| Home - Back Issues - The Team - Contact Us |
 |
| Volume 11 |Issue 06| February 10, 2012 | |
|
|
Star Diary A Call for Tolerance Just the other day, while I was returning home from university by bus, I noticed a commotion at Mirpur 11 where the bus had stopped for an interval. I saw a man beating up a rickshaw puller because of a little scratch he had made on the man's car. The people who had gathered around rescued the poor fellow from the rage of the angry man as he frantically tried to hit him. If the people had not pulled the man away from the rickshaw puller he would have probably ended up killing him or crippling him for life. The damage done to the car was negligible. Was it fair to beat the rickshaw puller like that for a little scratch? Had the rickshaw puller been injured by the beatings, he would have found it impossible to work and earn money. A possible injury would have not only affected the rickshaw puller but also his family. We need to learn how to control our temper and develop tolerance towards people who are far less privileged than us. Shams Sourav Beware of Child Pickpockets The other evening, while I was riding down the main road from Ibrahimpur to Mirpur on my motorbike, I noticed a very young boy probably below 10 years of age, clinging behind a running rickshaw ahead of me. This type of scene is quite common, so I did not pay much attention to it. However, when I was about to the cross the rickshaw, I noticed there was a lady on the rickshaw and the boy suddenly put something on the back of her head, and she started scratching. As the lady was distracted, the boy swiftly opened the zipper of her handbag, which was hanging from one side, and put his hand inside. It happened so fast, that I was dumbfounded. And as soon as I recovered from the shock, I yelled out to the lady and tried to grab the kid. None the less, he managed to escape. What troubles me is, even if I could have captured the little thief, what would I have done? He was too little to be handed over to the police. Assaulting him wouldn't have been a civic thing to do either. Should I then have tried to calmly explain it to him that what he did was wrong? I highly doubt that would stop him from attempting to steal the very next chance he got. I feel like we have no choice but to be careful about our belongings when we ride on public transports. Khaled Mohammed What a Way to Make Money
The other day, while I was walking home, something peculiar caught my eye. A beggar, who was carrying a baby, was begging to passengers in a car. The surprising thing was the technique she used to convince the passenger to give her some money. Since, I got a view from a different angle I could see what the passengers could not. She pinched the little baby's back while making sure the passengers in the car could not see, and the baby would cry out loud. The passengers, who probably felt bad for the crying baby, paid her a few takas. I was convinced that this is nothing more than a money-making scheme. Women carrying infants who looked the most pitiful would naturally earn more money. These acts certainly go on to show how far some people would go just to dehumanise themselves. I do know that others do much worse; they model a young infant, by crippling them, torturing them and working to put their most pitiful face on. And all these fall into the treacherous act of making money, what a tragedy. Sarah Sayeed Gazi Copyright
(R) thedailystar.net 2012 |
