Naimul Karim

The on-arrival mess

30-year-old Sharmin Akhter* holds dual citizenship. Born to a German father and a Bangladeshi mother, she possesses both countries' passports. She was nevertheless nearly deported from Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport earlier this month.

Will Bangladesh field its best ever team in the 2019 World Cup

Mashrafe Bin Mortaza celebrated his 200th ODI in style earlier this week, with a three-wicket haul that outfoxed a hard-hitting West Indian line-up and restricted the visitors to a below-par total, which the Tigers eventually cruised past with ease at Mirpur.

Can bank alliances prevent human trafficking?

In early 2018, the Italian police intercepted a trafficking ring that dealt with workers from Bangladesh and India. Similar to almost every other trafficking story, the workers, in this case as well, were given false promises of jobs and brought to the country in exchange of exorbitant recruitment fees.

The numbers that reflect the misery of our migrants

A recent report published by the Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) on the impact of migration on household income, expenditure and poverty, highlights a number of interesting trends.

Bangladesh's innovation challenge

A physicist from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) dominated the headlines last month when she, and her team of 25, made a breakthrough discovery in cancer detection.

The dangerous half degree

A new report published last week by the United Nation's Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an organisation consisting of leading climate scientists from all over the world, has warned that by 2030, the earth's temperature is expected to witness an increase by at least half a degree.

From the shores of hell & back

“They thought I was dead,” Abdul tells Star Weekend. “I was stuck in a jail in Libya for over four months and I never had the chance to contact my family. They thought I had fallen from the boat [on the way to Italy from Libya] into the dangerous sea and disappeared forever,” he says.

Is the future of Bangladesh cricket actually in danger?

Bangladesh's young cricketers came under immense criticism in the recently concluded Asia Cup. It did not take too long for people to dismiss the likes of Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Liton Das and Mosaddek Hossain.

Held captive in one's own mind

The last two years have witnessed thousands of Bangladeshi female workers, who were tortured, abused or cheated, return home from the Middle East with painful memories.

From an elephant jungle to the world's largest refugee camp

At the edge of a winding uphill road, right next to a host of tea stalls busy selling cigarettes from Myanmar and entertaining Rohingya teenagers, lies Sufia's home.

A day at a Rohingya camp office

In terms of picturesque views, there are few areas in the camps which can produce a better sight than the one seen from the top of Camp No 3. It's a place that provides a bird's-eye view of the entire site.

A generation in danger

It's past noon at the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh, and 18-year-old Rahim* is enjoying a post-lunch smoke at a tea stall located near the camp's bazaar. Surrounded by other youngsters of the same age, he whiles away his time listening to songs on mobile phone speakers and drinking sweetened milk tea.

A story unheard

On the morning of March 14, 2018, Pro Oai Mro and his family embarked upon a dangerous journey—across the Myanmar border. Tired of living at the brink of uncertainty and desperate to ensure a better future for his four sons, Mro decided to take a leap of faith.

The endless wait for justice

26-year-old Jalal Ahmed represents a rare trend. He is one of very few victims in the country who has managed to send his traffickers—the ones who kidnapped him and forcefully sent him to a jungle in Thailand back in 2013—to jail.

How I escaped my Chinese husband

Manisha Chakma met Pinky for the first time at a tea stall located right outside her college. Like Manisha, Pinky too had left her hometown and arrived in Dhaka in search of a good job and decent life. After a brief chat, numbers were exchanged and over the next few days, Pinky, in Manisha's words, would go on to become a 'hi-hello' friend.

The new weapon of war in digital Bangladesh

“The presence of the photos of these two whores, Umme Habiba Benojir and Shamima Binte Rahman, on my newsfeed has made my blood boil with anger. I wish I could go back to the 80s when I was a part of the Chhatra League. Dear current generation, please do your duty. Please finish the job within one to two days. Don't compel half-centurions like us to come to the ground.”

The struggle to return home

In the last three years, more than 2000 Bengalis in Pakistan's Karachi have applied for Travel Permits (TP) to return to Bangladesh. A TP is equivalent to a one-time passport, which the Bangladesh Embassy provides to individuals it believes belong to Bangladesh.

An undying spirit

10 years ago, the Bangladesh women's cricket team embarked upon their first ever Asia Cup journey. The Women in Green were all set to play the opening match of the four-team tournament, taking place in Sri Lanka, against India.

We cannot continue to neglect Bangladesh women's cricket

USD 66,600 or approximately Tk 56 lakh—that is the difference between the yearly salary of the highest graded women cricketers of India and Bangladesh. Indian cricketers receive a daily payment, for their participation in domestic cricket, of Rs 12,500. Bangladesh's cricketers, on the other hand, get paid Tk 600 as match allowance in domestic leagues. That is basically what cricketers who aren't in the national contract play for.

From depending on it to drowning in it

Catfish, or Magur Mach, may not be a best seller in the market when compared to say a Chingri or an Ilish. However, when cooked the right way—fresh out off the pond—there are few delicacies that can beat the appetising taste of a Magur Macher jhol. Aside from the good taste, it also has medicinal values and is often prepared for pregnant women.

Jailed and forgotten

Forty-year-old Azaher Ali is in a fix and isn't sure how he should react. He has just met his daughter and his grand-daughter for the first time in years. His daughter was just 11 months old, the last time he held her. Today, she's almost 20 and has a child of her own.

Riding on momentum

The recently concluded Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka will no doubt be remembered for a long time. From the competitiveness of each of the three teams to the drama towards the end of the tri-series, each little element contributed to it being one of the most memorable T20I competitions.

Time to go?

Sara Ansari is delighted. She can finally drive in her own country thanks to a recent change in reforms in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The changes have just begun to take effect; Sara, however, has been holding a license for a couple of years. She got it from Saudi Arabia's neighbouring country, Bahrain, and would go there every weekend, just to drive around and have a good time.

Not yet a country for sportswomen

It was the evening of September 2016. A brilliant display of attacking football by Marzia and Co helped Bangladesh's Under-16 women's team come back after conceding an early goal to beat their closest group rivals, Chinese Taipei, in the Asian Football Confederation's Under-16 Women's Championship Qualifiers. The intense finish sealed the girls a spot in the much-coveted final round of the Championships.

Confronting a Digital Storm

With more than 300,000 copies printed per day, Faula de S. Paulo is one of Brazil's largest newspapers. From the urban middle class

The bot bubble

How are clickers countering the depreciating value of the Like button?

The same old story with a new twist

The other day, a friend of mine wanted to write a Facebook status about how poorly a particular hospital in the capital had treated her

When pigeons take the centre stage

How much would you pay for a pigeon? Let's rephrase that question. Would you pay to buy a pigeon at all in the first place? After all, there's plenty of hard work involved in breeding them. From providing them with filtered water and a variety of grains to hosting them in a huge space on your terrace, it's not easy.

Reflections of Dhaka's broken society inside a broken shelter

In a quiet corner of Mirpur, barely a kilometer away from the hustle and bustle of the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, lies urban Dhaka's only government shelter. It's a place that provides refuge to a wide array of individuals.

The ones who never returned

The end of 2017 witnessed the return of a number of individuals who had disappeared in the second half of the year. Most of the 15 individuals, who had been missing since August last year, either returned to their respective families in the last three months or were shown as arrested based on various cases.

Coming home in coffins

If you haven't hit 45, you are ideally not supposed to worry about suffering from medical conditions such as brain strokes or heart attacks.

Where have the rebel bands of Bangladesh gone?

With coups and assassinations dominating the political scenario, the late 1970s and 80s witnessed some of the worst battles for political supremacy. The politically unstable period, however, had a silver lining.

Will Shakib's second stint be any better?

Shakib Al Hasan was just a 23-year-old aspiring all-rounder when he was entrusted the captaincy for the first time. The Tigers were in the Caribbeans and the Test skipper for the tour, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, injured himself on the very first day of the first Test.

What makes a speech great?

This October, UNESCO recognised Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's March 7 speech as part of the world's documentary heritage. One of the most influential speeches of the country, those 20 minutes at the Ramna Race Course inspired tens of millions of Bangladeshis and laid the seeds for the country's freedom.

5 years since Tazreen: delayed compensation and deferred justice

It has been five years since Reba leaped out of the third floor of the Tazreen garments factory and fractured both her legs. It's been half-a-decade since a rod pierced through Akash's eyebrow, after he smashed a window in an attempt to escape the burning floor. It has also been five years since either of them have had a good night's sleep.

Internet literacy: where does Bangladesh stand?

As far as access to internet is concerned, Bangladesh has made decent progress. Going by the latest figures of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), there are more than 79 million internet subscribers in the country.

One year and counting…

Dizen Tudu wasn't always a calculative person. There was a time when he could work in the field under the sweltering heat all day and still have enough energy left in him to play with his three boys at home in the evening.

A change in trend

The year did end on a sour note for the Bangladesh national cricket team. While the South African series was bound to be difficult, the Tigers were expected to put up a much better show than the 7-0 drubbing.

Jailed in God's own country

While Bangladeshi trafficked victims and those looking for work have traditionally been found in various parts of Northern India, finding them in the southernmost parts of the country is a relatively new trend.

Is BTV obsolete?

BTV, at best, is a nostalgic reminder of the past—of the powerful, yet entertaining serials and dramas of the 70s and 80s—when it was the sole broadcaster of the country.

How effective will the anti-discrimination law be?

The right to equality and the principle of non-discrimination is recognised by the constitution of Bangladesh. While article 27 of the constitution states that the people of Bangladesh are equal in the eyes of the law, article 28 forbids any discrimination on the basis of race, caste, religion, sex or place of birth.

5 reasons why the post office is not obsolete… yet

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the Bangladesh Post Office (BPO)? 'Snail mail, stale mail, fail mail' was how a colleague of mine, who had lost a birthday gift or two sent from his friends outside the country some time ago, answers that question.

Calling in corruption

"How much money did you pay him in bribes for the papers?” asks an officer with his headphones on, while scribbling down the main points of the reply on a piece of paper. “BDT 1200… and now he wants more?” he further inquires as he briskly takes a sip of instant coffee from a disposable cup.

For those who wonder what prompted the Rohingya exodus…

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech last Tuesday had the potential to change the scenario of the ongoing Rohingya crisis and end the misery of the more than 400,000 refugees in Bangladesh.

Not relieved despite the relief

Barely three weeks ago, it would have taken someone a little more than 10 minutes to reach Kutupalong camp from the main station in Ukhia. Today, traffic jams on the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Highway, arising from the increasing number of relief trucks arriving to help out the Rohingyas, has changed the scenario. But despite the admirable support of Bangladeshis for the four lakh-plus Rohingyas who entered Bangladesh in the last one month, many new refugees are still living on just muri and cha.