Star Diary

Misuse of the Cell Phone
The cell phone is obviously a blessing for the modern civilisation to be taken ahead for future growth and development of the world as a whole. But unfortunately this wonder of science is being misused by a section of people, particularly by the young generation, to be more specific, by teenagers and the student community. It is a fact that ours is a poor country and most of the population lives in the rural areas having to struggle with many forms of poverty. A sizable number of the population lives under the poverty line and are unable to afford a square meal in a day. Plenty of students come from these rural sections, where their guardians go through a tremendous lot to arrange for funds to bear the educational expenses. I have noticed that these students misuse their cell phones unnecessarily. Unnecessary gossiping with their friends on the cell phones creates an extra burden for their poor guardians. In my boyhood I remember reading an Aesop's tale on helpless frogs and naughty boys entitled, as “what is play to you is death to us.” Misusing the cell phone by the students and teenagers is a glaring example of the above Aesop's .
Faruque Ahmed
West Rampura, Dhaka

Another Mobile-Snatching Story
A while ago, as I was returning home from classes by bus, I was shocked to see a passenger screaming out. Most of the passengers were curious to know why he was screaming. A mobile snatcher snatched his cell phone. The passenger was talking on the phone, while sitting by the window. That was when someone outside the bus jumped and snatched the phone. The passenger of course could not do anything since the bus was on the move. I guess we cannot do much at the moment, instead of being a little more careful while using our cell phones while sitting by the window on the bus.
Mohammad Alauddin
Dhaka College, Dhaka

Panic on the Road
A few days ago two of my cousins were coming to our house, when on their way, two young men stopped their rickshaw in front of the Central Government Boys School. The men were following my cousins from the AGB colonies. It was around 8:30 pm. The young men asked my cousins to get off and also asked them if they were coming from a certain meeting. They asked them many more strange questions. Afterwards, the men held a gun and told my cousins to give their cell phones. When one of my cousins asked for the SIM cards, one of the young men punched him hard. The men then told my cousins not to scream or say a word since they belonged to the local government parties in the area. There was also a police post right in front of them, but the young men simply disappeared in the dark night and nothing could be done. This simply proves that we are not safe on the streets of Dhaka. The government should definitely do something about this, as street crimes are getting worse every day.
Subbir Ahmed
AFBL, Dhaka

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