Letters
On
the Grenade Attacks
I very strongly condemn the heinous grenade attack on the
AL rally on August 21 that killed 21 people including AL
leader Ivy Rahman and injured over 200 others. The motive
of this attack was to assassinate Sheikh Hasina. Those who
do not recognise Bangladesh as an independent and sovereign
country, want to make Bangladesh a vassal state of either
Pakistan or India and want to project Bangladesh internationally
as a failed country. They are behind this ghastly attack.
They are the enemies of the country. So not only democracy
but the very existence of Bangladesh is at stake. Time is
running out. Therefore, I humbly request both Khaleda Zia
and Sheikh Hasina to work together and unite the 140 million
people of Bangladesh irrespective of party affiliation as
one nation, like that of 1971, and wipe out the enemies
from the soil of Bangladesh.
Iqbal Ahmed
On email
What's
the Point?
I think "Newsnotes" of SWM has little utility
for the readers of The Daily Star. The readers of DS should
have already acquainted themselves with the news throughout
the week by reading the newspaper instead of getting a summary
at the end of each week, which I feel takes away precious
space from our favourite writers. Moreover I don't think
that SWM is a news magazine. Therefore it shouldn't be burdened
with past news. I, myself, hardly find any reasoning behind
this unnecessary reprinting. In my opinion, this valuable
space should be used for more relevant and important purposes.
Meshkat A. Chowdhury
Mirpur, Dhaka
Hope,lost
and found
I enjoy reading " Dhaka Diary" in SWM and while
reading the September 10 issue, I noticed an incident titled
'Hope, lost and found" written by Moazzem Hossain,
a student of Dhaka University, in which he described the
honesty of a CNG driver. How is it possible? I was astonished
and impressed. When the whole nation is suffering from moral
degradation, there comes a good example of honesty. I hope
that, this type of example will be published in SWM more
often to inspire our nation.
Rathi Mahamud Morshed
Dhanmondi,Dhaka
I
Love SWM
I am a die-hard fan of the magazine and while browsing through
the September 10 issue, I was delighted to see that it was
filled with amazing facts/features. I would like to extend
my appreciation to the different writers in SWM that enhance
the standard and quality of this publication. There are
quite a few worthy names, which need mentioning. Richa Jha,
a wonderful writer who, with a vision of enjoying the moments
of clarity appears also to be a great optimist. Her presentation
is so lucid and spontaneous that her articles are simply
outstanding. But Richa Jha excels most at finding a realistic
but optimistic way out of every obstacle that she faces,
which is the essence of living in this most formidable time.
I would also like to mention other articles, such as "Save
me, I am not dead," by Aasha Mehreen Amin, and "The
Best Years of Our Lives. Wasted?" by Kajalie Shehreen
Islam, both of which are quite vivid in their undertone,
as well as the gripping article, "The Fear Factor"
by Srabonti Narmeen Ali. Another mention-worthy column is
the one and only "A Roman Column", which is simply
great! And of course, Chintito whose articles do actually
make me chintito. In short, I love reading from
the very first page to the last. But I have one problem
-- I don't see the best, which is Time-Out chess! I guess
this time it was been too difficult for SWM to make some
room! But please bring chess back. Thanks very much and
keep up the good work.
Rafiqul Islam Rime
Agrabad, Chittagong-4100
On
"Save me, I am not dead"
I habitually read all parts of SWM and I read through twice
the article by Aasha Mehreen Amin on Shima, the raped and
mained garment worker of Savar, published on September 10.
I would like to express what I understand. We know about
Ayam-e-Jahilyah (age of ignorance), the most scandalous
chapter of world history, when women were intensely slighted
and regarded as goods. They were often also buried alive.
There was a point that they were deprived of the light of
civilisation. But this is a new form of barbarism, although
we now pretend to be a civilised generation. The assailant
of a victim such as this should be handcuffed and brought
to trial for exemplary punishment. We don't want a repetition
of the same story over and over again.
Ala uddin Ansary
University of Dhaka
On
Learning English
I would like to thank SWM and the British Council for the
new section "Learn English with the British Council.
Undoubtedly this will help English learners in Bangladesh.
My English, which I learned almost sixty years ago is, as
you can imagine, very rusty. The grammar I learned at school
is no longer always correct. One thing that I think a lot
of people have problems understanding is the difference
between "its" and "it's". It is a source
of confusion for many people. Perhaps the British Council
can do a piece on this particular grammar problem.
Niaz Zaman
By Fax
On
Being Young
I regularly read SWM. In the September 10th issue, I especially
enjoyed reading the "Musings" piece by Elita Karim,
called "Being Young". Her writing style is very
modern, lively and vivacious. I would like to thank Elita
for her wonderful article and would like to let you know
that I am awaiting her next piece.
Md. Toufiqur Rahman
Dhaka
Announcement
SWM
will soon be regularly running the new column called "On
Campus" on the various events and issues of different
university campuses around the country. University students
are invited to send in anecdotes and articles on their thoughts
and experiences of campus life, as well as reviews of campus
events such as festivals, field trips and cultural programmes.
--SWM Editor
Letters to the Editor, Dhaka Diary & Write to Mita with
the writer’s name and address, should be within 200
words. Articles should be within 1,200 words. Articles and
photos submitted will not be returned. Plagiarised articles
will not be accepted. All materials should be sent to: Star
Weekend Magazine, 19, Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215, Fax: 8125155,
or e-mailed to <dsmagazn@gononet.com>
Articles may be edited for reasons of space and clarity.