As students of Bangladeshi origins living abroad, it is heart-wrenching to watch our fellow brothers and sisters back home—the young backbone of our motherland—getting assaulted for taking a stance and embracing their democratic rights by joining the Quota Movement. Seeing them attacked for merely voicing their legitimate concerns is painful. More distressing still is the absence of adequate international coverage, which is instrumental in drawing attention and initiating action against these injustices.

The Quota Movement, comprising mainly student protesters, has been grappling with severe backlash from the authorities. This movement refers to the protests and activism led primarily by university students demanding reforms to the country's public sector job quota system, which reserved 56% of government jobs for specific groups, including descendants of freedom fighters, women, and ethnic minorities. The movement gained significant momentum in 2018, and the system was even put on hold temporarily. However, in June 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reinstated the quota system, sparking widespread political criticism.

On July 15th, peaceful protests of the Quota Reformation Movement across various university campuses faced violent reactions from the Bangladesh Student League (BSL)-- a student league loyal to the current party in power. Since then, every day there have been clashes, leading to multiple deaths daily along with thousands getting injured. On July 18th, due to violent attacks from BSL and the police force all across universities & streets in Bangladesh, thousands of people have been injured; over 18 students (as young as 17 years old) have been killed; and many individuals are in critical condition. The death tolls are expected to rise exponentially, but the entire nation is currently experiencing a deliberate internet shutdown, leading to a halt in confirmed death tolls from credible sources.

The prime minister addressed the nation yesterday, stating that the police are there to protect civilians amidst conflicts; however, in reality, they are often the ones mercilessly attacking young, unarmed students by shooting at them or running them over with their vehicles. This glaring violation of human rights and democratic principles needs to come to an immediate halt.

Our plea is simple:

• We urge the Bangladeshi government and police forces to cease attacks on the unarmed and nonviolent protestors of the Quota Movement.
• We urge the Bangladeshi government to hear the students out, as they are not asking to abolish the quota system but to reform it.
• Furthermore, we implore the international community not to turn a blind eye to these occurrences. These peaceful protestors need the world’s support to continue their struggle against an unjust system.

Please amplify their voices by signing and sharing this petition. Your signature could make a difference and bring the change that we earnestly wish to see.