We met two coasters coming up the river, both of which were loaded with military vehicles.. One tanker was lying at anchor off Chungport. Further there were a dozen of the larger carrying cargo country boats.
Executions
There's practically no activity along the river banks: only an occasional person standing, watching the boats go by, nothing doing in the fields, no tilling, cattle are out grazing with herdsmen but that's about all.
Barisal was completely deserted, only the dogs on the streets although it was still an hour and a half before curfew.
Once I got down there I discovered why they didn't want me down there. Every day for the last few weeks they have been executing 10 to 20 people a day. This I got from the people who lived in the area. Every afternoon at 4 o'clock there would be 1020 single, spaced shots fired and they would later see the bodies in the khal.
The executions apparently stopped a week or so ago, at least the Firing stopped. but still discovered there were more bodies and it seems they are still executing prisoners (by bayonet.)
I saw evidences of the anti-hindu operations in the form of a poster (on gutted shops) stating “under marshal law authority". I asked by native guide on what hops they were placed and he said they were Hindu shops. The operations had been going on in the area for two or three weeks now
Like Animals
There are now almost columns of Hindus in flight in the area. They have nowhere to go. They cannot get across the border to India they flee in one direction, find there is a Army blocking their way and flee another. They're being hunted down like animals.
Families in the area are housing 15 to 20 people per house, and there is barely enough food there is description after description of where the Muslims have covered up, have hidden Hindus, and taken great risks personally in one village they called out the Muslim head man and asked where the Hindus were.
He refused so the army wrapped him up in jute and set fire to him.... papers are full of requests for factory hands to-come back, civil servants to return to their duties but everyone knows if you come back to work you're likely to get shot.
......It was made clear the army was hunting for three elements which they would eliminate in this order: first, saboteurs and Hindus from India; second, all members of the Awami League; third, guerrillas and other “antisocial” elements.
Constant Burning
They have nowhere to flee but southward towards the sea. They are caught between the sea and the advancing army.
From Barisal, I took the mail boat to Khulna. The land is deceivingly peaceful. It is so green, so lush, but there is so little activity. From time to time we would see bodies
