Star Diary

Stereotyping

A while back, I was heading home from university by bus when our bus reached the GEC circle. Seated next to me was a teenager. Once the bus stopped, a bearded man wearing a Punjabi got on the bus. To my shock, I heard the young man next to me mumbling to himself, "JMB!" Though this is just one event, I believe it reflected the general idea of the society as a whole. It shows how the society is marking a certain group of people as terrorist without due justification. Nowadays, it has become common practice to portray men with beard, as members of the JMB. People should stop such stereotyping without proof.
Shahriar Kabir Rana
IIUC, Chittagong

At the Memorial

Quite some time back, I was visiting the Raerbazaar Boddhobhumi, the place where the intellectuals were brutally killed in 1971 by the Pakistani army. To honour the heroes, the government had built the memorial by the river Burigonga. It carries great significance along with its endless beauty. But it is sad that some illiterate people are ruining its beauty. They are converting the place to a market and also a dating area. A few were even urinating and spitting there. Why are the authorities silent? Please do something to save the inspiring monument for the young generation
Istiak Ahmed Raihan
Dhaka City College, Dhaka

Facts on Smoking

Smoking is quite popular in Bangladesh, especially amongst teenagers. For most boys, it is a fanatic craze to prove their manhood. I myself was thunderstruck when I came to realise the huge number of my friends who smoke -- more than 80%. They seem to have the mentality that they have been smoking for years but yet nothing has happened and argue with the point that even non-smokers get lung cancer. So out of curiosity I surveyed all my friends to know how they started smoking. Most replied that they started out of curiosity and couldn't give up later on. Others pointed to peer pressure. What was terrifying was that some parents are aware of the fact that their children smoke! One of my friends had started to smoke to be accepted in his circle of friends. However, because he was all the more ignored, he ended up smoking much more. Many also smoke because they believe that smoking helps in reducing stress and tension. Cigarettes are found anywhere at anytime. This should be stopped and the government must establish a controlled environment.
Yeameem Morshed
Maple Leaf International School

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