come to the campus from Uttara.

“The whole country is shocked by this incident,” he said. “Everyone who has children has a scar on their hearts. There were very few people who could hold back their tears after hearing about it.”