MAILBOX

Keeping Your Child Safe on the Internet
Internet filters and parental control on internet is still quite unfamiliar to Bangladeshi parents. Parental control here means no internet connection at home during the exams. However, internet is becoming more accessible than ever to minor children thanks to the availability of smart phones. As a result, children are becoming exposed to harmful content which are widely spread in the uncontrollable virtual world. I would like to thank the Star Weekend for a resourceful article on this significant issue (published on November 20, 2015). The government should take immediate but pragmatic steps to safeguard our children from the harmful effects of the digital world.
Shumanta Barua
Gopibag, Dhaka

The Symbol of Chittagong's Colonial History
Bangladesh was under colonial rule for around 200 years. We see many remnants of this colonial rule all over the country. British rulers had erected many massive, beautiful buildings during their rule. Most of those were to facilitate their government tasks and a few to satisfy the demands of the local people. Chittagong's massive railway building is one of the many colonial-period buildings. It was built to administer the massive East Indian railway network. I would like to thank the Star Weekend for revealing the important issue in its article (published on November 20, 2015) that this historic building has not been recognised as an archaeological site yet. Needless to say that if not recognised it will be soon destroyed and disfigured by the local people unaware of its historical significance.
Susan Gomez
Patharghata, Chittagong

Photo: Prabir Das

The Unchanged Reality
In the kitchen markets of Bangladesh's big cities like Dhaka, Chittagong etc. a pathetic scene has been continuing for decades. Children are seen rummaging through garbage to collect usable or even edible things. They collect plastic bottles, glass shards and thrown away bags to sell, and half rotten vegetables to eat. Sometimes they have to spend the whole day carrying heavy shopping bags of shoppers to earn a plate of rice. Education in a good school is like a day dream for these street children. On the occasion of Universal Children's Day we say big words like today's children are tomorrow's future. But why can't we bring any change to this cruel condition? Why are these innocent children left to lead their lives in heaps of garbage? Has the state nothing to do for them?
Bipul K Debnath
Department of English, Dhaka College