My country
A Ahmed, NRB in UK, On e-mail
My applause for Rumana Afroze for her forthright expression of some of the things that are wrong with our country. She brings hope in letting us know that there are people who still care about this country. Passive apathy has been our biggest failure, leading to acceptance of illegal means as normal behaviour by the elected or appointed guardians of our lives. Understanding and expressing what is wrong is the first step towards bringing about a change - real progress will come when many voices like Rumana's get together to carry out required actions.I would like to point out that poverty brings similar problems across all races and divides. When the UK was in recession during 1988-1996, the incidence of crime, mugging and violence was at its highest. Bangladesh is unfortunate from almost all counts, a few people have contributed to make things worse. The challenge for Rumana -- don't stop now. We, who are getting old, will support you all the way. ***The article of Rumana Afroze is a splendid piece of honest confession. The writer, a Dhaka University academician, was upright to share her feelings. Regrettably, I bear a different perspective on the whole issue. It's only a few days that I have written on our moral duties as a 'Bangladeshi' at home and abroad. I would reiterate that it is the noble duty of every citizen of this country to inculcate the spirit of nationalistic feeling in their heart and mind and demonstrate it through their words and actions. It is about time we start thinking positive to achieve commendable performance in all spheres of national arena. To my understanding, corruption is a 'cancer' to a nation that does not strive to accommodate its own problems and gradually the 'psyche' turns into vices in many forms in every possible tiers. Criticism is an effective tool to bring problems into limelight but then how many of us could rise above criticism to resolve the core problems? Recently , in Australia, massive corruption of police force in drug related matters attracted world attention. The irony is that a special police department is assigned to police the regular police activities! As for the educational standards of the country, one would appreciate that the 'awareness' is gradually created to offer quality education; consequently a large number of institutions have surfaced in the recent past. Not many would disagree that 'quality of education' is being compromised due to lack of authentic supervision and policy. But then such 'initiative' certainly marks the start of a noble cause; time and experience would regulate and mature the system in the days to come. 'Newspapers' represent real time facts and feeling of a society; it is a beneficial media that helps to synchronise our thoughts and actions. Today, we enjoy quite reasonable freedom in our expressions and certainly this 'indicator' would help us in creating positive awareness and taking correct actions. The essence of 'pride' lies in one's heart; it is the individual obligation to express it in the right way. Mahbub Akbar, Dhaka
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