Letters
Applauding Our Expatriates
Bangladesh, being one of the poorest countries of the world, exports a huge number of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled manpower abroad with a view to earning money in exchange of their hard labour. This trend of exporting manpower to foreign countries, mainly developed ones, has been going on for a long time due to shortage of employment in our country.
With severe uncertainty, about 1 lakh wage-earners set out for different countries of the globe in search of a better future leaving their near and dear ones behind. In most of the cases, their families are dependent upon their income.
It's true that the reputation of Bangladeshi workers is not satisfactory as compared to India and Sri Lanka as most of our wage earners are unskilled. So they need more time to cope with different circumstances they face abroad.
The heart wrenching tales of many Bangladeshi wage earners working abroad, as we often find in newspapers, fill our eyes with tears. But our diplomats and policy makers seem deaf and blind to the never-ending hassles of the expatriates. Who will resolve their problems but what about the government? Why can't our policy makers provide them with every legal facility they deserve? It is our duty to make their lives hassle-free abroad. The intervention and all out efforts of the government and foreign policy makers in this regard are a must to put an end to the sufferings of our beloved expatriates.
Sarwar Hussain
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering,
University of Chittagong
Abusing a Freedom Fighter
Bangladesh's emergence as a nation in 1971 came with a cost: three million people dead, a quarter of a million women and girls raped, ten million people fleeing to India, and thirty million people forced to flee their homes.
The Pakistan Army raped the women of our country in full knowledge of the public. They were routinely abducted to special camps near army barracks to be gang-raped, brutalised, and killed, or to live with the eternal shame of their violation. Many committed suicide.
A large section of the intellectual community of Bangladesh was murdered by Al Badr and Al Shams when they saw the defeat was coming. We have strong evidence and documents against the people who were involved in war crimes during the Liberation War and what is needed now is to bring the culprits to justice. For unknown reasons, the subsequent governments of Bangladesh failed to take any actions against them. They are pointing out that its main agenda is to form a religious state which is in contradiction to the democratic, judicial, constitutional and social structure of the country. But I find it funny that a supposed “Bangladeshi” sees it fit to blame Sheikh Mujib and those who fought for us and led us, rather than blaming those who oppressed us. At least publicly everyone agrees that any parties responsible for such atrocities should not be allowed to operate as our political leaders. Therefore we must establish once and for all who these people are and what they did and for this judgement to be reached transparently by a respected and universally accepted court/commission/panel. I hope that the government will punish those criminals who insulted a freedom fighter a few days ago.
Jewel Rana
MS Student, Dept of Biotechnology
Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh
Caveman Mentality
Last Friday (June 18, 2008) I was reading the article 'Cavemen in our Midst'. It seemed to be very skewed article against men, and as a reader I want to say something.
In that article the writer has clearly classified all men into three horrible classes. I know her classification is not totally baseless; there are men with such mentality in almost every society. But, all men are not same. Now that society is more aware of gender equality, women have more freedom and opportunities than earlier, women are getting more respect everywhere. But sometimes women abuse this freedom. In my university life I have seen a lot of girls who tried to be intimate with some teachers in order to get a higher grade in specific courses. This is a simple example of girls abusing their sexual advantages, and I can give a lot of examples like that. Then again, all girls are not the same. So, the psychological welfare of both men and women should be important to our society, otherwise a century will not be enough to change this scenario sketched by the writer. If equitable and sustainable progress of women is to be achieved, their thoughts should be broader. They should understand the difference between looking and ogling. However, the article in question has given only one message to the readers--men in our society always want to belittle women. I think this article could misguide the women on the path of equality. In fact, the author tactfully avoided a lot of positive facts available in favour of women. There is a difference between psychological welfare and gender quality. Why should the judgement be the same for both?
Bipro Ranjan Dhar
B.Sc. Engineer (Chemical), Dhaka
***
I was quite disappointed by the way this writer expressed her grievances against the male population. What bothers me most about the writing is that the writer has failed to mention that she is talking about a specific category of men who, I honestly admit, cannot be classified as human beings. Such a 'generalised dictation' about 'men', however, will surely succeed in creating a horrific view in young minds. I am afraid this will leave the growing female generation with a feeling of utter disgust and they might end up in a state of nausea at the sight of all men irrespective of their moral character. While I do appreciate the article, I also request the writer be more cautious about mentioning which category of men she is writing about. In such issues one cannot neglect the necessity of a strict classification.
Zulfiker Hyder
BBA-IBA
Senior Economics Teacher
The Educator
College Admission by Age
It's a great achievement that the number of people who have passed the SSC exams has increased from before. The total number of A+ holders is quite encouraging and shows that students are more serious about their future. The deep nexus of teacher, student, and family consciousness has probably helped our nation reach this platform. The confidence level of the students has gone up. However, the number of seats in reputed colleges is less than the number of prodigy students. Therefore, many students are feeling frustrated after not gaining admission in well-known colleges. Additionally, our authority has imposed an absurd rule, giving priority in admission to those who are older in age. This has no logical basis. If the education board calculates marks based on GPA, then the same GPA should be the basis for admission. This will help to avoid discrepancy. Age should never be a standard for comparing talent.
Md. Azam Khan
Department of Mathematics
University of Chittagong
Shying Away from an ICT-based Society?
Although the core motto of our science and ICT (information and communication technology) ministry is to create a society run by ICT-based knowledge, the original scenario in this regard prevailing in our country is not at all satisfactory. Needless to say, our budgets can never meet the demand for the research of science and ICT. While the world's ICT sector is advancing in leaps and bounds, we are advancing at a snail's pace mainly because of our poor state and reluctance in this sector. What shocked me a few days back is the website of science and ICT ministry, which had very little information provided. The condition of the website is also ordinary. However, to achieve desired targets including millennium development goals (MDGs) we cannot ignore the contribution of Information and Communication Technology. We have dreams that need to keep apace with the rest of the world to prove our efficiency. Building an ICT based society is a must to materialise our dreams. Otherwise we are sure to lag behind.
Sarwar Hussain
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Chittagong.
Price of Rice: Still a Challenge
We are very happy to know that there has been a bumper crop of the Boro rice all over the country this season. We also like to believe that everything will be operated suitably and the price of rice will come down very soon. But we are anxious in this regard. Because the price has been increasing everyday in last few months although there has been no shortage of rice in the warehouses of the rice-traders. What does it mean? It's clear to all that it was a planned sabotage of a group of crooked businesspeople. Unfortunately our powerful government has been helpless at their hands! They have totally failed to penalise the genuine culprits behind the scenes. The traders, in turn, have become greedier and have not let go of any opportunity to make a quick buck.
At this stage, the government should become more careful about the collection, storage and distribution of paddy/rice all through the year and all over the country. Otherwise, by creating a fake crisis, they will earn millions of taka at the expense of the struggling masses. If possible, the government can order to maintain 'input-stock-output list' (inventory management) strictly so that the joint forces can verify at any moment they think there is foul play.
Md. Abdul Hamid
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Business Administration
SUST, Sylhet
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