\u201cI\u2019ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,\u201d says protester who lost right hand in gunfire
\nDHAKA
\nSqueezing rubber-covered robotic prosthetic hands, Bangladesh protesters wounded during the deadly revolution to topple autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina test out replacement arms for their lost limbs.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,\u201d said student Hafeez Mohammad Hossain, 19, whose right hand was ripped off in gunfire on August 5.
\nIt was the same day protesters stormed Hasinas palace as she fled to India by helicopter.
\nIn the middle of the chaos, Hossain said a police officer levelled a shotgun at him and fired. He described searing pain as gun pellets lacerated his back and leg.
\nSurgeons picked out the gunshot, but were unable to save his hand.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t write anymore,\u201d Hossain said. \u201cI\u2019m struggling to learn how to write with my left hand.\u201d
\nOn Thursday, he was fitted with a prosthetic limb, alongside four other students who also lost their hands during the months-long protests in which at least 700 people were killed during a police crackdown.
\nRobolife Technologies, a Bangladeshi organisation manufacturing artificial hands, said the prosthetic limbs use sensors connected to the nerves to move.
\nThe company says it allows users to grasp objects, to type and use a phone.
\n\u201cIf you ask me whether they work like organic hands, I\u2019d say no,\u201d said Antu Karim, who is working on the government-backed project to fit the limbs.
\n\u201cBut these hands allow the boys to hold a glass if thirsty, or a spoon to eat,\u201d he added. \u201cAt least, they won\u2019t be looked down upon for not having hands.\u201d
\nRely on others
\nHasina\u2019s 15-year tenure saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
\nLimbless protesters held a rally earlier this month demanding the interim government who took over after Hasina\u2019s fall support those injured in the protests.
\nMany say they have not received the aid they need.
\nThe four other former protesters who had arms fitted on Thursday included Mohammad Mamun Mia, 32, a father of two, whose hand was hacked off by a gang he said was loyal to Hasina\u2019s Awami League party.
\nThe new arm is far from perfect, but it has made a huge difference.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll be able to do some regular tasks with this hand,\u201d he said, saying that while he cannot work driving a tractor in the fields again, he hopes now to open a small business.
\nArif Hossain Sagar, 19, had his hand amputated after it failed to heal from an injury he sustained during the protests, and doctors worried about gangrene.
\n\u201cI can\u2019t do any regular activities now,\u201d Sagar told AFP. \u201cI rely on others for eating or bathing.\u201d
\nThe new hand will return a degree of normality to his life, he said.
\nNayeem Hasan, wounded when attackers pounced on him as he went to donate blood to help those injured after a fire, broke into tears.
\nThe new arm would help him fulfil his simple dream.
\n\u201cI have a one-year-old daughter who wants me to hold her,\u201d Hasan said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cI\u2019ll be able to do some everyday tasks with this artificial hand,\u201d says protester who lost right hand in gunfire DHAKA Squeezing rubber-covered robotic prosthetic hands, Bangladesh protesters wounded during the deadly revolution to topple autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina test out replacement arms for their lost limbs. \u201cI\u2019ll be able to do some everyday tasks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":445546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-445516","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n