Letters
On
Mess!
This is about the article "Mess." It was truly
touching and inspiring.
Even
though it was fiction, 'Mess!' was a brutally honest piece.
I was with the writer every step of the way. Right after
my Matriculation exams, I got pregnant and being unmarried,
had an abortion. It's been six years. I got married to a
different person, and sometimes I still feel like I am in
that mess. The amount of stress that my friends and I went
through at that time is unimaginable. I know how it feels
when you don't know anything, and no one is there to help.
Thank you, SWM, for printing this fiction, as the writer
said we can learn from other people's mistakes. I hope after
reading this, teens and unmarried couples will think twice
before taking their relationships to an extreme level in
order to avoid the 'mess' that we make everyone involved
go through. Thank you again, for some one has finally brought
this issue at into the open in a way that people can understand
it. No arguments, no judgements, no negativity, just a simple
story-- truly an ingenious idea!
AR
Banani
On
Islamic page
I am a regular reader of your popular magazine. I couldn't
help but write in support of the 'Islamic page,' which Mr.
Ahmad Raiyan request in the issue of March 25. It's our
bad luck to see how little the general Muslims practise
and know about the real beauty of Islam. And this, in turn,
is paving the way for the Western media to misinterpret
Islam without having proper knowledge about the religion
itself. We really need a page solely for Islam in your magazine,
as we believe that it is the best and most trustworthy teacher
ever available for its readers.
Raisa
Dhaka
HIV
Alert!
I came to know from one of my friends that some people who
had gone to enjoys movie at a local theatre in France, became
infected with HIV virus from needles protruding from the
seats of the hall. There were papers attached to the needles
which read, " Welcome to the HIV world". Undoubtedly,
everyone who came in contact with the needles got infected
with the deadly disease. Similar cases were also reported
from a theatre in Delhi. I considered it my duty to disseminate
the message through SWM, so that awareness grows among all
people and we become more cautious in situations such as
these. It is sad that people with HIV are committing such
a heinous act against humanity.
An
old reader and well-wisher
On
Cover
I am very grateful and satisfied after reading the cover
story the Return of the Natives by Rupal Mistry published
on March 25. It is not only timely but also a very important
endeavour for recent times to make professional Bangladeshis
who live abroad feel the urgency to come back to their homeland
to contribute as much as they can to uplift the future of
Bangladesh.
Every
sector in this country is corruption. There have even been
irregularities in the recruitment of university teacher.
This
country is in need of enlightened people employed in the
different sectors in order the country to compete economically
and financially in the global sphere. Brilliant minds are
being lost because they all go abroad in order to better
their lives and prospects, by settling and being educated
there. This attitude needs to be changed by our government,
creating a corruption-free environment and launching special
efforts to interest the enlightened minds living abroad
so that they can come back home. They are very important
for the future of our country.
A
Reader On Email
Congratulations!
Congratulations on a very well written cover story by Shahnaz
Parveen about the Adivasi population in Bangladesh! I have
noticed that SWM gives a lot of attention to this particular
topic and I would like to thank the entire SWM team as well
as the writer for their contribution to disseminating information
about the minorities in Bangladesh. The fact is that these
people are very much a part of our country and our culture,
but because of their non-Bangali identity, they are marginalised
and isolated from mainstream Bangladesh. They are not given
the rights that they deserve as human beings and they are
also very neglected not only by our government and the economy,
but also by the majority population. We should welcome them
into our society because they are a part of our country
and unless we learn to unite fully, while at the same time
accepting our differences in background, our nation will
always be regressing in every way possible. It is sad that
in a country where there is so much poverty and strife,
we also have problems where our own people -- and they are,
by definition our own, because they are inhabitants of Bangladesh
and call this country our own just as we do -- are made
to feel that they cannot enjoy the rights that we, as the
majority, take for granted. I would like to once again thank
SWM as well as Shahnaz Parveen for bringing this to our
attention. The writer was extremely informative as well
as empathetic to the trials and tribulations of the Adivasis.
Keep up the good work.
Tanis
Dhaka
CORRIGENDUM
The
Cover Photo for last week's Star Weekend Magazine issue
(April 1) was taken by Philip Gain, and not Zahedul I. Khan,
as was printed. It may be mentioned that most of the photographs
printed in the story were also taken by Philip Gain. SWM
regrets the error.
Submission
Guideline:
Letters to the Editor, Dhaka Diary and Write to Mita, with
the writer's name and address, should be within 200 words.
All articles should be within 1,200 words. A cover letter
is not necessary, but every write-up should include the
writer's name, phone number and email address (if any).
While SWM welcomes unsolicited articles and photographs,
it cannot accept the responsibility of their loss or damage.
SWM does not return unsolicited articles and photos. Response
time for unsolicited write-ups range from three weeks to
two months. All articles submitted are subject to editing
for reasons of space and clarity.
All materials should be sent to: Star Weekend Magazine,
19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215, Fax: 880-2-8125155 or emailed
to: <starweekendmag@gmail.com>
It is recommended that those submitting work for the first
time to the SWM take a look at the sample copy beforehand.
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