The portrait of martyred Bangladeshi climate activist Ishtiak Ahmed Sharaban, killed during the July uprising in Feni, was featured at Peace Week 2025 in Geneva. The exhibition “Echoes of Reality” honoured global defenders of human rights, justice, and the environment.
The portrait of martyr Bangladeshi youth climate activist Ishtiak Ahmed Sharaban, who was killed during the July uprising in Feni, has been featured at an international art exhibition in Geneva, Switzerland, organised to mark Peace Week 2025.
The exhibition, titled “Echoes of Reality,” pays tribute to human rights and environmental defenders from around the world. It was curated by Alvaro Sebastián Quiroz Ballanos, a 26-year-old Mexican artist and activist known for merging art, social rehabilitation, and human rights advocacy.
Held at the Geneva Graduate Institute, the show presented portraits of 11 environmental and human rights defenders painted on body bags, a powerful symbol of their sacrifice. Among them was Sharaban, representing Bangladesh.
Sharaban’s portrait, displayed as number 11, was followed by an empty frame inscribed with the question: “Who will be next?”—a haunting reminder of the ongoing threats faced by human rights and environmental defenders across the globe.
The exhibition also featured a portrait of Rohingya refugee leader Muhib Ullah, who was shot dead by gunmen in the Kutupalong camp in 2021. Muhib Ullah gained international recognition after meeting then-US President Donald Trump in 2019 to advocate for the rights of Rohingya refugees.
During the exhibition’s “Meet the Artist” sessions on October 15 and 16, visitors engaged with Quiroz about his creative process and motivation. The closing event on October 17 emphasised the role of art and culture in advancing peace and justice.
According to the Iris Art Collective website (https://irisart.mx/echoes), Sharaban’s portrait “reflects his determination through an upright posture, with part of his body buried in the ground—a symbol of both sacrifice and deep connection to the land. The red scarf tied around his head, gifted by his mother, represents love and solidarity, while the background of black smoke and burning trees portrays the tension between human progress and environmental destruction.”
Sharaban was a District Coordinator of YouthNet Global’s Feni unit and a dedicated climate activist. On August 4, 2024, he was killed during a student demonstration in Feni against inequality. Witnesses said ruling party activists from the Awami League, Jubo League, and Chhatra League attacked a peaceful rally, leaving Sharaban fatally injured. At the time, he was wearing the red scarf given by his mother.
His mother, Fatema Akter, said, “Before leaving for the protest, my son asked for one of my hijabs and told me, ‘If we don’t go, who will? This is our country.’ We tried to stop him, but he didn’t listen. Today, people stand with us. If a new Bangladesh rises on the blood of our children, we want to say—we are its rightful owners.”
YouthNet Global’s Executive Coordinator and Bangladeshi climate leader Sohanur Rahman, who received the Young Activist Award 2024, nominated Sharaban for inclusion in Alvaro Quiroz’s exhibition.
“Sharaban was a brave comrade who illuminated the struggle for human rights and environmental justice with his own life,” said Sohanur Rahman. “Through this exhibition, his sacrifice and ideals have been shared with the world. The aim is to ensure that stories of courage and sacrifice among young people are heard globally.”
“Even though the exhibition has ended, Sharaban’s portrait will remain in the collective memory as a symbol of a young man whose dreams and struggle could not be silenced by death,” he added.
A recent Global Witness report titled “Roots of Resistance” found that at least 146 land and environmental defenders were killed or went missing worldwide in 2024. From 2012 to 2024, the organisation documented 2,253 deaths of defenders, with Latin America remaining the most dangerous region—accounting for 82 percent of the global total.
In 2024 alone, 48 defenders were killed in Colombia, 20 in Guatemala, 18 in Mexico, 12 in Brazil, 7 in the Philippines, and 5 each in Honduras and Indonesia.
Artist Alvaro Quiroz said, “History is not just a statistic. Behind every number, there is a life, a dream, and a hope that must not fade. My work is a reminder that we must never forget them.”
